It is the first time that the Army will recruit women as soldiers.Saroj and Sunita, aged 16 and 18, respectively, travelled 700 km from Nagaur district in Rajasthan to reach Ambala early morning to take part in a recruitment rally for women in Corps of Military Police (CMP). Hours later, they prepared to head back home after failing to clear the physical fitness test. “We will come again,” said a determined Sunita.
The recruitment rally in Ambala from September 7 to 11 saw young women aspirants for the Army comes from far-off places across northern India. Candidates from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Delhi had been allotted Ambala recruitment centre.
This is the first time that roles in the Army other than officer-level have been opened for women. The Army intends to recruit 100 women in CMP in the first phase, taking the total number up to 1,700 eventually.
“I did three-and-a-half rounds of the 1,600 metre run and then fell down due to stomach ache,” said Saroj. Many girls were unable to clear the run, she added.
“We reached Ambala at 2.30 am. The girls did not get much sleep and were tired after the journey. But they were determined to do their best,” said Rampal, uncle of Saroj and Sunita who accompanied them from Nagaur. He added that it was too hot and candidates were fainting.
When asked why did they not consider joining police or central police organisations, most of the aspirants said the Army was their first choice. “I cannot clear the entrance test for officers, so I thought this was a golden opportunity to don the Army uniform,” said Dolly from New Delhi.
Dolly’s father, Om Parkash, who runs a tailoring shop, said his daughter was insistent on joining the Army. Dolly, sitting exhausted, was also unable to complete her physical fitness test.
A few yards away, Sandeep and Ravi, both friends, were happy that their respective sisters —- Sunita and Roshni — had cleared the physical examination. Both had come from Sikar district in Rajasthan after travelling nearly 10 hours. “My sister prepared very hard for it,” said Ravi.
“About 1,700 turned up for the recruitment rally while call letters had been sent to 5,000 candidates,” said Col Som Nath Gupta, in-charge of the event. He said that 45-50 per cent candidates failed to clear the physical fitness tests. “They did not come prepared. They were very motivated but should have been better prepared physically,” he said.
Colonel Gupta said that women candidates have to clear the 1,600-metre run in seven minutes as compared to five minutes given to male candidates. “A written test will be held for the candidates who passed today’s tests on October 26, and a merit list will be made for final selection by the Army headquarters,” he said.
Most candidates were pursuing graduation or had completed their graduation. The minimum qualification demanded by the Army for recruitment in military police was Class 10 with 45 per cent marks in aggregate and minimum 33 per cent marks in each subject studied.
