14 among women daredevils joined BSF after death of kin

From Etah in UP, Sunita realised that people she relied upon were no longer very supportive. “Only I know the hardship I had to face.”

This Republic Day, at age 38, Sunita was live on television from Rajpath, performing acrobatics on a motorcycle as a member of the BSF’s Seema Bhawani team which mesmerised the audience that included the President and the Prime Minister.

Sunita Kumari

Sunita is among 14 women, part of the 150-member women’s team, who were provided jobs in the BSF on compassionate grounds following the death of their husband or father while on duty. From different parts of the country, they comprise recruits as young as 19 and as old as 40.

“We are proud of our women. They are all fresh recruits and haven’t even completed their training. Yet they performed so well. The BSF believes that given an opportunity, there is nothing women cannot achieve. We will continue to do our bit not only to help rebuild their lives but achieve much more,” BSF DG Pankaj Singh told The Sunday Express.

Doli

With no means to bring up her children, Sunita joined the BSF in August 2020.

A fortnight before the January 26 event, Sunita was asked if she would join the motorcycle team for the Republic Day parade. “Until then, I had never been able to ride anything bigger than a Scooty. I always loved bikes, so I thought why not. There were some risks involved. But isn’t life full of risks?” she said.

It was 15 days of rigorous training. Sunita would wake up at 4 am to cook for the children before hitting the training ground by 6 am.

“Our trainer is very good, always giving us confidence. I fell down many times, but kept on trying until I got it right. Today, my children are so proud of me. I had never imagined that someday I would be on Rajpath and people would be watching me on TV,” she said.

For 19-year-old Doli, the youngest member of the team, it was a moment of getting over the tragedy of her father’s death. A BSF constable, Doli’s father was on election duty in Jharkhand in 2009. Waiting for a train to move to a new duty location, he fell unconscious on the tracks and was crushed by an incoming locomotive. The eldest of his four daughters, Doli was just six years old.

Her mother was unable to take up a job and lived on her husband’s meagre pension in a small house in Aligarh. Doli attended school, acquired a B.Sc degree and then joined the BSF.

Manju Bala

Even before her training could start, she was called for the motorcycle acrobatics performance. “At first, I was scared, but when I saw 40-year-old first-timers doing it, I thought why not,” Doli said.

On Republic Day, she was holding the national flag at the top of a pyramid formed by multiple motorcycles moving in sync. “When I returned home, my mother said, ‘You are my eldest son’,” Doli said.

BSF’s motorcycle acrobatics team made even Barack Obama sit up. In 2015, as chief guest at the Republic Day parade, the then US President, after watching the performance of the BSF men’s motorcycle team, said: “I would, by the way, not drive a motorcycle after watching those incredible acrobats.”

The BSF subsequently built a women’s team which performed for the first time on Republic Day in 2018.

Constable Manju Bala from Jhajjar in Haryana had never imagined she would be part of a daredevil team at the age of 40. She joined the BSF following the death of her husband, a BSF constable, in 2019.

When she was called to join the motorcycle team a fortnight ago, she was scared. “What if I lose a limb? Who will take care of my children? But I thought if I have to move up, I must do this,” she said.

On Republic Day, as her children cheered from the Rajpath stands, she realised she had made the right call. “My children had never seen a Republic Day parade before. And what a show they had. My in-laws were watching me on TV and making videos of my performance on mobile phones. I felt so happy,” Bala said.

Jyoti

Constable Jyoti found her photo splashed in newspapers, hanging on to a bike precariously. She joined the BSF after her husband died in an accident in 2019.

From a farmer family in Bhiwani in Haryana, Jyoti said: “I got great support from my in-laws, my mother and the BSF after my husband died. My daughter was just two-and-a-half years old then. I was brought in for motorcycle acrobatics a fortnight before Republic Day. I feel very proud,” she said.

All these 14 women were inducted into the team at the last minute — the team short of regular personnel because of late confirmation of the BSF women’s team participation at the parade.

“Women had been called from the borders, but they couldn’t reach in time for the training. So we took these women as they were in Delhi. Training them was not easy, as those in advanced age were particularly scared. But we gave them some practice laps in lotus and other formations to boost their confidence. We practised for 8-10 hours every day. Slowly, they overcame fear and by D-Day were quite enthusiastic and happy to be a part of the whole thing,” Inspector Himanshu Sirohi, who trained them, said.

The BSF began inducting women into the force from 2008. Over the years, it has assigned them combat duties in Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal and the North East.