Mitali Madhumita is a serving Indian Army officer. In 2010, she was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, and received the Sena Medal for bravery.
Wiki/Biography
Mitali Madhumita was born in 1976 in Rourkela, Odisha (age 46 in 2022). Mitali Madhumita completed her 11th standard in 1992 from SG Girls College, Rourkela. She passed 12th standard in 1993 from Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar College in subjects including Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. Mitali Madhumita received her Bachelor of Arts (Hons. English) from the same university in 1996. From 1996 to 1998, she pursued her MA in Linguistics and English Literature (British and Commonwealth) at Ravenshaw College, Utkal University. After completing her formal education, Mitali Madhumita appeared for the All-India Comprehensive Defense Services Examination (CDSE) and after clearing the exam, she joined the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai in 1999. While serving in the Indian Army from 2006 to 2008, she pursued a postgraduate diploma course in human rights from the Indian Institute of Human Rights.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′4″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: dark brown
family
Mitali Madhumita belongs to the Odia family.
Parents and siblings
Her mother, Anjali Dass, is a retired economics lecturer. Mitali Madhumita is the eldest of her three sisters.
wife and children
Her marital status is unknown.
Profession
company’s
From 1996 to 1998, Mitali Madhumita worked as a teacher at Kalinga College, teaching English to those who aspired to join the Defense Forces as officers. In 1988, she worked as a manager in a real estate company called Versatile Construction Pvt.Ltd.
army
In 2000, after completing OTA training, she was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army Education Corps (AEC). In 2004, she was posted to the Defense Staff College (DSSC), Wellington, as a lecturer, where she taught English to officers from non-English-friendly countries. In 2007, Mitali Madhumita was appointed as Staff Officer and posted to the Ministry of Defense (MoD). She served in the Department of Defense until the end of 2008. In 2009, Mitali Madhumita was selected by the Indian Army to lead a team in Kabul, Afghanistan, with support from the United Nations (UN) and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MoFA). There, she served as an instructor for the Afghan Ministry of Defense and taught English to Afghan National Army (ANA) officers who did not speak English. In 2010, she was awarded the Gallantry Award for her performance when the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan was attacked by several heavily armed terrorists. In 2013, Mitali Madhumita was posted to the Indian Army Central Command in Lucknow. After serving in Lucknow, Mitali Madhumita was appointed as the Principal of Sainik School, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.
Colonel Mitali Madhumita takes over as principal of Sainik School, Ambikapur
dispute
Supreme Court judgment on her permanent appointment
Indian Army officers who enlist from the Officers Training Academy (OTA) will be given a short service commission and after a few years of service, they will have an opportunity to convert the short service commission into a long service commission. In 2009, before being deployed as an instructor in Afghanistan, Mitali Madhumita turned down an offer of permanent service in the Indian Army due to marital and other problems at home. In 2010, after receiving a gallantry award for bravery, Mitali changed his mind and decided to serve permanently. However, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) rejected her application and refused her permanent appointment. In 2014, Mitali Madhumita appealed the Defense Ministry’s decision to the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). In 2015, the AFT decided in favor of Mitali and asked the Ministry of Defense to reinstate the officer and grant him a permanent commission. However, in 2015, the Ministry of Defense appealed the AFT’s decision to the Supreme Court, stating that “granting her a permanent commission would interfere with the cadre management of the Ministry of Defence, and would jeopardize the policy of granting permanent commissions to short-serving officers.” 1 A senior Indian Army officer serving in the Ministry of Defense at the time said in an interview,
The board that decides whether Short Service Commission (SSC) officers can get PCs has met. It is completely irrelevant if and how Lieutenant Colonel Mitali Madunita saved so many lives in Afghanistan, or what awards she received. “
In 2016, the Supreme Court rejected the Defense Department’s request and ordered the Defense Department to comply with the AFT’s instructions. The Supreme Court also asked the Defense Ministry not to retire Mitali; she was scheduled to retire in 2015. The court also asked the Indian Army to allow Mitali Madhumita to continue serving. The Supreme Court stated in its judgment,
Clearly, misogyny runs rampant in the country’s defense forces. If the Indian Army is supposed to protect the country from its enemies, then it cannot treat its own troops so meanly for the sake of a stale bureaucratic rule, maybe it needs to look inward. Lieutenant Colonel Madumita’s case has been handled by the Military Secretary (Legal Wing) for the past few years, although her case has been heard by the entire chain of command, including Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Sani, commander of South Western Command recommend.
After Mitali Madhumita received permanent appointment
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- While serving in the National Cadet Corps (NCC), Mitali Madhumita won a gold medal in the All India Aviation Modeling Competition.
- In 2011, Mitali Madhumita was awarded the GOC-in-C Commendation Card for her exemplary services.
Senna Medal
On February 26, 2010, when Mitali Madhumita was posted to Kabul as an instructor, several heavily armed terrorists attacked the Indian embassy where Mitali and her team were stationed. Shortly after the attack, Mitali rushed out of the guest house and ran to the embassy, two kilometers away. After arriving at the embassy, she found that the embassy building was severely damaged and many people were trapped under the rubble. Without regard for his own safety, Mitali single-handedly evacuated nineteen people, including seven civilians, to safety. She also organized the rapid evacuation of the wounded and remained inside the embassy amid heavy gunfire until everyone was evacuated. Due to Mitali’s heroic actions, the Indian Army recommended her for the Sena Medal (Medal for Gallantry) and she was awarded the medal in August 2010. Narrating the incident in an interview, Mitali said:
There was a firefight around me and militants were throwing Chinese Molotov cocktails. I couldn’t see the militants, but they were hiding somewhere around me. I searched through the rubble and soon began pulling out bodies and the seriously injured. The embassy was bombed by extremists from the Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group, and U.S. intelligence later learned that the attacks were sent by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency, and targeted Indians living in Afghanistan. “
Colonel Mitali Madumita awarded Sena Medal
Note: Some sources claim that Mitali Madhumita was the first female officer of the Indian Armed Forces to receive the Gallantry Award. However, she is the second woman officer to be awarded the Medal for Gallantry, the first woman officer to be awarded the Sena Medal (SM) for gallantry was Captain CR Leena Dadhwal (Dr). In 1995, she was awarded the Seine Medal for gallantry.
salary
As Colonel, Mitali Madhumita’s salary is Rs 1,30,600 + other allowances (as on August 2022).
Facts/Trivia
- Mitali Madumita’s mother claimed in an interview that she hoped her daughter would become a lecturer like her and get a job at a university. She further said,
I wanted her to be a lecturer, she was at the heart of education but her bravery saved so many lives. I’m proud of her. “
- As an Indian Army officer, Mitali Madhumita has attended many military courses such as Advanced Graphic Information Course (A-GIC), ADP (SAP) and computer.
- In July 2022, Sony TV announced that Mitali Madhumita will appear in Kaun Banega Crorepati’s (KBC) Independence Day special along with Kargil War veteran Major DP Singh.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education