VADODARA: Along with the heavy downpour, congratulatory messages flooded Vadodara on Wednesday morning as Baroda-born Col Sofiya Qureshi addressed the nation through a press conference on ‘Operation Sindoor’.The female military officer is the third generation of her family in the armed forces. “My grandfather and my father were both in the army. My father was with the EME Corps in Vadodara and even served during the 1971 war.My father’s maternal grandfather also served in the British Army and later participated in the 1857 freedom struggle,” said Col Sofiya Qureshi’s brother Sanjay Qureshi.
MSc Biochemistry 1997 batch group photo. Col. Sofiya Qureshi is marked with an arrow.
Qureshi studied in the Kendriya Vidyalaya, EME before joining M S University’s Faculty of Science from where she completed her BSc in chemistry from 1992 to 1995 and MSc in biochemistry from 1995 to 1997.
“She was even pursuing her PhD, but learning about the recruitment of women officers in the Indian Army, she quit the PhD programme and joined the forces,” said Sanjay.Her batchmate Dr Vijayvargia Ravi recollected how the military officer was initially inclined towards research but because of her family background joined the armed forces.
“In fact, in January too, she had visited our department to meet us and former teachers,” said Ravi. As part of the Indian Army, she was given multiple leadership tasks and she completed them with aplomb.
She has also served for six years with UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO), including a notable stint in the United Nations Mission in Congo (2006). She once described her peacekeeping duties as involving the monitoring of ceasefires and supporting humanitarian efforts in conflict zones. She called it a “proud moment” and encouraged other women in the armed forces to “work hard for the country and make everyone proud.”
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, a decorated officer of the Indian Army’s Corps of Signals, holds the distinction of being the first woman officer to command an Indian Army contingent in a multinational military exercise. In 2016, she led the Indian team at ‘Exercise Force 18’, which was India’s largest-hosted foreign military drill. Remarkably, she was the only female commander among 18 participating contingents.
