Captain Shiva Chouhan became the first woman army officer on January 2, 2023 to get operationally deployed for an initial period of three months at Kumar Post, situated on the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen Glacier, at an altitude of 15,632 feet, after receiving a rigorous military training at Siachen Battle School along with other army personnel.
Captain Shiva Chouhan along with her team of Sappers will be responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks on the Siachen Glacier. Kumar Post or Kumar Base, serves as a battalion headquarters of the Northern Glacier Battalion. The post was named after the famed Indian Army Officer and mountaineer, Colonel Narendra ‘Bull’ Kumar, and is located at 60 km from the Siachen Base towards Indira Col West mountain pass. Women officers have also been posted to Siachen Base Camp at about 9,000 ft earlier as part of their regular postings along with the unit.
The Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region is highly vulnerable. Over 1,000 soldiers, including over 35 officers, have lost their lives in the glacial heights there since April 1984. India’s ‘Operation Meghdhoot’ seized Pakistan’s ‘Operation Ababeel’ on April 13, 1984, to occupy almost all the dominating heights from 15,000 to 22,000 feet of the glacier. Much of the casualties have been due to the severe terrain and climatic conditions. Temperatures, here, dip to minus 50 °C. The number of casualties has reduced during the recent years due to better logistics, infrastructure, and the long-standing ceasefire.
Captain Shiva Chouhan belongs to Rajasthan and is a Bengal Sapper Officer. Having completed her schooling from Udaipur, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur. Motivated to join the Indian Armed Forces since her childhood, she showcased an unparalleled zeal during the training at Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, and was commissioned into the Engineer Regiment, in May 2021. Captain is the second rank for an Army officer. Chouhan has received a field ranking which is always one rank higher than what one has.
Being the lone woman officer at the Kumar Post, she would be entitled to a separate accommodation facility. Though Indian Navy and Air Force have women in their services including combat, the Indian Army is yet to allow female officers in its actual combat infantry.
There are 17 women IAF fighter pilots and 145 women helicopter and transport aircraft pilots in the three services. About 30 of them have so far been deployed on frontline warships. Moreover, 100 of them have become trained military policewomen.
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