Lance Naik Manju Becomes Indian Army’s First Woman Skydiver, Rewrites History

Women initially were not a part of Indian defence forces, but today, they are making their mark in every sphere. Since 1992, women have become a part of military forces, outside the medical stream.

On November 16, Lance Naik Manju of Eastern Command from the Corps of Military Police set a new record by becoming the first woman skydiver in the Indian Army.

First Woman Skydiver

#IndianArmy
L/NK (WMP) Manju of #EasternCommand became first Woman Soldier Sky Diver of the Indian Army. She jumped yesterday from 10,000ft from an ALH. This inspiring act of hers will set an example for other women in the army.@adgpi@SpokespersonMoDpic.twitter.com/YKPufUcnDk

— EasternCommand_IA (@easterncomd) November 16, 2022

Taking it to its official Twitter account, Eastern Command shared a video of Lance Naik Manju. The tweet read, “She jumped yesterday from 10,000 ft from an ALH. This inspiring act of hers will set an example for other women in the army.”

The soldier was trained by the skydiving training team of the Indian Army’s Adventure Wing for the jump, the Indian Army shared with ANI.

Manju jumped off an ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Dhruv chopper for her first record-breaking dive. In the video, two divers can be seen holding her in the air.

This is a first but certainly not the first record created by women in the Indian armed forces. Take a stroll down memory lane to read about the other records broken by women in the defence forces.

First Time Women Posted Along LOC

In August 2020, women rewrote history after a troupe of soldiers were posted along LOC and were assigned combat duties. The same year, ‘Rifle Women’ were deployed in Kashmir for duties, and they created a positive impact.

First Woman Lieutenant General

Punita Arora was the first woman to be the Lieutenant General of the Indian Armed Forces. She also served as the Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy. Arora was the first woman in the Armed Forces Medical College and coordinated medical research.

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First Woman To Receive Sena Medal

In February 2011, Lt. Col Mitali Madhumita became the first woman to be awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry. This is a special accolade given to soldiers for outperforming their duties during operations in North East and Jammu & Kashmir. In February 2010, she was the first officer to reach the Indian embassy in Kabul, which was under attack by suicide bombers.

All-Women Navy Crew Made History

The proud crew - Lt Cdr Aanchal (Captain of aircraft), Lt Shivangi & Lt Apurva (pilots), and Lt Pooja Panda and SLt Pooja Shekhawat (Air Operations Officers) (2/2).#IndiaAt75#TransformingIndia#ProudandProfessionalpic.twitter.com/wXf1QTW66g

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) August 4, 2022

In August 2022, an all-women navy crew made history by completing their first surveillance and reconnaissance mission over the Arabian Sea. They were trained for months before the expedition began.

This was also a part of the Indian Navy’s women empowerment initiatives. It was a one-of-a-kind mission. The military force expected that it would inspire more women to take up challenging roles and fulfil responsibilities.

First Woman Air Marshal Of The Indian Air Force

After joining the Indian Armed Force in 1968, Padmavathy Bandopadhyay became the first woman to complete her Defence Service Staff College course. She also set the record to become the first woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force and was the first woman aviation medicine specialist.

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Many more women have already rewritten historic records, and we hope many more continue to do so.

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