Shivangi - Indian Navy’s first woman pilot - hails from an ordinary
farmer’s family. Her father, Hari Bhushan Singh, is a school teacher and
in-charge principal of a government high school for girls, and mother Priyanka
a home-maker.
As a
10-year-old, she was fascinated by a chopper pilot flying a politician to
address a public rally at her native village Fatehabad in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur
district, about 70 kms to the north-east of Patna.
The little girl, who could not
differentiate between a commercial plane and a defence aircraft, had then
dreamt of being a pilot.Fifteen years later, the girl -Shivangi - realised her
dream when as sub-lieutenant she earned her wings on Monday and became the
first woman pilot of the Indian Navy. Shivangi will fly the Dornier
surveillance aircraft for maritime reconnaissance, search and rescue operations
for the Indian Navy.
Shivangi was commissioned into the Indian
Navy last year after her initial training and joined operational duties at the
Kochi naval base Monday.
“I was in B.Tech (mechanical) fourth year
at the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Sikkim, when the Indian Navy
came up with the university entry scheme. An officer came to our college and
showed us a video about life in Indian navy,” she said, as she took a trip down
the memory lane, recollecting her dream journey to India’s coveted defence
services, in a freewheeling telephonic conversation from Kerala with this HT
reporter .
“That was my first exposure to the Indian
armed forces through the navy. The navy had then begun induction for women
pilots. As a 10 year-old child, who nurtured a dream of becoming a pilot after
seeing one, I seized the opportunity with both hands. And here I am now,” she
said.
Shivangi hails from an ordinary farmer’s
family. Her father, Hari Bhushan Singh, is a school teacher and in-charge
principal of a government high school for girls, and mother Priyanka a
home-maker.
Shivangi grew up in a conservative society
where sending girls to school was not the social norm and considered an
aberration.
To break the shackles, Shivangi’s great
grandfather had in 1980 donated around 2 acres land to set up a school for
girls — the Brahmarshi Yamuna Balika Uchch Vidyalaya, Fatehabad — to be adopted
by the state government. Shivangi’s father is now its officiating principal.
“My father always encouraged me to chase
my dreams. It was he who suggested I should go out (of the state), get exposure
and pursue my B.Tech and then join the navy. He trusted me. He was never very
protective and always supported me without putting any pressure on me,” she
added.
Her two younger siblings, Jagriti and
Harsh, who go by single name, are pursuing their bachelor of business
administration (BBA) programme from Jaipur and Dehradun, respectively. Seeing
their sister in sparkling white uniform, they are already motivated to join the
Indian armed forces, said Singh.
Firmly grounded, Shivangi, however, would
not accept that she has already become a role model for other girls in her
village. She parried the poser, saying: “That’s a question you should ask other
girls and not me.”
Though Shivangi got CGPA 10 in class 10
and 84% marks in physics, chemistry and mathematics in class 12, she and her
father were not satisfied with her performance in the intermediate examination.
“She may not have been studious, but she
was always very competitive and loved to take up challenges. It is her
never-say-die spirit, which has rewarded her in life today,” the doting father
signed off.
Shivangi is the second woman from Bihar to
be a pilot in the Indian armed forces. Darbhanga’s Bhawana Kanth is one of the
first female fighter pilots of India. She was declared the first combat pilot
along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio was
inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016.
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