Col Sofiya Qureshi left Ph.D, teaching career to join Army; patriotism runs in our blood: Family
Vadodara, May 7 (PTI): As Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh flanked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday morning during the briefing about Operation Sindoor, creating a striking image, her family in Gujarat beamed with pride.
Col Sofiya, who hails from Vadodara city, had quit Ph.D and a teaching career to become an Army officer, they said. Her parents and brother Mohammad Sanjay Qureshi live in the Tandalja area of the city.
Talking to reporters at their home, Sanjay said Col Sofiya was on the verge of finishing her PhD when she decided to look beyond the classroom setting and don the olive-green uniform of the Indian Army.
Sanjay said his sister was inspired by their grandfather and father, as both had served in the Army.
“You can say that patriotism runs in our blood. After finishing school, Sofiya did BSc and then MSc in Biochemistry from MS University in Vadodara, as she wanted to become a professor,” Sanjay told reporters.
He was accompanied by his father Tajuddin Qureshi, mother Hanima and daughter Zara.
“My sister joined the varsity as an assistant lecturer while simultaneously pursuing Ph.D in the same subject as she wanted to become a professor. Meanwhile, she was selected in the Indian Army through the Short Service Commission (SSC) and decided to quit her Ph.D and teaching career to join the forces,” he said.
He said that the entire family is proud of her achievement.
Calling his sister a role model for Zara, Sanjay said his teenage daughter has also made up her mind to join the Army.
Col Sofiya’s father Tajuddin Qureshi said his family is concerned only about the country.
“I am proud of my daughter. My family has always followed the principle of ‘Vayam Rashtre Jagrayam’ (we will keep the nation awake and alive). We are Indian first, and Muslim afterwards. We are concerned only about our country,” he said.
During the briefing, Col Sofiya and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh flanked Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who delivered the opening statement from the government, hours after the Indian armed forces hit nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base Muridke.
Qureshi and Singh shared the names and details of the sites targeted by missiles from 1 am to 1.30 am on the intervening night of May 6-7. The military strikes were carried out under Operation Sindoor, two weeks after the massacre of 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
Later in the day, the Gujarat government said in a release that Col Sofiya did her masters in 1997 and then joined the Army’s Corps of Signals. Her husband is an officer in the Mechanised Infantry of the Indian Army, it said.
“In 2016, Col Sofiya achieved a historic feat as she became the first woman officer to lead an Indian military contingent abroad, becoming the only woman commander among the 18 countries participating in ‘Force 18’, a multinational military exercise involving ASEAN Plus countries,” said the release.
It added that she was deployed in Congo in 2006 during a six-year stint with the peacekeeping operations of the United Nations.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP intends to incite violence by playing DJ in UP elections: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday claimed that the "BJP intends to play DJs at full volume" during their campaign in Uttar Pradesh elections to deliberately "spread hatred and incite violence" in the state.
Speaking to reporters at the party office in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said, "This time, the elections will be contested in Uttar Pradesh through the DJs. They intend to use DJs extensively to spread hatred and incite violence. If objectionable songs are played, there will naturally be a response from the opposing side. This appears to be yet another new conspiracy of the BJP. We have already warned the public about this."
The assembly elections are due early next year in the state.
He also referred to the recent deaths of as many as 140 chickens at a farm due to loud music from a wedding procession in Sultanpur district, with police registering a case against the DJ in this connection.
"Chickens are losing their lives due to the sound of a DJ. In fact, if a person with a weak heart were to walk past a DJ, they too could find themselves in a problem. The sound waves are so strong," Yadav said.
Referring to the cell broadcast alert system launched on Saturday, the SP chief said, "The mobile phone was switched off. The ringer was off. Yet, an alert will still appear on the device. Just think, what exactly is this preparation for? The entire BJP contests elections by creating fear, by intimidating you."
Mobile phones across the country went abuzz after Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the cell broadcast alert system on Saturday, which will warn citizens about emergency and natural disasters in their area.
Comparing the BJP with 'Soan Papdi' (a popular sweet), Yadav said, "The BJP is a 'Soan Papdi' made of lies. They simply stack one layer of falsehood upon another. Propaganda constitutes the BJP's targeted campaign strategy. They contest elections by instilling fear in the public.
The BJP has failed to curb both inflation and corruption. Instead, they allowed their own associates to engage in profiteering, a practice that has driven both inflation and corruption to unprecedented levels." Yadav stated.
He said that the rising prices of petrol, diesel, and cooking gas inevitably drive up the cost of everything, from food and daily essentials to transportation. The common people have been "devastated by the BJP's misguided policies".
He also claimed that the government's fee structure is such that children from poor families cannot afford to study.
"It was for this very reason that 'Netaji' (Mulayam Singh Yadav) launched the 'Kanya Vidyadhan Yojana' to ensure that daughters from underprivileged families could pursue their education, advance in life, and achieve success. The promise we made regarding free education for daughters --- from KG to PG is a promise we will fulfil and deliver upon," he said.
He added that the Women's Reservation Bill has been passed by Parliament and enacted into law. However, the BJP is currently engaging in false propaganda regarding this legislation. The BJP's intentions concerning women's reservation have never been transparent. They are running a deceptive campaign specifically designed to mislead both the general public and women.
Yadav claimed that under the BJP government, all previous records regarding corruption and dishonesty have been shattered.
"The public is being fleeced under the pretext of installing 'smart meters. ' The implementation of smart meters has become a vehicle for large-scale fraud. If such dishonesty is possible with smart meters, how can Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) be considered secure? Why would it not be possible to manipulate EVMs as well?" he said.
The SP chief also said that the BJP government has completely ruined the state's education, healthcare, and law and order systems. This government has shut down 21,000 primary schools. In over 41,000 primary schools, not a single admission has been recorded. In Gorakhpur, thousands of teaching positions have been abolished.
Under the BJP government, water tanks being constructed under the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' are continuously collapsing due to corruption. These tanks are "unable to bear the weight of the BJP's corruption". The pipeline of this corruption, involving the water tanks, likely extends all the way to Kalidas Marg, he said, and expressed his gratitude to the Army officials and congratulated them for saving the lives of children during the incident involving the water tank in Siddharthnagar district.
To a question on World Press Freedom Day, where India ranked at the 157th spot, Akhilesh Yadav, in a lighter vein, said, "We will run a scheme -- give 'cash' less' laptop bags. But here the 'less' should be understood in Hindi. We will give a filled laptop bag to you."
On this occasion, Yadav also distributed laptops to meritorious students who had passed class 10th and class 12th examinations with high marks.
The former chief minister also said, "The Samajwadi Party launched the laptop distribution scheme precisely to bridge the digital divide existing between the pre- and post-digital eras."
