On New Year's Day in 2016, Sunita Kumari's world came crashing down around her when her husband of 11 years, a Border Security Force constable, died of kidney failure, leaving the 33-year-old with three young children.
From Etah in UP, Sunita realised that people she relied upon were no longer very supportive. “Only I know the hardship I had to face.”
This Republic Day, at age 38, Sunita was live on television from Rajpath, performing acrobatics on a motorcycle as a member of the BSF's Seema Bhawani team which mesmerised the audience that included the President and the Prime Minister.
Sunita Kumari
Sunita is among 14 women, part of the 150-member women's team, who were provided jobs in the BSF on compassionate grounds following the death of their husband or father while on duty. From different parts of the country, they comprise recruits as young as 19 and as old as 40.
“We are proud of our women. They are all fresh recruits and haven't even completed their training. Yet they performed so well. The BSF believes that given an opportunity, there is nothing women cannot achieve. We will continue to do our bit not only to help rebuild their lives but achieve much more,” BSF DG Pankaj Singh told The Sunday Express.
Doli
With no means to bring up her children, Sunita joined the BSF in August 2020.
A fortnight before the January 26 event, Sunita was asked if she would join the motorcycle team for the Republic Day parade. “Until then, I had never been…
