Colonel Mitali Madhumita Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Indian Army officer
Famous For	Winning a gallantry award for her acts in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 162 cm in meters- 1.62 m in feet & inches- 5’ 4”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
Military Service
Service/Branch	Indian Army
Rank	Colonel
Service Years	2000-present
Unit	Army Education Corps (AEC)
Service Number	WS-00458
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Gold medal in all-India Aero Modelling competition as an NCC Cadet • General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) commendation card for exemplary service • Sena Medal (Gallantry) by the Indian Army in 2010 Note: On 26 February 2010, when Mitali Madhumita was posted in Kabul as an instructor, a group of heavily armed terrorists attacked the Indian embassy. Mitali and her team of Indian Army officers were posted in the Indian embassy's guest house. Upon hearing gunshots, Mitali immediately rushed to the embassy from her guest house, which was around two kilometres away from the guest house. Upon reaching the embassy's main building, she noticed that the building was badly damaged and there were bodies buried beneath the rubble. Without fearing for her safety, Mitali rushed to evacuate the wounded people who were buried under the debris. She stayed at the spot amidst heavy gunfire till everyone was evacuated. In 2010, she was recommended by the Indian Army for a Sena Medal (Gallantry), which she received in August 2010. While narrating the incident, Mitali, in an interview, told, "There was cross-firing all around me and the militants were throwing Chinese incendiary grenades. I could not see the militants but they were hiding somewhere around me. I searched through the debris and before long started pulling out the dead bodies and those who were badly wounded. The embassy was bombed by extremists of the Haqqani network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba-terror groups, US intelligence would learn later, that they were sent by the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, to target the Indians who lived in Afghanistan.” Many sources claim that Mitali Madhumita is the Indian Armed Forces' first woman to be awarded a gallantry medal. However, Captain (Dr) C. R. Leena Dadhwal is the first Indian Armed Forces woman to have received a gallantry award. She was given a Sena Medal in 1995. [1]Indian Army Day Parade 1995
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1976
Age (as of 2022)	46 Years
Birthplace	Rourkela, Odisha, India
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Rourkela, Odisha
School	• SG Women’s College, Rourkela • Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar College
College/University	• Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar College • Ravenshaw College, Utkal University • Indian Institute of Human Rights
Educational Qualification(s)	• BA (English Honours) • MA in Linguistics and English Literature (British and Commonwealth) • Post-graduation diploma in Human Rights [2]Mitali Madhumita’s LinkedIn
Controversy	• Her demand for a permanent commission: An officer who joins the Indian Army through the Officers' Training Academy (OTA) is given a short-service commission. However, after serving for a few years, the officers are given an opportunity to change their commission type from short service to a permanent commission. Similarly, in 2009, before leaving for the UN Mission to Afghanistan, Mitali Madhumita was given an opportunity to convert her short service commission into a permanent one, which she declined citing marital issues and other issues at home. In 2010, after winning the gallantry award, she changed her early decision and appealed to have her commission type changed, which was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). In 2014, she challenged the MoD's decision by appealing to the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), and in 2015, the AFT gave its decision in favour of Mitali. The MoD, in the same year, appealed against the AFT's judgement in the Supreme Court citing that "granting her a permanent commission would interfere with the MoD’s cadre management and would jeopardise the policies related to granting a permanent commission to short-service commissioned officers." A senior Indian Army general, who back then was serving in the MoD, told an interview, "The board which decides whether a Short Service Commission (SSC) officer can be given PC has already met. It is totally irrelevant whether and how Lt Col Mitali Madhunita saved so many lives in Afghanistan, or what award she has got.” In 2016, the apex court quashed MoD's plea and delivered its judgement in favour of Mitali Madhumita. [3]NDTV The court also asked MoD to follow AFT's judgement and directed the Indian Army to let Mitali continue her service in the Indian Army. The Supreme Court, in its judgement, noted, "Clearly, misogyny rules in the country’s defence forces. If the Indian army is supposed to protect the country from the enemy it can not treat one of its own so shabbily for the sake of a cussed, bureaucratic rule, perhaps it needs to look within. Lt Col Madhumita’s case has been fought by the military secretary (legal branch) for the last several years, even though her case has been recommended by the entire chain of command, including the Commander of South Western Command, Lt Gen Arun Kumar Sahni." [4]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Not known
Family
Husband/Spouse	Not known
Parents	Father- Not known Mother- Anjali Dass (retired Economics lecturer)
Siblings	She is the eldest among her three sisters. Her sisters work in the corporate sector.
Money Factor
Salary (as a colonel of the Indian Army)	Rs 1,30,600 + other allowances (as of August 2022) [5]DNA India

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mitali Madhumita

• Mitali Madhumita is a serving colonel in the Indian Army. In 2010, she received a Sena Medal for her gallant actions that saved many lives during a terrorist attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

• Mitali Madhumita completed her 12th standard in 1993 with physics, chemistry, maths, and biology as her subjects.

• In 1994, while pursuing her graduation, Mitali Madhumita joined the Airforce wing of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), where she learned to fly a glider.

• In 1996, Mitali Madhumita served as a teacher at Kalinga Academy. There, she taught English to the aspirants who wanted to join the Indian military as an officer. She worked there till 1998.

• In 1998, Mitali Madhumita worked as a manager with Versatile Construction Pvt. Ltd., a real estate company.

• In the same year, Mitali Madhumita appeared for the Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE) which was conducted by the UPSC.

• In 1999, after clearing the Indian Army’s selection process, Mitali Madhumita joined the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA).

• In 2000, Mitali Madhumita completed her training at the Officers’ Training Academy and was commissioned in the Indian Army’s Army Education Corps (AEC) as a lieutenant.

• In 2004, Mitali Madhumita was posted as an instructor at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC). At DSSC, she taught English to officers who had come to India from friendly foreign nations.

• From 2007 to 2008, Mitali Madhumita served in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). There, she was given a staff appointment.

• In 2009, as the leader of the Indian English language training team, Mitali Madhumita was sent on a United Nations (UN) mission to Kabul, Afghanistan. There, she was posted as an instructor with the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence and taught English to the non-English speaking Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers.

• In 2010, Mitali Madhumita was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry for saving nineteen lives during a terror attack on the Indian embassy.

• In 2013, Mitali Madhumita was transferred to the Indian Army’s Central Command situated at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

• In 2018, Mitali Madhumita, as a colonel, was appointed as the principal of Sainik School, Ambikapur.
  

  Col Mitali Madhumita receiving a baton as the principal of Sainik School, Ambikapur

• Mitali Madhumita’s mother during an interview said that she wanted her daughter to become a lecturer in a government-run university. She said,
  

  I wanted her to be a lecturer and she was in the education core, but her bravery saved so many lives. I am so proud of her.”

• Mitali Madhumita has completed many military grade courses such as Advanced Graphical Information Course (A-GIC), ADP (SAP), and Computers from Army Education Corps Training College and Centre.

• In July 2022, Sony TV announced that Colonel Mitali Madhumita, along with the Kargil War veteran, Major DP Singh, would participate in the Independence Day special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) which would be aired on 7 August 2022.