Rani Laxmibai Girls' Military School is giving its students commando training to combat terror
Rani Laxmibai Girls' Military School is giving its students commando training to combat terror
GENDER is no longer a point of discrimination. In fact, now the female brigade is in the process of strengthening their position to tackle terrorists.
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The initiative is taken on the backdrop of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. "We don't want only intellectuals, but girls with brave hearts too," principal Shraddha Walimbe said. "Many of our girls come from rural background and hence are tougher and disciplined in the training we provide," she added.
"The wounds of 26/11 are still fresh. We should not forget and prepare ourselves in all possible ways," Walimbe said. According to her, they want to enforce the idea in their institution first. "Though we have proper infrastructure, our school does require government support," she said.
Established in 1997, Rani Laxmibai School is located at the scenic village of Kasar Amboli, near Pune. The institution has tried to fill the gap in girls' education in the state. It is a pioneer institution that successfully grooms young women to pursue leadership careers in defence services and elsewhere.
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"This enables us to promote prosperity, security, integrity and dignity of our nation," Walimbe pointed out. "We have a globally competitive academic curriculum in Maharashtra. This makes the girls physically, intellectually and mentally empowered to pursue careers in the defense services and relevant areas," she added.
Col Deepak Agashe, commandant in the school, said, "Girls are mentally tougher than boys, and this determination makes them perfect. Commando training already exists in our curricula, but now we will make conscious efforts to enhance it," he said.
Horse riding, stamina building, unconventional adventure sports and mountaineering at Manali's famous Regional Mountaineering Centre in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, are some of their activities. The girls are also taught martial arts
Besides this, the girls are educated to handle .22 and .177 unlicensed air rifles. "This enables them to handle the mechanism of even the latest AK47 or AK57 without any hassles," he remarked.
Official entry
Entry to National Defense Academy (NDA) for girls may become official for girls from 2013. According to Anil Valsangkar, CEO, Maharashtra Education Society, the decision has been pending with the defense ministry for the last seven years and is expected to get cleared soon.
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