The story of Capt Shiva Singh Chauhan: What it takes to be the only woman army officer serving in Siachen

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Ain’t no mountain high enough for Captain Shiva Singh Chauhan. Meet the Indian Army’s first woman officer, who is operationally deployed in Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.

Chauhan belongs to the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps, which handles some of the most sensitive frontiers and battlefields, including the areas of Western and Eastern Ladakh. The Corps tweeted a picture of the young officer, saying this was “breaking the glass ceiling”.


Deployed at 15,632 feet

Chauhan has been deployed at the Kumar Post, the headquarters of the Northern Glacier Battalion, which is at a height of 15,632 feet. Close to 80 per cent of posts on the glacier are located above 16,000 feet, with the highest post at more than 21,000 feet.

Like other soldiers, Chauhan will be deployed in Siachen, where the temperature can dip to minus 60 degrees, for three months. She will be a team leader, responsible for numerous combat engineering tasks.

The arduous training

The captain was inducted to the Siachen Glacier on 2 January. The Fire and Fury Corp said that Chauhan was deployed after “arduous training”. This included endurance training, ice-wall climbing, avalanche and crevasse rescue and survival drills at the Siachen Battle School. She trained along with other officers and men from the Indian Army.

“In spite of various challenges, Captain Shiva with unflinching commitment completed the training,” the army said in a statement.

Chauhan is a Bengal Sapper Officer and will be heading a team of Sappers at the Kumar Post.

Since she is the first woman to be deployed to the frozen battlefield, special arrangements have been made to accommodate her. She will get a hut and toilet facilities of her own, according to a report in ThePrint.

Also read: Why Indian Army activating satellite-based internet on Siachen Glacier is a big deal

Getting to the top

The officer is known for taking up uphill tasks. She led the Sura Soi Cycling Expedition from Siachen War Memorial to the Kargil War Memorial on Kargil Vijay Diwas in July 2022. She took up the challenge of leading the men of the Sura Soi Engineer Regiment at the world’s highest battlefield, and based on her performance was selected to undergo training at the Siachen Battle School.

Hailing from Rajasthan, the captain trained at Officers Training Academy in Chennai. She was commissioned into the engineer regiment in May 2021.

Since her childhood days, Chauhan was keen to join the armed forces. She went to school in Udaipur and then pursued engineering. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from NJR Institute of Technology, Udaipur.

Chauhan was brought up by her mother, a housewife, who took care of her studies. She lost her father when she was 11 years old.

Also read: Indian Army gets its first woman combat aviator: What’s the Army Aviation Corps that Captain Abhilasha Barak joins?

Capt Shiva Singh Chauhan

Women in Siachen

In the past 40 years, after India launched Operation Meghdoot to secure the world’s highest and coldest battleground, the army has only deployed men.

So far women officers have been posted only to the Siachen camp base, which is at 9000 feet. It is part of the regular postings.

Unlike, the Indian Navy and Air Force, the Army does not allow women officers in its combat arm yet. But they continue to make history.

Terming Chauhan’s posting as “an encouraging sign”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that he was happy to see more women joining the armed forces and taking up every challenge in stride.“Excellent news! I am extremely happy to see more women joining the Armed Forces and take every challenge in stride. It is an encouraging sign. My best wishes to Capt Shiva Chauhan,” he wrote on Twitter.

With inputs from agencies

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