Walking in his footsteps

Nation’s tribute: Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal’s mother, Saroj, and Nikita receiving the Shaurya Chakra on his behalf from President Ram Nath Kovind | PIB

She was an engineering student; he a cadet at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. They met through common friends, grew close, became best friends, and got married 10 years later. Then, in 2019, Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal (Vibhu, to friends and family) was killed in an encounter with Jaish-e-Mohammed ultras in Pulwama. His widow, Nikita Kaul, bade farewell to him with the words: “I owe my life to you”, and a teary “Jai Hind”.

A little more than two years later, Kaul is now a lieutenant with the Ordnance Corps in Bathinda, Punjab.

Born in a Kashmiri family settled in Faridabad, Haryana, Nikita attended school in Karnal. Her father was in BSNL. After completing her BTech and MBA, she worked in an IT company in Noida.

Dhoundiyal was from Dehradun. He cleared the Combined Defence Services Examination and was commissioned into the Army on September 17, 2011.

The two were married only nine months when he was martyred. Her family says Nikita still feels his presence, and that she keeps telling them that Vibhu might not be there physically, but that did not mean their marriage had ended.

They had barely stayed together after the wedding; Vibhu was with the 55 Rashtriya Rifles in Pulwama, which was not a family posting. His unit had frequent encounters with militants. After the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama on February 14, 2019, security forces had been on high alert. A massive operation was launched to nab the perpetrators.

On February 17, acting on intelligence inputs, 55 Rashtriya Rifles, along with the Special Operation Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, launched a search and destroy operation in Pinglan. The village was near Kakapora, the home of the militant who had rammed the bomb-laden car into the CRPF convoy.

Brigadier Harbir Singh led the team in Pinglan; Vibhu was part of it. They spotted the terrorists, who opened fire. The fierce gun battle lasted more than 20 hours. A number of terrorists were killed, and 11 soldiers were injured. They were taken to hospital, but four, including Vibhu, died. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra last year. His family and friends remember him as a wonderful son, a good brother, and a man of his word.

Nikita was on a train from Dehradun to Delhi when she got the call. She waited to reach home to tell her mother. Nikita had last seen him in December 2018; he had come to see her for his birthday and had left after a couple of weeks. While he was away, Nikita used to stay with her parents in Faridabad. Her mother-in-law wanted her to keep working, instead of living with them in Dehradun.

Three months later, Nikita and her mother-in-law, Saroj Dhoundiyal, visited the Military College of Electronics & Mechanical Engineering in Secunderabad. A block there had been renamed for Vibhu. It was there that Nikita first thought of joining the Army. She knew the sacrifices she would have to make, especially in her family life, but she had made up her mind. Her parents were fully supportive.

Nikita with her husband.

After months of preparation, Nikita took her Service Selection Board exam in Allahabad in November 2019. She entered the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, when she was 29; she was worried about competing with younger women. Her family, though, said they had always believed in her. They described her as a cheerful girl who never expressed her pain.

Though the eldest in her course at the OTA, she cleared all her physical tests in the first attempt. In fact, in her battalion at the academy, she was one of the few women cadets to clear the senior term in the first attempt. She became a marksman while there. Her trainers were never lenient on her, and she never felt like the odd one out.

In an emotional statement after getting commissioned, she said, “I have experienced the same journey he has been through. I believe he is always going to be part of my life.” Nikita believes her journey has just started; the OTA days taught her a lot.

Nikita was commissioned into the Ordnance Corps in May 2021. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani had tweeted at the time: “Lt @NikitaKaul, you’re an embodiment of the dedication, determination and devotion of India’s Nari Shakti. Major Vibhuti Dhoundiyal would be smiling today with joy and pride seeing stars on your shoulder. My best wishes to you in all your endeavours.”

Saroj said she had complete confidence in her daughter-in-law’s ability. “I had asked her to join the Army as she has always been a strong woman,” she told THE WEEK. “I even shared my son’s experience of the Army days with her, which helped in her training.”

She is extremely proud of Nikita; the two had gone together to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to accept Vibhu’s Shaurya Chakra.

After he left her, Nikita wrote on social media: “You said you loved me, but the fact is you loved the nation more. I am really proud. We all love you. The way you love everyone is entirely different—you sacrificed your life for people who you may have never met. You are such a brave man. I am very honoured to have you as my husband. I’ll love you till my last breath. I owe my life to you.”

The article is based on conversation with the officer's family and friends.