Vande Mataram, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, India@75

Taking inspiration from the words of the Honourable Prime Minister, FLO Hyderabad Chapter hosted its first Event Vande Mataram, celebrating 75 years of India’s freedom, in the form of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, India@75, to honour the Exceptional heroism of our Armed Forces, on April 30th 2021. It was an inspiring Virtual event that was attended by 150 participants. It was an honour to have the Vice President of India, Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu as the Chief Guest, Mrs Ujjwala Singhania, National President, FICCI FLO as the guest of honour. We also had Guest Speakers from 3 Armed Forces. – Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi from Navy, Captain Shalini Singh from Army and Wing Cdr Asha Vashist from AirForce.

Mrs Uma Chigurupati, Chairperson of FLO Hyderabad chapter opened the Session and enlightened the Audience with her theme for the year as health and wellness, which was mainly due to the current Scenario. Her tagline “Together we can” with Courage, Capability and Compassion encapsulated her vision for the year. She mentioned about creating sustainable livelihood through vocational training and skill development.

Ujjwala Singhania, National President, FICCI FLO expressed that she was glad to be part of such an inspiring event which paid homage to three incredible women. She was also seeking support from the Vice President to further the cause of women empowerment.

Sri M.Venkaiah Naidu said that Women are our growth Leaders of the future. He further reflected on the importance of empowering Women Politically, Economically and Socially and said that he and was happy that FLO was doing its part. The three E’s – Educate, Encourage and Empower should be the mantra for us to let women lead our country to its rightful place.

Chairperson Uma Chigurupati led an engaging and engrossing conversation with the three guest Speakers, throwing light on various facets of their Personalities, who in turn shared their journey, struggles and lessons they learnt in their respective fields.

Wing Commander Asha Vashist said the strength of the body is dictated by the strength of the mind. She became a flying officer in 1998, fulfilling her dream to fly high. She is an Instructor now and recently cycled for 75 kms to commemorate India’s 75th year of Independence. IAF has the most representation from women amongst the three armed forces of the country and she said that all you need is a little bit of courage.

Retired captain Shalini Singh is a woman of the 21st century. Her husband passed way fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir leaving her behind with a two-year-old baby. She says when life doesn’t go as planned you turn around and fight back, so two months after her husband died, she joined the army training, leaving her child with her parents and 20 days short of her Husband’s first death anniversary, she received his award ‘Kirti Chakra’ from President APJ Abdul Kalam in her army uniform, which was the proudest moment for her. She quotes, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi from Indian Navy was the Skipper of the INSV Tarini, which achieved the treacherous feat of circumnavigating the globe with a first all-women crew of six officers. The biggest lessons she had learnt were to be able to adapt to the varied moods of nature and to keep the team together and inculcate the drive to move towards a common goal, leaving behind any interpersonal conflicts.

Listening about the lives of these incredible officers reminded us about the power of women and that they could achieve the impossible if they made up their mind and it instilled the spirit of Patriotism in each one of us. The reason we all feel safe in our homes is only because of the relentless services of these Armed Forces.