Padma Bandopadhyay: The Indian Air Force was established on 8 October 1932. This is the reason why every year 8th October is celebrated as Indian Air Force Day. So, on this occasion, we are telling you about a woman associated with the Indian Air Force who has the honor of becoming the country’s first woman Air Vice Marshal. This woman is Dr. Padma Bandopadhyay who saw different dreams than the girls of her era and was determined to fulfill them.

Girls of Padma Bandopadhyay’s era, born before independence, did not study at all and even if they studied, arts was their choice and their option. But Padma, who was brilliant in studies since childhood, chose science instead of arts. So what happened was that Padma, who lives in Gol Market, Delhi, had to go far for this because this option was not available in the school near her house.

Wanted to become a doctor since childhood

She wanted to become a doctor since childhood because she had seen her mother very ill. Apart from this, India’s first female cardiologist Dr. S. Padmavati lived in her neighbourhood. In one of her interviews, she had told that she was very impressed by the personality of Padmavati. In childhood, he was also very happy that his name and that of Dr. Padmavati were similar.

But just dreaming is not enough, when you do something different no one in the world supports you. Same thing happened with Padma also. When she wanted to take admission in college for pre-medical, she was not able to get admission due to her young age. Her father knew what his daughter’s dreams were. He went to many colleges and requested that his daughter be given admission and she would manage. After all, he did his premedical in science from Kirori Mal College, Delhi and then his dreams started coming true.

chose air force option

After completing his pre-medical studies from Kirori Mal, he applied to the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune in 1962. But he took admission in its second batch. The reason for this was that his parents were not in favor of sending him to study in college so far away from home. The next year he convinced his parents. After completing his course at AFMC in 1968, he opted to serve in the Air Force. She was then asked to do an internship at the Air Force Hospital, Bangalore, where she met Flight Lieutenant Satinath Bandopadhyay (an administrative officer), who later became her husband.

you have to be prepared

In one of her interviews, she says that when I joined the Air Force, it was not easy. I faced a lot of obstacles. There is thrill in this service but this service demands a lot of dedication from you. You also have to be prepared for this. He has served in the Indian Air Force for four decades. He has been honored with many awards for his services. Padmashree is also included in this.

Apart from these achievements, Dr. Padma is the first woman officer of the Aerospace Medical Society of India. She is the first Indian woman to conduct scientific research at the North Pole. Another achievement of hers is that she is also the first woman officer to complete the Defense Services Staff College course. Currently she is living a retired life in Greater Noida. But he is ahead in doing social service. She is working on girl education. She is associated with an NGO.