Col Santosh Mahadik told his wife not to wear any cloth if he accomplishes martyrdom in the line of duty but to embellish herself with olive green uniform he wore till his last.
She not only did that, but as a tribute to her hero husband, she set out to join army herself.
Last November marked 3 years of Swati Mahadik being commissioned in the armed forces. On the day of her recruitment, she stood proudly in her olive green uniform and said, ‘this is my husband’s dream. I had other dreams- like being with my children- but I took up his dream.’
On November 17, 2015, Col Santosh Mahadik, commanding officer of the 41 Rashtriya Rifles, supervised an operation in search for three terrorists. When the terrorists opened fire on the search party in Kupwara, he was hit and later surrendered to his injuries.
On the day of her husband’s memorial service, She decided to be a part of Army herself for which her husband had sacrificed his life. She worked hard and with ultimate dedication, she passed SSB (service selection board) exam. She was later sent to officer’s training academy in Chennai where after rigorous training of 11 months, she joined the service.
When asked about the concessions she got in the process due to the fact that her husband was primarily part of the service, she told that the only concession Army gives for widows of martyrs is age concession and that’s all she got. “After that, all candidates are on par, whether in the written exam or the interview or the fitness tests,” she had claimed.
She received tremendous support from her in laws as someone has to be there to take care of her children and in that regard, her in-laws became a blessing. According to Col. Mahadik’s brother Jaivant Ghorpade, as she was shifted to Pune and began her training for SSB exams, the family took care of her children and showed their unconditional support. . Her daughter Kartiki is in Std. VI and she has been sent to a boarding school at Dehradun and son Swarajya is studying in a boarding school at Panchgani.
In an interview when she was asked about her reasons and motives behind joining the forces after the martyrdom of her husband, she said, “I wanted to be close to him by joining the Army. Uniform was his first love and that is why I have decided to join the army, so that I can wear the uniform. I want to give a way of life to my children which he would have given to them.”
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