Vadodara: The city was swept away as its warrior on Wednesday morning, Colonel Sophia QureshiTo address the nation on Operation Sindoor, took the center stage, India’s response to the terrorist attack in Pahgam.“Only women know the importance of ‘vermilion’,” said a pride Haneema, the mother of Colonel Qureshi. “Even my daughter’s son, who turns 18, is preparing to join IAF,” Haneema said.“I am proud of my daughter. My family has always followed the principle of ‘Vayam Rashtrare Jagrayam (we will awaken and alive the nation). We are first Indians, and then Muslims,” Taj Mohammad Qureshi’s father Taj Mohammad Qureshi said.
As a third generation military officer, Colonel Qureshi continues a proud family tradition that began with her grandfather, continued through electronic and mechanical engineers Corps in Vadodara and her father’s service in the 1971 war. “My father’s maternal grandfather also served in the British Army and later participated in the 1857 freedom struggle,”, one of the three brothers of Colonel Qureshi, Mohammad Sanjay Qureshi told TOI. Colonel Qureshi also has a sister.“You can say that patriotism runs in our blood. She wanted to become a professor, but has now donated the uniform of the Indian Army,” said Sanjay Qureshi, who addressed the media in Vadodara, along with her father Taj Mohammad Qureshi, mother Haneema and daughter Zara. Colonel Sophia’s husband, Tajuddin, is an officer in the army’s mechanized infantry.There are many appreciation in the name of the decorated officer. She was the first female officer to command an army party in the 2016 multinational military exercise, “Exercise Force 18”, where she stood as the only female commander among the 18 contingencies participating in the largest foreign military drill organized by India.Colonel Qureshi earned his BSc after completing school education in Chemistry (1995) and MSc in Biochemistry (1997), Kandari Vidyalayala, EME. He left his PhD program one year short to join the Indian Army. His career includes six years with the United Nations Peace Army, working in the struggle areas and supporting human efforts.(With input from Sachin Sharma)
