Indore:
She lost her father before completing her education, later she met her soul-mate, got married and he became a martyr only after 40 days of their wedding.
Picking up the responsibility of her soul-mate, she chose to join the Indian Army and will begin her training from January 7. Meet Karuna Singh Chauhan, who found her new path and guidance after losing her marital dreams, in Indore.
Karuna and Lt Commander Dharmendra Singh Chauhan met on a matrimonial site where their profile matched in June 2018. Dharmendra was married to Karuna Singh, a professor in a college in Agra March 10, 2019.
Lt Commander Dharmendra Singh Chauhan (30) died while fighting flames on INS Vikramaditya was laid to rest on Sunday at his native place in Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh in April 2019.
After the devastating loss of her better half, Karuna decided to fight on. “It took time, but by December 2019, I made a choice to take his mission ahead and serve my country,” Karuna said.
She approached Colonel Nikhil Diwanji in Indore, who trained her to clear SSB. “Alongside, my preparation for SSB, I decided to take care of all responsibilities of my late husband including taking care of my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law’s wedding,” Karuna said.
Some officers of the Indian Navy suggested that she join the navy, but she wanted to join the army. But, clearing SSB was not easy. “I got my first SSB call in September 2020, where I was removed in the first screening round,” Karuna said.
Motivated by the challenge of the test, she focused on her training and gave another attempt in October 2020. She was selected this time and will be training for a year in Chennai.
Before losing her husband, Karuna also underwent another challenge in life as her father late Dr AK Singh passed away in 2014. “My brother was in class 10th back then and I was still in college, so life had a tough turn for us, but still, I found inner strength,” she said.
Karuna was sharing her story in a live event organised by Diwanji to motivate people to join armed forces and serve the country. Sharing a piece of advice, Karuna said, “Every day, take a step towards success and you can make a difference.”
