Operation Sindoor: Who are Colonel Sophia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh?

When the Indian Armed Forces tasked two senior women officers to brief the nation about the attacks on terror targets in Pakistan and the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, it was an unexpected move. Yet it sent out a clear signal. 

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Colonel Sophia Qureshi briefed the nation on the operation, named 'Operation Sindoor,' which symbolised justice for the Indian women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack.

Colonel Sophia Qureshi is an officer in the Indian Army's Corps of Signals. She holds the distinction of being the first woman officer to lead an Indian Army training contingent in a large multinational exercise. In 2016, she commanded the Army's training contingent at 'Exercise Force 18', a multi-national defence exercise which involved ASEAN nations. She was also the sole female commander among 18 contingents participating in the largest foreign military drill hosted by India, reported Times of India.

Colonel Qureshi is a third generation military officer. According to Times of India, her family's tradition began with her grandfather, continued through her father's service in the Electronic and Mechanical Engineers Corps in Vadodara, and the 1971 war. 

Hailing from Gujarat, Colonel Qureshi holds a postgraduate degree in Biochemistry. "You can say that patriotism runs in our blood. She wanted to become a professor, but has now donned the Indian Army uniform," Sanjay Qureshi, one of Colonel Qureshi's three brothers, told TOI. 

Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, who hails from Lucknow, is an accomplished fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force (IAF). She was part of the Indian Air Force's all-women tri-services mountaineering team that summited Mt Manirang, one of the highest peaks in Himachal Pradesh. The team began their ascent on August 1, 2021, and reached the summit 15 days later.

According to a TOI report, Wing Commander Singh was commissioned in the IAF in 2004, as part of the 21st Short Service Commission (Women). She has logged over 2,500 flying hours and specialises in operating the Cheetak and Cheetah helicopters. In 2017, Singh rose to Wing Commander after 13 years.

She played a key role in multiple rescue missions, including one in Arunachal Pradesh in November 2020. These operations were conducted in high altitudes, difficult weather, and remote locations where air support is crucial for saving lives, the Economic Times reported. 

In the Pahalgam attack on April 22, four terrorists killed 26 Indian nationals, mostly tourists.