Lieutenant Shanan Dhaka, a former UPSC aspirant from Haryana, has carved her name into India's military history by becoming one of the first women officers commissioned into the Indian Army after the National Defence Academy (NDA) opened its doors to female cadets. Her remarkable journey, marked by determination and an All India Rank (AIR)-1 among women in the NDA entrance exam, serves as a powerful inspiration.
Early Life and Inspiration
Shanan Dhaka grew up in Panchkula, Haryana, immersed in a family tradition of national service. Her father, Vijay Dhaka, served in the Indian Army before transitioning to the Panchkula Police as a Special Police Officer (SPO). These values of discipline, dedication, and patriotism instilled in Shanan a strong sense of purpose from an early age. Before her military aspirations solidified, she pursued her studies at Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College and was actively preparing for the rigorous UPSC examination.
A Historic Opportunity for Women
A pivotal moment arrived in 2021 when the Supreme Court of India mandated that women be allowed to enter the NDA, effectively dismantling a long-standing barrier in India's military history. This landmark decision opened up a new realm of possibilities for thousands of young women across the nation, allowing them to pursue a dream that had previously been unattainable.
Seizing this historic opportunity, Shanan decided to shift her focus from the civil services to the armed forces. She appeared for the NDA entrance examination and achieved an extraordinary feat: securing All India Rank-1 among female candidates and an impressive AIR-10 overall across the country. Her exceptional performance garnered national attention, instantly transforming her into a role model for aspiring women candidates throughout India.
Rigorous Training and Commissioning
In 2022, Shanan Dhaka joined one of the inaugural batches of women cadets at the NDA. The training regime was intensely demanding, requiring not just exceptional physical endurance but also profound mental resilience and unwavering commitment. As a pioneering woman cadet, she bore the added responsibility of demonstrating that women could excel in every facet of military training, matching the standards set for their male counterparts.
Through years of relentless hard work, strict discipline, and unwavering perseverance, she successfully completed her training. Her journey culminated on June 13, 2026, when she was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Indian Army during the Passing Out Parade at the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. This momentous occasion was more than a personal triumph for Shanan; it symbolized the significant progress of Indian women within the armed forces and the successful breaking down of deeply entrenched barriers, paving the way for future generations.