Her Father Died In J&K 20 Years Ago, She Now Joins Army Wearing His Uniform

New Delhi:

Lieutenant Inayat Vats was commissioned into the Indian Army on Saturday, 20 years after her father, Major Navneet Vats, was killed in action in Jammu and Kashmir.

She was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps after undergoing training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.

At the passing out parade, Ms Vats donned the same olive green uniform that her father — whom she lost when she was just aged three — once wore.

“Welcome, Army Daughter Lieutenant Inayat Vats,” the Indian Army said on X and posted a picture of Ms Vats in the uniform.

Her mother, Shivani Vats, was also seen standing next to her in the picture.

“𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫”#OTAChennai#PassingOutParade

Inayat was barely three years, when she lost her father Major Navneet Vats in a counter insurgency operation.

More than two decades later, she gets commissioned into… pic.twitter.com/AiIBUpfc1J

— Army Training Command, Indian Army (@artrac_ia) March 9, 2024

Major Navneet Vats hailed from Chandigarh and was commissioned into the Fourth Battalion of 3 Gorkha Rifles Regiment.

He was killed in action in a counter-insurgency operation in November 2003 in Srinagar.

He was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” for his bravery and supreme sacrifice.

Inayat Vats is a graduate of Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ram College.

She was pursuing her Master’s degree in Political Science at Delhi University’s Hindu College before she joined the Officers’ Training Academy in Chennai in April 2023.