Earlier this year, Lt.General Madhuri Kanitkar, AVSM, VSM made history by becoming the first woman pediatrician to achieve the second-highest post in the Indian Army.
Proudly serving in her olive green for a span of over 37-years in a male dominant field, Lt.Gen Kanitkar has made a mark by becoming India’s third woman to hold the three-star rank.
Lt. General Punita Arora, who was a surgeon vice-admiral in the Indian Navy and The Indian Army was the first lady officer to be decorated with the three stars.
Followed by Air Marshall Padmavathy Bandopadhyay, the first woman Air Marshal of the IAF and the second woman in the forces to get promoted to a three-star rank.
As a matter of fact, Lt. General Madhuri Kanitkar is the first lady officer in the history of the Indian armed forces to share the same high-flying, three-star rank as her husband.
When Lt. General Rajiv retired adorning the red collar and the shinning three stars, Lt. General Madhuri picked up the same rank. In fact, during her pipping ceremony, she wore her husband’s cap. They’re literally the power couple of the Indian Army.
Not a lot of people know this but she is also the first trained pediatric nephrologist of the armed forces. She has single-handedly setup units to monitor kidney ailments in Pune and Delhi.