Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar Is The Third Woman To Hold The Three-Star Rank In Indian Army

Major General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar has been promoted to Lieutenant General in the Indian Army. This is the second-highest rank in the Army and she is the third woman officer to attain this position. Vice Admiral Dr. Punita Arora was the first woman from the Indian Navy to get the second-highest rank in the armed forces and Padmavathy Bandopadhyay, the first woman Air Marshal of the IAF, was the second woman in the forces to be promoted to the three-star rank.

Key Highlights

• Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar is India’s third woman to hold the three-star rank
• She is the only Doctor on the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council.
• She shares the title of Lt. General with her Husband, Lt Gen Rajeev Kanitkar who recently retired.

In an interview with Femina, Lieutenant General Madhuri Kanitkar said, “My parents and teachers never considered gender an obstacle to achieve dreams. My parents taught me and my two sisters that nothing is impossible.” She tried to debunk myths about armed forces being male-dominated by saying “The armed forces predominantly have male workers, but not dominated by gender stereotypes. All my roles, be it a soldier, a teacher, a doctor, or for that matter, my appointment today as Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) has nothing to do with gender.”

On the issue of male to female ratio in Defense services, Lieutenant added, “In the Army Medical Corps, women have been around for years. We train and serve together, shoulder to shoulder. So gender is of little concern. What matters most are capability, professionalism, and competence.”

“We train and serve together, shoulder to shoulder. What matters most are capability, professionalism, and competence.”

– Lt. General Madhuri Kanitkar

Image Credit: Femina