Woman officer leads all-male CRPF contingent at Republic Day parade

New Delhi: CRPF Assistant Commandant Simran Bala created history by commanding an all-male contingent of the paramilitary force at the Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path here on Monday.

The 26-year-old officer who hails from Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district led the squad of 147 personnel from the country's largest paramilitary force.

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The contingent marched on the tune of CRPF song 'desh ke hum hai rakshak' played by the force band on the Kartavya Path.

While there have been instances when women Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers commanded various Republic Day contingents, this is the first time that a lady officer commanded a full party of male personnel during the annual national event.

Bala, who joined the force less than a year back, hails from Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir and is the first woman from the district to join the country's largest paramilitary force in the officer rank.

Her village Nowshera is just 11 km from the India-Pakistan Line of Control (LoC) and the area has witnessed many instances of cross-border shelling in the past.

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"I feel truly honoured to lead the contingent at the Republic Day. I am thankful to the CRPF for giving me this opportunity," she told PTI a few days back during her parade rehearsals.

Youngest among three siblings, Bala's grandfather and father have also served in the Army.

Bala is a graduate in political science from the Government College for Women in Jammu's Gandhinagar. She was commissioned into the force in April 2025 and is serving in her first posting with the 'Bastariya' battalion in Chattisgarh, tasked to undertake anti-Naxal operations.

The about 3.25 lakh personnel-strong CRPF is the country's top internal security force, with its three main theatres of combat being anti-Naxal operations, counter-terrorist offensives in Jammu and Kashmir, and counter-insurgency duties in the northeast.