Nitika Kaul is the widow of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal who martyred in the Pulwama attack in 2019. After almost two years of her husband’s death, she joined the Indian Army as a Lieutenant on 29 May 2021.
Wiki/Biography
Nitika Kaul Dhoundiyal was born on Wednesday, 3 April 1991 (age 30 years; as of 2021) in Kashmir, Jammu & Kashmir. Her zodiac sign is Aries. She did her schooling at Dyal Singh Public School, Haryana and scored 83.4% in non-medical stream. She pursued Bachelor in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Manav Rachna College of Engineering, Haryana, from 2009 to 2013 and scored 73.64%. She did MBA in Marketing and Operations Management with 69.04% from 2015 to 2017 at University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 4″
Eye Colour: Black
Hair Colour: Black
Family & Caste
She was born in a Kashmiri Pandit family who migrated from Kashmir to Delhi.
Husband
She met Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal through Facebook. Soon, they became friends and fell in love with each other. On 19 April 2018, the couple got married in Uttarakhand.
Nitika Kaul’s marriage photo
After almost nine months of their marriage, Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was martyed in the Pulwama attack (2019).
Nitika Kaul with her husband
Career
In May 2016, Nitika started working as a marketing communications intern at ‘The Ideaz Factory’ in Chandigarh. In October 2017, she joined Tata Consultancy Services as IT Pre Sales Representative. In the same organization, she was promoted to compliance analyst, then management trainee, and later to a business analyst. Within the six months of her husband’s death, she applied for the 25th Short Service Commission Course (Technical). She prepared for the exam and cleared the Short Service Commission (SSC) exam followed by the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview. Later, she was commissioned at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai for her training. On 29 May 2021, she became a lieutenant in the Indian Army after the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Y K Joshi, pipped her by putting the rank badges on her shoulders at the passing out parade at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai.
Lt Gen Y K Joshi putting the rank badges on Nitika Kaul’s shoulder
In an interview, she shared her training experience. She said,
I feel that I am travelling the same journey that he did. I believe he is always going to be part of my life. Even today, he’s somewhere around me looking at me and I can feel that he is just holding me and saying you just did it. I love you, Vibhu. I want to thank everyone who had faith in me. My mother-in-law and my mother have been part of my journey. I would just like to say that the way you have kept faith in me has made my journey easier.”
Facts/Trivia
- On her husband’s demise, she said,
You said you loved me, but the fact is you loved the nation more. I am really proud. We all love you. The way you love everyone is entirely different because you sacrificed your life for the people who you may have never met, but still you decided to give your life for them. You are such a brave man. I am very honored to have you as my husband. I’ll love you till my last breath. I owe my life to you.”
- In an interview, when she was asked how her life was without her husband? She said,
It was not easy to get back to normal life after her husband’s death and “drowned myself in work, hoping the pain will ease…I went back to work around 15 days after my husband’s death because I wanted to keep myself busy. It is natural to have a breakdown but we needed to accept the situation. I had to find positivity in my daily routine and stand up on my feet once again.”
- During her Services Selection Board (SSB) interview, she was asked how long she was married? She replied,
Two years, Vibhu is not here physically but that doesn’t mean our marriage has ended.”
- In an interview, she was asked what was the motivation behind applying for the SSB interview and the Indian Army? She said,
Major Vibhuti was is and will always going to be my motivation. Also, my family has been constant support especially my Mother in Law and my Parents. When I was in doubt if I could do it or not my family always supported and motivated me. They always had taught me as a human we all can fail but what matters is acceptance, working on weak points and will to try it again.”