Karabi Gogoi: Navy's 1st & Military's 3rd Woman To Be Defence Attaché

Women have been formidable figures in the armed forces, playing integral roles in defending our nation. Among these courageous women is trailblazer Lieutenant Commander Karabi Gogoi, who became the first woman in the Indian Navy to be appointed as a defence attaché in 2019. She is posted on a mission at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Gogoi achieved this remarkable feat when she was a naval engineer at the Karwar Base in Karnataka. She meticulously took up Russian classes to perfect the language before her departure to Moscow in December of that year.

Karabi Gogoi is the first woman from the navy and the third from the military to become a defence attache. Her remarkable achievement is a testament to relentlessly chasing her dreams and also pushes young girls to have big aspirations. 

Karabi Gogoi: Testament To Chasing Dreams

Born and brought up in Guwahati, Gogoi joined the Indian Navy in the year 2010. It was her childhood dream to pursue a career where she could serve or represent the nation. Gogoi's former classmate Kasturi Saikia told The Print, "I still remember how she aspired to become an IPS officer when we were barely 14."

Gogoi’s husband, Lt-Commander Pranjal Handique is also in the Indian Navy and posted as a gunnery officer. Her mother Indira Borgohain Gogoi recalled how Karabi was hooked on the 1990s series Aarohan, based on naval officers. “She often remarked how it would make her so happy to be able to wear a uniform like the actors did.”

In 2006, Karabi enrolled on the Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Odisha to pursue a Bachelor's in Engineering. Right before her final year exams in 2010, she took the Service Selection Board (SSB) test in Bengaluru and was commissioned into the Navy the same year. Gogoi has a specialization in constructing and maintaining warships. 

What Is The Role Of Defence Attache

In 2019, Karabi Gogoi was posted as a defence attache from the Navy at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Defence Attaches are military personnel or officers who deal with the Indian military missions overseas. They are posted in foreign countries as the representatives of their native country.

Their main task is to maintain overseas contact with the military authorities of both countries. They also keep track of the new military technologies available in the host countries. India has more than 100 defence attaches from all three military services, posted in the UK, US, Russia and many other countries.

Breaking the ceiling of the male-dominated profession

Karabi Gogoi is the first woman to be posted as the defence attache in the Indian Navy. The post was once a male-dominated space, but Gogoi's determination defied all odds and shattered barriers. When Nirmala Sitharaman held the post of Defence Minister in India, she introduced the proposal to allow global exposure to women in the military.

Eventually, the tradition was transcended when Indian Air Force officer, Wing Commander Anjali Singh, became the first-ever woman defence attache abroad in 2019. She is also posted in Moscow as a deputy defence attache. She is an aeronautical engineer with a specialization in the handling of fighter jets.