Some dreams are born from ambition. Others are shaped quietly over the years by the people we admire, the values we grow up with, and the examples we witness within our own homes. For Lieutenant Devika P, the dream of wearing the uniform was inspired by a legacy of service that began long before she entered the Armed Forces Medical College. At just 22 years of age, she has emerged as a commissioned officer of the Indian Army after successfully completing her MBBS from the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.
Her journey is not merely about becoming a doctor or earning the rank of Lieutenant. It is the story of a daughter choosing to carry forward her father’s decades-long service to the nation while creating an identity and legacy of her own.
Devika hails from Thiruvegappura, a small village in Palakkad district of Kerala. She is the daughter of Honorary Captain Muraleedharan P (Retd.), who served in the Corps of Signals of the Indian Army for 30 years, and Mrs. Prema T, a school teacher.
Growing up in a family where education, discipline and service were deeply valued played an important role in shaping Devika’s outlook towards life. Her elder sibling is also an MBBS graduate, making academic excellence and dedication to meaningful professions an important part of the family environment.
The family’s association with military service is believed to stretch even further into the past. Devika’s paternal ancestors were associated with the military forces of the Zamorin Kingdom of Calicut, adding another chapter to a long tradition of service, courage and duty.
For Devika, however, one childhood experience would become particularly significant.
During a summer vacation, she travelled to Punjab to visit the military unit where her father was serving. For a young girl, it was an opportunity to see a world she had previously known largely through her father’s stories and experiences.
Inside the military environment, she witnessed the discipline of soldiers, the camaraderie among troops, the pride associated with the uniform and the unmistakable sense of purpose that accompanies service in the Armed Forces.
Watching her father in uniform left a lasting impression.
What may have appeared to be an ordinary childhood visit gradually became one of the defining inspirations of her life. It helped plant the dream that she too could one day serve the country while pursuing another aspiration close to her heart—medicine.
Devika therefore grew up with an unusual but powerful ambition. She wanted to become both a doctor and an Army officer.
For most students, choosing a profession involves selecting one path. For Devika, the Armed Forces Medical College provided the opportunity to bring both of her dreams together.
AFMC Pune naturally became her first preference.
She joined the institution in 2022 as part of the H3 batch and began a demanding journey that required far more than academic excellence alone.
Medical education itself demands years of sustained study, discipline and resilience. At AFMC, those expectations exist alongside the values and traditions associated with military service. Cadets are trained not only as doctors but also as future officers who may eventually be required to provide medical care under challenging operational circumstances.
Devika embraced that demanding environment while ensuring that her personality extended beyond textbooks and classrooms.
During her years at AFMC, she participated actively in sports and cultural activities, particularly basketball and dance. She won prizes in competitions organised both within the institution and outside it.
Her passion and achievements in dance were eventually recognised with the Dean’s Appreciation for Dance during her final term.
These experiences reflected an important aspect of her journey—success did not come from academics alone. It came from learning to balance responsibility, discipline, physical activity, creativity and teamwork.
As her medical education approached completion, Devika faced another important decision.
She reportedly had the opportunity to choose between serving in the Army or the Navy.
For someone whose childhood inspiration had been closely connected with watching her father serve in the Indian Army, the choice carried deep emotional significance.
Devika chose the Army.
With that decision, she would enter the Army Medical Corps and continue a family association with the Indian Army that had already shaped much of her life.
Her father had dedicated three decades to the organisation. Now his daughter would wear the uniform herself.
It was not simply an attempt to replicate her father’s journey. Devika had travelled an entirely different professional path, combining medicine with military service. Yet the fundamental values connecting both generations remained the same—discipline, commitment, responsibility and service before self.
The symbolic culmination of that journey came on 10 July 2026.
On that day, Devika was commissioned into the Indian Army as a Lieutenant during the commissioning ceremony of the H3 batch, also referred to as the 60th batch of the Armed Forces Medical College.
The ceremony was held at the Capt Devashish Sharma, Kirti Chakra Parade Ground.
For her family, the moment represented much more than the completion of an academic course.
A retired soldier who had spent 30 years serving the nation could now watch his daughter begin her own journey in the same Army.
The uniform had passed from one generation to another.
Lieutenant Devika P had become a second-generation Army officer.
Behind such moments of achievement are inevitably years of preparation, uncertainty, examinations, demanding training schedules and personal sacrifices.
Devika credits her family, friends, professors, seniors and juniors for supporting her throughout her years at AFMC. Their guidance, encouragement and companionship helped her navigate the challenges of medical education and made her years at the institution memorable.
Her academic journey itself reflects the steady progression that eventually brought her to AFMC.
She began her education at MES Central School, Valanchery, later studied at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Malappuram, and subsequently completed her higher secondary education at Vijayagiri Public School, Thrissur.
Each stage took her closer to the ambition she had carried since childhood.
Now, after completing her MBBS, Lieutenant Devika will undertake a one-year internship. The period will further develop her clinical skills and provide vital practical experience as she prepares for greater responsibilities within the Armed Forces medical system.
Her journey is therefore only beginning.
In the years ahead, the young medical officer may find herself serving soldiers and their families in military hospitals, field formations or challenging locations where medical officers often become an essential link between operational effectiveness and the health of troops.
For young aspirants watching her journey, Lieutenant Devika’s story carries an important message.
Dreams do not always have to follow conventional boundaries.
A student can pursue medicine while aspiring to military service. A daughter can honour the achievements of her father while building an independent professional identity. Someone from a small village can compete for admission to one of India’s most respected medical institutions and eventually stand on a military parade ground as a commissioned officer.
Her story also illustrates the powerful influence that parents can have simply through the example they set.
Honorary Captain Muraleedharan P may have completed his own military service after three decades in the Corps of Signals, but the values associated with that service continued beyond his retirement.
They inspired the next generation.
Years after a little girl visited her father’s military unit in Punjab and watched soldiers going about their duties, she returned to the military world not as a visitor, but as an officer herself.
That transformation perhaps captures the essence of Lieutenant Devika P’s journey.
The daughter who once looked at her father wearing the Army uniform with admiration now wears the uniform herself.
Her father’s chapter of military service may have concluded, but through Lieutenant Devika P, the family’s journey of service to the nation continues.
And this time, the legacy marches forward with a stethoscope around its shoulders and the stars of an Indian Army officer proudly displayed on the uniform.
