Ghouse Sab believes that his children and his family have been doing well because he has never discriminated against people based on religion and caste.
Published May 09, 2025 | 9:04 AM ⚊ Updated May 09, 2025 | 11:12 AM
Colonel Sofia Qureshi.
Synopsis: Belagavi native Ghouse Sab Bagewadi speaks about his daughter-in-law, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who has been briefing the nation on Operation Sindoor. He takes pride in both his son and daughter-in-law for serving the nation during these challenging times.
For Belagavi native Ghouse Sab Bagewadi (74), the past few days have been marked by pride, celebration, and joy, as his daughter-in-law, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, has been briefing the nation on Operation Sindoor.
The Indian Defence Forces launched the operation on Wednesday, 7 May, in response to the terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir that killed 26 people.
Soon after people came to know that Colonel Qureshi was the daughter-in-law of Karnataka, media persons rushed to interview Ghouse Sab and congratulate him.
They were all praising Bharat’s daughter, who has been briefing the media on Operation Sindoor alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vivek Misri.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Colonel Tajuddin Bagewadi. (Supplied)
Colonel Qureshi is married to Ghouse Sab’s son, Colonel Tajuddin Bagewadi, a native of Konnur village in the Gokak taluk.
“Sofiya beti has made us all proud. Since Wednesday, people in my locality have been recognising me as Sofiya’s father-in-law and congratulating me. My friends and distant relatives have been calling me over the phone to give their best wishes. I was not aware that she would appear on television or a news channel to talk to the media. But all of a sudden, my neighbours started asking if she is my daughter-in-law. And only after that did our family switch on the TV to watch her speak,” Ghouse Sab told South First.
“Both husband and wife keep visiting Konnur village during festivals or whenever they have leave. Whenever Sofiya comes to Belagavi, she is curious to know how jolad rotis are made because they get to eat only parotas when on duty. They eat roti with naati chicken that we cook at home. Despite being in such a high rank in the Indian Army, she never hesitates to mingle with our family,” he added.
Asked if he was able to communicate with Colonel Qureshi, he said, “It is not possible to speak to her because she is busy in meetings. I, too, don’t want to disturb her when the country is in such crucial times.”
Colonel Bagewadi and Colonel Qureshi had a love marriage in 2015 and are currently serving the country in different locations. Colonel Bagewadi is currently serving in Jhansi, and Colonel Qureshi is posted in Jammu.
Ghouse Sab believes that his children and his family have been doing well because he has never discriminated against people based on religion and caste. Having received little education himself, he decided to educate his son well.
He said, “Tajuddin studied in a normal Kannada medium school and pursued higher education at JSS Arts, Science and Commerce College. Later, he studied at the Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. I never thought that he would serve in such a high rank in the Indian Army. I firmly believe it is all the result of prayers to God, being good, and remaining humble all the time.”
He also conveyed a message, saying, “All Hindus and Muslims must live together in harmony and peace. We should not give Pakistan a chance to divide us on the basis of religion and destroy our country. I, being a Muslim, have been to the Ayappa Swamy temple thrice. I am invited to festivals (jatre) that happen in our village. For the Urs festival we celebrated recently, a Lingayat Swamiji gave us donations to provide food to people.”
Born in 1974, Colonel Qureshi is a native of Vadodara in Gujarat and completed a master’s in Biochemistry from Maharaja Sayajirao University in 1997. Her grandfather was a religious teacher in the army.
She is a 1999-commissioned officer who has been serving in the Indian Army for almost three decades now. She has held some high-profile postings, including being the first woman officer to lead an Indian contingent and the only woman commander among 18 participating nations at the ASEAN Plus Multinational Military Exercise Force 18 in 2016.
She also played a vital role during Operation Parakram along the Punjab border that followed the Indian Parliament attack in December 2001. Not just on the battlefield, Colonel Qureshi has also been part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations; she served in Congo for a six-year tenure, from 2006.
Colonel Qureshi, who has already inspired crores of youngsters in India, was also praised by the Supreme Court. In 2020, the apex court acknowledged the achievements of Colonel Qureshi while ruling in favour of granting Permanent Commission to women officers in the Indian Army.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
