You might be surprised to know that Odisha-born Army officer, Colonel Stalin Mohanty headed the Ceremonial Army Guard at the Rashtrapati Bhavan after Draupadi Murmu on Monday took oath as the 15th President of India.
Besides, when President Draupadi Murmu received her first Guard of Honour after taking the oath, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, Mohanty was also present there in the vehicle with Murmu.
Hailing from Kantapada of Cuttack, Stalin was born in Mayurbhanj district and was a student of Udala-based Sri Aurobindo School. He later continued his schooling from Bhubaneswar-based Sainik School from 1993 to 2000. He joined National Defence Academy (2000-2003) and passed out from Indian Military Academy in 2004.
His family members’ happiness knew no bounds when they saw Stalin with President Mumu during Ceremonial Army Guard. OTV gets candid with his family members to know more about Stalin.
His father said, “Firstly, I am proud of Draupadi Mumru for being the first tribal President. And when it comes to my son Stalin, I must say he comes after the President. He is the Commanding Officer of Rashtrapati Bhawan Ceremonial Guard. I was assured that he would perform his duty flawlessly and he did that. I believe one day India would be proud of him.”
His proud mother said, “President Draupadi Murmu is an Odia and my son is also an Odia. Besides, one more thing connects both of them and that is Mayurbhanj. Mayurbhanj is the hometown of the President while Stalin had his formal schooling there. We stayed around 40 years in Mayurbhanj. When I saw him along with Murmu during Ceremonial Guard, it was a proud moment for me.”
Asked how Stalin got inspired to join the army, his father said, “My two nephews were students of Sainik School. I used to take them home after vacation. Since those days, I had a desire that I would teach my son at Sainik School. When I was posted at Udala, he studied there up to Class VI. Later he appeared for entrance to get admission in Sainik School. To my utter surprise, he had secured the third position in the entrance in the state. He later got selected for NDA although he qualified other entrances. I wanted him to join NDA. But without revealing my desire I asked him about his next plan and he has also expressed his desire to join NDA. I was really very happy on that day.”