Going along with the apprehensions of the armed forces while inducting women officers for combat duties, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said women will be encouraged to join other non-combat arms and operational areas.
“No. Think of what can happen if a woman is taken as a prisoner in combat operation,” he said, implying at possible atrocities they might suffer if held captive by enemy forces. The Minister, however, said except for combat role women will be encouraged to join other operational areas of the forces.
“This inclusion will be increased in phases,” he said during a brief interaction with reporters on the sidelines of a passing out parade at the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakwasla near Pune.
The Armed Forces have all along maintained that time is not ripe for induction of women into combat roles like infantry, artillery, flying fighter jets and serving stints on warships and submarines due to inherent risks involved during war. Moreover, public perception is also not in favour of women in fighting role, various committees of the armed forces and defence ministry have opined.
At present, women officers are inducted into units which do not see direct combat including Engineers Corps, Ordnance and Intelligence besides Judge Advocate General branch. They are also flying helicopters and transport planes in the IAF and Navy.
Meanwhile, replying to a question on shortage of officers in the armed forces, Parrikar said the deficit is being reduced and the gap currently stood at 7,000 as against 11,000 earlier. He said the admission capacity of the NDA, the premier institute which trains future officers of the three wings of the Armed Forces, too will be enhanced from existing 1,950 to 2,400 in next two years.
On his arrival on the campus, Parrikar reviewed a smartly turned out parade of the passing out cadets on the sprawling premises and asked them to cultivate a “sound mind and sound body” to serve the country with an emphasis on moral and ethical values. He also awarded the President’s gold medal to cadet AK Sinha while silver and bronze medals were bagged by cadets Nishant Philip and RS Bisht.