Army146;s first woman officer comes to its defence

The first woman officer of the Indian Army is rather upset these days. Major Priya Jhingan, cadet No 001 at the Officers Training Academy who retired after 10 years of service in 2002, can8217;t digest the 8216;8216;negative publicity8217;8217; coming the army8217;s way in the last few days.

The first woman officer of the Indian Army is rather upset these days. Major Priya Jhingan, cadet No 001 at the Officers Training Academy who retired after 10 years of service in 2002, can8217;t digest the 8216;8216;negative publicity8217;8217; coming the army8217;s way in the last few days.

8216;8216;Lt Sushmita Chakravarty8217;s suicide was rather unfortunate but it is the first time that a woman officer has taken such a step in the 14 years since the induction of women into the army. And why drag the Vice-Chief into a controversy when the army has already clarified that he was quoted out of context,8217;8217; she says.

Looking back at her years in the army, Jhingan, a retired officer of the Judge Advocate General8217;s JAG Department, the army8217;s judicial wing, who now edits a weekly in Gangtok, pooh-poohs all talk about low comfort-levels with women in the army. 8216;8216;It may be true of the combat units which have never had women officers but I never felt any discomfort in the JAG department.8217;8217; She claims it was equally true of her 25 batchmates. 8216;8216;I was in touch with them for the first five years and none of them had any complaints on this account.8217;8217;

Gender, she asserts, was never an issue. 8216;8216;Right from day one, our instructor told everyone to call us 8216;Sir8217;, not 8216;Maam8217;. Later too, we were addressed as officers, not as ladies or gentlemen.8217;8217;

Jhingan, a lawyer, had a first-hand experience of the army jurisprudence when a drunk jawan tried to barge into her room. 8216;8216;He was court-martialled and sent packing within days. Justice in the army is very quick.8217;8217;

The former officer blames the growing frustration in the young army officers on the disconnect between civilian expectations and OG reality. The girl, who shot off a letter to the then army chief asking him to open the doors of the forces for women when she was in Class X, says she never spared any thought to her monthly pay-cheque. 8216;8216;I used to deposit it in the bank and then spend to my heart8217;s content.8217;8217;

She also never felt under-utilised, a nagging lament among the YOs. 8216;8216;There are times when I used to be deluged with GCMs General Court Martials but there were slack days and weeks as well. It8217;s part of the game.8217;8217;

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The woman, who continues to be in love with her uniform 8212; it finds a pride of place in her cupboard 8212; still misses the smart salute, the smell of Brasso, the daily drill.

8216;8216;I try not to think about it,8217;8217; she shrugs. She also tries to live the fauji way 8212; fit as a fiddle with a 9-km walk every day. And then there is her eight-year-old son Aryaman, who8217;s already made up his mind to join the Mechanised Infantry. Like his dad.

Vice-Chief apologises

New Delhi: Vice-Chief Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman today tendered an apology saying he had 8216;8216;personal commitment to and healthy respect for the role of women officers in the army8217;8217;. His remarks in a leading newspaper last week that the army could do well without its women officers and that 8216;8216;comfort levels with women officers was low8217;8217; had sparked countrywide protests from women8217;s groups, including the National Commission for Women, and the main Opposition BJP which had demanded his suspension.