First among equals

She likes to compare herself with a goldfish. In a bowl. Surrounded by the world,which closely monitors each step she takes....

She likes to compare herself with a goldfish. In a bowl. Surrounded by the world,which closely monitors each step she takes. Perhaps,being the first woman in a male bastion,that is the best way to describe the 33-year-old career of Letika Saran 57,the first woman to become the chief of Tamil Nadu police.

Being the first has been a part of Letikas career: one of the first two women IPS officers in state cadre,the first woman police commissioner of a metropolitan police force in India,the first woman officer in the state to get the rank of director general,and now,the first woman to head TN Police.

She,however,is not keen to stress these records. Firstly,I am an officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, she said,taking charge as the DGP of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Being the first,while bringing all the attention on her,has also put immense pressure on her to perform.

I had to do better than my best and set a mark because otherwise society will say a woman cannot do the job. When I started off as ASP and SP,every move I made was watched. Even the woman collectors faced the same problems back in those days. It is an inevitable fate for every first women,one that awaits the first woman commissioner of Mumbai or Kolkata, said Letika,whose husband is a businessman.

Letika was born in Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala. Her father N S Das was the first Indian manager of the tea estate there which was later to become Tata Tea. Letika,who studied in the Presentation Convent School in Kodaikanal,developed a passion for reading in her school years,particularly thrillers. I thoroughly enjoyed detective stories and was a fan of Agatha Christie. Later on,as a police officer investigating crimes,detecting the whodunnit factor was what I loved, said the former head of Crime Branch CID.

Letika went on to study at the Womens Christian College in Chennai after which she opted for the civil service. When she joined the police force in 1976,it had been barely three years since the TN police had begun inducting women into the force.

The real challenge for me was the intense public scrutiny. I always tell them that we women officers go through the same training as our male counterparts. Unfortunately,we live in a world where there are still questions raised whether she can do the job she being the operative word. Even a section within the department questions the suitability of a woman officer when it comes to handing law and order,may be not as much when she is in other wings like anti corruption.

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Letika,who has a school-going daughter,was quick to point out that the situation was definitely better and that there were many lady officers in the SP rank and above.