Top general flags ‘problems’ with women officers serving in key command roles, shoots off letter
The unprecedented five-page letter is by corps commander Lieutenant General Rajeev Puri to Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari.
At a time when the armed forces have taken great strides towards correcting gender bias, a top general has shot off a letter to the eastern army commander complaining about a litany of issues ostensibly plaguing army units commanded by women officers in the sensitive eastern sector — from officer management to a purportedly misplaced sense of entitlement, from a lack of empathy to an exaggerated tendency to complain, and from over-ambition to a lack of ambition.
The unprecedented five-page letter on “command by women officers” — written by corps commander Lieutenant General Rajeev Puri to Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari — cites an “in-house review” by the force’s Panagarh-based 17 mountain strike corps. It calls the findings a “pragmatic performance analysis” of eight women commanding officers (COs) under the Brahmastra Corps.
HT has seen a copy of the letter, which a woman officer described as “bitterly disappointing and smacking of blatant sexism”.
The army broke the glass ceiling following a Supreme Court order in 2023 by assigning women officers to command roles outside the medical stream for the first time. Scores of women are now heading units in operational areas, including forward locations, in the operationally critical Northern and Eastern Commands that are responsible for guarding India’s borders with China.
In his letter dated October 1 Lt Gen Puri wrote: “During the last one year, there has been an increase in the number of officer management issues in units commanded by women officers. These are indicative of serious concerns regarding interpersonal relations. Most cases pertain to lack of tact and understanding of the personal requirements of unit personnel, especially officers. The emphasis is more on conflict termination through might, rather than conflict resolution through mutual respect. A prejudice and mistrust was evident in few of the cases in the recent past.”
He added: “It results in high levels of stress in the units...This approach also leads to an overexploitation of troops and unit resources to remain in the show window... An uncontrollable urge to make derogatory statements regarding junior officers to usurp credit rather than attributing it to subordinates and encouraging them is routine. While overambition is detrimental to the organisation, on the other end of the spectrum, few COs have taken ‘low profile, low initiative’ to command.”
The three-star general mentioned the ostensible causes of such behaviour (“overcompensation”) and even suggested remedial measures (focus on “gender neutrality” instead of “gender equality”).
Women officers found the corps commander’s letter disturbing as it has called into question their work ethic, said the woman officer cited above, asking not to be named.
The opening of command roles to women became possible only after the army began granting them permanent commission in 2020 — also after a Supreme Court order.
In February 2023, the army conducted a special selection board to promote 108 women officers to the rank of select-grade colonel — a move aimed at bringing about gender parity, offering them command assignments in select branches, and giving them new hard-earned identities. A total of 244 women lieutenant colonels were considered by the board for the 108 vacancies at the time.
The women officers assessed by the selection board were from the 1992 to 2006 batches and were commissioned in various arms and services including Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
While the authority and entitlement of a CO is the cornerstone of organisational stability, once misplaced, it leads to severe complications, Puri wrote in the letter. He talked about alleged incidents such as an SM (Subedar Major) being asked to open the door of a CO’s vehicle on her arrival in the unit, and about directions being given that someone be sent to open the gate of another woman CO’s house at 6am when she would go out for a walk. “The lack of empathy may be attributable to a need to overcompensate since they perceive that any sign of compassion may be indicative of a gender trait of being soft in their dealings,” the letter said.
Lt Gen Puri acknowledged that complaints by women COs regarding disregard to their authority are received regularly, but called them “mundane” concerns.
“An emerging trend of receiving complaints from COs at the drop of a hat has been noticed... Such mundane cases are seldom reported by male counterparts when commanding units. This is indicative of a predisposition to lean on the hierarchy as soon as an adverse situation develops,” he wrote.
The letter also complained about women COs centralising decision-making and a lack of consultative approach in the day-to-day affairs of their units. “There seems to be an inability or lack of concern for effective communication and establishment of truth. The approach, as indicated in some cases is a ‘my way or highway’ kind of approach,” it said.
Puri’s analysis of the causes of such behaviour was factors such as “not trained to be commanders”, “desire to prove oneself in a predominantly male field”, “perceived gender bias” and “ensuring a mean facade”.
It is important that certain “course corrections” are made to improve the overall quality of command in units, he suggested. “A comprehensive policy on gender neutrality be issued by the Adjutant General’s (AG) branch. Further neutrality in posting and selection profiles be implemented... While attempting proportionate representations in assignments like UN missions/foreign postings, the Military Secretary (MS)/AG’s branch should also monitor proportionate tasking in all assignments within the organisation,” he wrote, adding he has also written to the MS and AG as feedback and for initiating policy correction if felt necessary.
Puri’s letter further said, “Gender equality and gender neutrality are two similar yet diverse aspects of human resource management. While gender equality primarily translates to providing equal opportunity for all genders, gender neutrality lays emphasis on equality in dealing and progression irrespective of gender.”
“We look at senior officers as our mentors who are there to help us navigate challenges. But this letter has raised doubts about the performance and conduct of the entire women officer cadre. Even if some deviations were found, the matter could have been handled in a dignified way,” the woman officer said.
Women are being assigned central roles on a par with their male counterparts – they are flying fighter planes, serving on board warships, being inducted in the personnel below officer (PBOR) cadre, and undergoing training at the National Defence Academy. To be sure, tanks and combat positions in the infantry are still no-go zones for women in the army.