Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Women in the army

It is unfair on the part of the media to be exclusively moved by the Sushmita Chakraborty episode. Many men officers have taken their lives in the past because of stress, which is no less debilitating for them. The media should regard suicide as a psychological malaise that can strike any army personnel.

Aravind Sridhar,
New Delhi

The demand for action against the Vice-Chief of the Army by some groups is untenable. He expressed his view in the context of suicide by a woman officer. This has been blown out of proportion.

S.S. Venkata Subramanian,
Chennai

The army is known for its professionalism, tough life, and discipline. The think-tank of the armed forces knows when and where to deploy women.

J.V. Reddy,
Nellore, A.P.

There was a time when the army faced a shortage of recruits in the lower and middle ranks. It introduced the Regimental Commissioned officers and Women Special Entry Schemes. The recruitment of women officers brought down the pressure levels in services such as Judge Advocate General's Branch, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Education Corps. It is time we shed our gender bias and gave women their right of place. Suicide of one officer is an aberration, and must be treated as such.

Lt. Col. R.V.S. Mani (retd.),
Madurai, T.N.

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