NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday asked the service chiefs to examine the feasibility of inducting women officers in "all walks of Army life" including combat units.

At the routine weekly meeting with the three service chiefs, Mr. Mukherjee asked them to "determine the feasibility of deploying women officers in every walk of armed forces including combat."

"I have also asked the Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee [CoSC] to examine whether women could be allowed to enter the Permanent Commission," he told newspersons after the meeting. Asked whether women would be given combat arms, the Minister said, "Let them first examine the matter in detail. After they give their considered view, it will be possible for the Government to give its consideration to the proposal."

Mr. Mukherjee was of the opinion that the women officers were "doing a good job" and "[they] should be encouraged to come in more numbers." He also felt the services should create conducive facilities and atmosphere for the women so that they find comfort in working in the armed forces. Asked whether in the long run he saw women rubbing shoulders with men in combat units, Mr. Mukherjee said, "in the long run, I am hopeful of that."

The controversy arose after a recently commissioned woman officer posted in the headquarters of the Northern Command in Udhampur in Jammu & Kashmir committed suicide with a service rifle. This was a few days after another woman officer hung herself in Bangalore. Matters were exacerbated after the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General S. Pattabhiraman reportedly said the Army could do without women in units because soldiers would feel uncomfortable by their presence. Gen. Raj Sujlana of the Army Headquarters later clarified that the Vice-Chief's comments had been misconstrued. What he meant was combat units such as the infantry and armoured corps that take part in actual fighting with the enemy.

About 1,000 women are currently serving in the Army in "support arms" of the combat units, he explained.

The controversy refused to die down even after Lt. Gen. Pattabhiraman expressed regrets if the observation "ascribed to me by a journalist in relation to intake of Lady Officers in the Army has caused consternation and generated adverse publicity."

It was then pointed out that women officers in the Short Service Commission were paid less than their male counterparts in the Permanent Commission. This was followed by demands by unnamed women officers to be absorbed in the Permanent Commission in which service and post-retirement benefits are more attractive.

The Minister's directive to the service chiefs to conduct a study into the possibility of recruiting women in the Permanent Commission is seen by Army officers here as an attempt to end this debate.

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