Nearly two years after a special selection board was put together by the Supreme Court to promote 108 women officers to the rank of colonel, a top general has written to the Eastern Army commander, listing a host of "issues" associated with various women commanding officers even as Indian Army continues to maintain the stance that it is a gender-agnostic force.
In the letter, dated October 1, Lieutenant General Rajeev Puri, who completed his tenure as commander of the Panagarh-based 17 Mountain Strike Corps or Brahmastra Corps a few days ago, has written to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari, citing findings of an "in-house review" of eight woman commanding officers (COs) carried out based on their "demonstrated performance". In the letter, he alleged that women officers under his command had an "exaggerated tendency to complain" and a "lack of empathy".
"Since command of unit is singulary the most crucial command in the IA (Indian Amy) and is also the way forward to progression to higher ranks in the organisation, it was imperative that a pragmatic performance analysis be undertaken in respect of the women Commanding Officers," the letter read.
The problems that he listed in the 'issued identified' include "interpersonal relation", an "exaggerated tendency to complain", a "misplaced sense of entitlement", "lack of empathy", and "over or lack of ambition". The complaints by women COs with respect to "disregard" to their authority are "received regularly", the general wrote.
"In this context, an emerging trend of receiving complaints from COs at the drop of a hat has been noticed. In many of these cases, women COs have exhibited an exaggerated tendency to complain to senior commanders about their subordinates rather than...,"read the letter.
Lieutenant General Puri observed that 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."
According to the letter, such issues start with "mundane ego problems" and "spiral out of control in most cases". 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 also pointed to a misplaced sense of entitlement and lack of empathy among other issues that has been "identified".
READ MORE: France offers tech to make India Navy's submarines almost invisible in Indian Ocean Region
He also mentions alleged incidents such as a junior personnel being asked to open the door of a CO's vehicle on her arrival in the unit and about directions being given that an individual be sent to open the gate of another woman CO's house at 6 am when she would go out for a walk.
"One may argue that a few of their male counterparts have also been known in the past to exhibit these tendencies. However, the sheer proportion of women COs involved in these issues points towards a trend rather than an exception."
On the issue of "lack of empathy", the general said in the letter that it 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 also complained about women COs centralising decision-making and that there was 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 trust. The approach, as indicated in some cases is a 'my way or highway' kind of approach."
According to defence ministry sources, the letter was not the opinion of the Army, but feedback shared by the general. Reiterating the gender-agnostic aspect of the force, they said the Army does not differentiate between two officers, male or female.
On February 17, 2020, the apex court ordered a permanent commission for women officers in the Army, rejecting the Centre's stand on their "physiological limitations" as being based on "sex stereotypes" and called it "gender discrimination against women". In February 2023, a special selection board was put together to promote 108 women officers to the rank of select-grade colonel.
