Army Chief Tells NDA To Welcome Women Cadets "Professionally And With Fair Play"

NDA Women Cadets: While addressing the passing out parade at the National Defence Academy in Pune the Army General MM Naravane asked the National Defence Academy (NDA) to be welcoming and professional towards the women cadets, who were finally given the green signal, last month, by the Defence Ministry to join the training institute.

The Army chief said that he expects the Institute and its students to welcome the women cadets with a sense of "fair play and professionalism" that the Indian Armed forces are known for.

This comment by the Army chief came after the Minister of Union Defence addressed the inclusion of women cadet topics at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. He said, "I am happy to share with you that from next year, women shall be able to join our premier tri-service pre-commissioning training institute, the National Defence Academy."

This conversation was first initiated by the Supreme Court of India on August 18, when the court declared that women in India will be allowed to sit for the National Defence Academy entrance Test. While declaring this verdict the court said that the policy of restricting the entry of women into the elite institution is based on "gender discrimination".

It is only after this SC judgement that Central Government on September 8 opened the doors of NDA to women cadets but with an exemption for this year's admission. On the court asking the government about the affidavit on future developments with regards to the ruling, on September 30, the government submitted a proposed plan for May 2022.

This judgement was welcomed by women all over the country who were angered by the arguments made in 2020 against offering a permanent commission to women officers in the Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya and others. According to them, women will not be able to fit in military service because "they must deal with pregnancy, motherhood and domestic obligations towards children and families."

During the event, the Army chief also spoke about the importance of all the forces--navy, air and army--working together. He stressed that no single service alone can take on modern warfare and win, thus a bond between all the forces is a must. To the passing out batch, he said that even after passing out, they need to "gain knowledge" through "professional education" to deal with changing tactics and the nature of war.

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