Field Marshall Auchinleck inspects Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) 1946-1947

Private_Begum_Pasha_Shah_of_the_WAC_(1)_on_duty_in_the_Orderly_Room_of_an_RAF_station_in_India,_August_1943

All wings of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

have women in combat roles. Women are allowed in combat services and supervisory roles (as officers).

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

had 13.09% and 8.50%,

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

6% and 3% women, and

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

3.80% and 3% in December 2018 and December 2014 respectively. As of 2020, three officers have been granted the rank of lieutenant general or equivalent, all of whom are from the Medical Services. In May 2021, 83 Women were inducted as Jawans for the first time in the

, the Jawans were taken in the Corps of Military Police.

History

In 1888, the role of women in the Indian army began when the "Indian Military Nursing Service" was formed during the

British Rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. During 1914–45, British Indian Army nurses fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18) and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939-45), where 350 British Indian Army nurses either died or were taken prisoner of war or declared missing in action. This includes nurses who died when SS ''Kuala'' was sunk by the Japanese bombers in February 1942.Indian Army must stop its discrimination against military nurses

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

, 13 December 2017.

Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) The Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) (WAC(I)) was created in March 1942, out of the Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma). By the end of the Second World War, it had recruited 11,500 women. Personnel Moina Imam, chief petty officer from Bihar, was amon ...

was formed in May 1942.

Noor Inayat Khan Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC (1 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), also known as Nora Inayat-Khan and Nora Baker, was a British resistance agent in France in World War II who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The purpose of S ...

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

(2 January 1914 – 13 September 1944), of Indian and American descent, was a British heroine of World War II renowned for her service in the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

.Noor Inayat Khan: remembering Britain's Muslim war heroine
" 23 October 2012.

Kalyani Sen use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

, a second officer and first Indian service woman who visited the UK, served in the

Women's Royal Indian Naval Service The Women’s Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS) was the naval section of the Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) (WAC(I)). It was established during the Second World War as a branch of the Royal Indian Navy. Origin The induction of women in the Ro ...

of the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

during World War II.10 Daredevil Heroes of the Indian Navy You Should Know About
4 Dec 2016. There was a woman's regiment under

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

Subhash Chandra Bose 's

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

called the Rani of Jhansi Regiment was one of that kind during World War II. In 2021, the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

entrance exam was opened up to female cadets.

Indian Army

Summary table of commission by corps

Under the Army Act of 1950, women were ineligible for regular commissions except in "such corps, departments or branches which the central government may specify by way of notifications." On 1 November 1958, the Army Medical Corps became the first unit of the Indian Army to grant regular commissions to women. Since 1992, women were first inducted in to various branches of Indian Army only in short service commission. In 2008, women were first inducted as permanent commissioned officers in Legal and Education corps, in 2020 they were first inducted in 8 more corps as permanent commissioned officers.WOmen officers in combat and command role
Hindustan Times, Feb 2020. As of 2020, women are not yet allowed as combatant in the Parachute Regiment of Indian Army or other specialist forces, but they can join

paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

wings of their respective arms like para EME, para

signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

, para

ASC ASC may refer to: Educational institutions * Anglican Schools Commission, Australia * Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines * Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Organizations Australia * Australian Singing ...

, etc. Here is the status of women's induction in various branches of army in any role as well as in coveted permanent commissioned officers role.

Notable women

As of 2020, women are not allowed to serve in combat units such as

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Mechanised infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...

Armoured corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, and

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. On 27 August 1976,

Gertrude Alice Ram Gertrude Alice Ram was the first female Major general (India), major general of the Indian Army. Ram was appointed as director of the Military Nursing Services on 27 August 1976. She retired on 31 December 1979. Ram is a recipient of the Flor ...

, the military nursing service Matron-in-Chief, became the first woman officer in the Indian Army to attain the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, and the first female officer in the Indian Armed Forces to attain

two-star rank An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank ...

. With Ram's promotion, India became only the third nation in the world to promote a woman to flag rank, behind the United States and France. In 1992, the

began inducting women officers in non-medical roles. On 19 January 2007, the United Nations first all female peacekeeping force made up of 105 Indian policewomen was deployed to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Ruchi Sharma became the first operational paratrooper in the Indian Army, joining in 1996. Priya Jhingan, commissioned in 1993, is one of the first 25 women to join the Indian Army as an officer. Alka Khurana, also commissioned in 1993, is the first woman from Indian Army to participate in Republic Day Parade and Army Day Parade in 1994.

Sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

Shanti Tigga was the first female jawan (private rank) in the Indian Army who joined in 2011. Priya Semwal's husband had fallen in a counter-insurgency operation in Arunachal Pradesh in 2012; she went onto join as an officer in the

Indian Army Corps of EME The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) is an arms and service branch of the Indian Army. The Corps has varying responsibilities related to the design, development, trial, inspection and refit of weapon systems and equipment. They ...

, the first wife of a jawan whose husband had fallen in a counter-insurgency operation to do so.

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Mitali Madhumita Mitali Madhumita is the second woman officer in the Indian Army to receive a gallantry award. The first woman officer to be awarded Sena Medal for gallantry is Capt (Dr) CR Leena in 1995. Colonel Mitali Madhumita received the Sena Medal in 2011 ...

, commissioned in 2000, is the first woman officer in India to receive a

gallantry award Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a meda ...

, who received the

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

in 2011 for exemplary courage shown during the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul by terrorists in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

on 26 February 2010, and operations in Jammu-Kashmir and the northeast states. Anjana Bhaduria, who joined the first-ever batch of female cadets in 1992 at the

Officers Training Academy The Officers Training Academy (OTA) is a training establishment of the Indian Army that trains officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC). The 49-week course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Me ...

, Chennai, is the first female officer in the Indian Army to win the gold medal. Including Priya Jhingan and her, the first batch of women officers of the Indian Army was commissioned in March 1993.

Divya Ajith Kumar Captain Divya Ajith Kumar is an Army Air Defense (AAD) officer in the Indian Army. She graduated from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Kumar is the first woman to be conferred by the Army with the Sword of Honour, a prize given to the be ...

, commissioned in 2010, is the first female officer to receive the Sword of Honor. She led all women contingent of 154 women officers and cadets during the Republic Day parade of 2015. Captain Swati Singh, an engineer and then only female officer in her 63 Brigade of the Indian Army, is the first female officer to be deployed at

Nathu La Nathu La (, ) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal in Bengal, South Asia. The pass, at , connects the towns of Kalimpong and Gangtok to ...

pass as Signals in-charge. In February 2020

Madhuri Kanitkar Lieutenant General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM is a retired General Officer in the Indian Army. She is the third woman in the Indian Armed Forces to be promoted to a Three-star rank, after Lieutenant General Punita Arora and Air Marsh ...

became the third woman to become a

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the Indian Army. Along with her husband who is also a Lieutenant General they will be the first couple to both reach the rank. On 17 February 2020, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

said that women

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

can get command positions at par with male officers. The court said that the government's arguments against it were discriminatory, disturbing and based on stereotype. The court also said that permanent commission should be available to all women, regardless of years of service, and that this order must be implemented in 3 months. The government had earlier said troops would not accept women as commanding officers. Consequently, 8 more corps or branches started to induct women as commissioned officers. Ganeve Lalji,

Corps of Military intelligence Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

, is the first woman to be an Aide de camp to an Army Commander (Lieutenant General).

Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force inducts women in all roles, including combat and support roles. As of September 2020, there were 1,875 female officers serving in the IAF, including 10 pilots and 18 navigators. The first woman officer in the Indian Air Force, Vijayalakshmi Ramanan, was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps and was seconded to the Air Force. She retired as a Wing Commander in the Air Force in 1979. In August 1966, Flight Lieutenant Kanta Handa, an IAF medical officer, became the first female IAF officer to receive a commendation for her service during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. In 1994, women joined the air force as pilots in support role;

Gunjan Saxena Gunjan Saxena (born 1975) is an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and former helicopter pilot. She joined the IAF in 1996 and is a 1999 Kargil War veteran. She is one of the first women to fly in a combat zone. One of her main roles during the Ka ...

and Sreevidya Rajan were among the first women to fly in a combat zone during

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

(May–July 1999). In 2006, Deepika Misra, a Brahman was the first IAF woman pilot to train for the

Sarang display team Sarang ( sa, सारंग, , peacock) is the helicopter air display team of the Indian Air Force that flies four modified HAL Dhruv helicopters, also known as Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The team was formed in October 2003 and their first ...

. In 2012, Nivedita Singh (Flight Lieutenant) from Rajasthan, became the first woman from the Indian Air Force to summit the

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

.Sanchari Pal (24 Jan 2017
''Brave Indian female soldiers''

The Better India The Better India News is an Indian digital media platform focused on positive stories. Background In 2015, The Better India got Rs 1 crore ( $160,000) funding. More recently in 2018, The Better India raised an undisclosed amount funding from t ...

. In 2015,

opened new combat air force roles for women as

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

s, adding to their role as helicopter pilots in the Indian Air Force.
On 22 May 2019, Bhawana Kanth became the first woman fighter pilot to qualify to undertake combat missions. Women are now taking up combat roles in

with

Avani Chaturvedi Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi (born 27 October 1993) is an Indian pilot from Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was declared as the first woman combat pilot along with two of her cohorts, Mohana Singh Jitarwal, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio wa ...

Mohana Singh Jitarwal Mohana Singh Jitarwal is one of the first female fighter pilots of India. She was declared as the first female combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Bhawana Kanth, and Avani Chaturvedi. All three women pilots were inducted into the Indian ...

, and

Bhawana Kanth Bhawana Kanth is one of the first female fighter pilots of India. She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in ...

being the first 3 women

s Marking

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

on 8 March 8, 2020 all 3

fighter pilots A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and d ...

were awarded

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian hon ...

. Wing Commander Shaliza Dhami became the first woman officer to be given permanent commission with the Indian Air Force. Squadron Leader

Minty Agarwal Sqn Ldr Minty Agarwal is an IAF fighter controller. She was part of the team that guided India’s air defence during the 2019 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, where she witnessed a PAF F-16 Fighting Falcon being shot down. In August 2019, ...

became the first woman to receive a

Yudh Seva Medal The Yudh Seva Medal is one of India's military decorations for distinguished service during wartime. It is awarded for a high degree of distinguished service in an operational context, which includes times of war, conflict, or hostilities and may b ...

Indian Navy

In October 1976, Dr. Barbara Ghosh became the first woman officer in the Indian Navy to attain the rank of commander. Having joined the navy in 1961, she was also the first woman medical officer to receive a permanent naval commission. Dr. Punita Arora, commissioned in 1968, is the first woman in the Indian Army to reach the second highest rank,

, and the first female Vice Admiral. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay is the first woman Air Marshal of the IAF and the second woman in the Indian armed forces to be promoted to a

three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

after Lt. General Punita Arora. Nonetheless, the

still opposes the idea of putting women in

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s as

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s or officers, even though women fly on

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

like P8I and IL 38. On 8 March 2018,

the six-member crew of

INSV Tarini INSV ''Tarini'' is the second sailboat of the Indian Navy."INSV" stands for "Indian Navy sailing vessel". She was constructed at Aquarius Shipyard located in Goa. After undergoing extensive sea trials, she was commissioned to Indian Navy servi ...

that participated in Navika Sagar Parikrama namely Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi, Lt Cdr P. Swathi, Lt Cdr Pratibha Jammwal, Lt Payal Gupta, Lt Aishwarya Boddapati, and Lt Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi were conferred

for outstanding contribution towards women empowerment. The

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

was received by

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi, who is Northeast India's first female officer on behalf of team. On 2 December 2019, Sub-lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop became the first woman

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for the Indian Navy. She will be flying the Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft. On 26 August 2021, Surgeon Vice Admiral

Sheila S. Mathai Vice Admiral (India), Surgeon Vice Admiral Sheila Samanta Mathai, Nao Sena Medal, NM, Vishisht Seva Medal, VSM is a former flag officer in the Indian Navy. She last served as the Director General (Organisation & Personnel) of the Armed Forces Med ...

became the fourth woman to be promoted to

and the first direct navy woman vice-admiral.

Special Forces of India

As of 2020, Women are not yet allowed as combatant in the combat specialist forces, such as Ghatak Force,

Garud Commando Force The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from ''Garuda'', a divine bird-like creature in Hindu cultur ...

MARCOS Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugue ...

para commandos Para Commandos may refer to: * Parachute Commando Regiments (Algeria) * Para Commando Brigade (Bangladesh) ** 1st Para-Commando Battalion ** 2nd Para-Commando Battalion * Special Operations Regiment (Belgium) ** 2nd Commando (Paracommando) Bat ...

, etc. Dr. Seema Rao, also known as "India's Wonder Woman", is India's first woman commando trainer, having trained over 15,000 Special Forces of India (including the NSG, MARCOS, GARUD)This Amazing Woman Has Been Training India’s Special Forces for 20 Years without Compensation!
19 July 2016. as full-time guest trainer for 20 years without compensation as a pioneer in close quarter battle (CQB).

Paramilitary forces of India

Women in

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...

Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...

and

Special Frontier Force The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...

Indian Coast Guard

Women can join the

in officer ranks as general duty, pilot or law officers.Indian Coast Guard Female entry modes and posts
/ref> In January 2017, Indian Coast Guard became the first force to deploy four female officers, assistant commandants Anuradha Shukla, Sneha Kathayat, Shirin Chandran and Vasundhara Chouksey, in combat roles on board KV Kuber

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

ship patrolling the Indian maritime zone bordering Pakistan and Bangladesh.In A First, Indian Coast Guard Deploys Female Officers In Combat Roles
/ref>

Assam Rifles

In April 2016,

inducted a first batch of 100 female soldiers who had undergone year-long training programme and graduated in the passing-out parade at the Assam Rifles Training Centre and School in Shokhuvi in

Chümoukedima District Chümoukedima District is the 15th List of districts of Nagaland, district of the Indian state of Nagaland. It was created on 18 December 2021. The district is bounded by Kohima district, Kohima District to the east, Peren district, Peren District ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

. They will be deployed at Cordon And Search Operation (CASO), Mobile Check Posts (MCP) and road opening operations in various battalions for search, frisking and interrogation of women, crowd control and dispersal of female agitators.Assam Rifles inducts first batch of 100 women personnel
Economic Times, 7 April 2016.No longer a male bastion, Assam Rifles gets its first women’s contingent

, 8 April 2016. In August 2020, around 30 rifle-women from Assam Rifles were deployed along the LoC for the first time. They are led by Captain Gursimran Kaur of the Army Service Corps.

Special Frontier Force

, created in 1962 as a most covert and elite Special Force unit as the armed wing of

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

to conduct covert operations behind the Chinese Lines in the event of another Sino-Indian War,Most Elite and Covert Special Force Unit of Indian Paramilitary – Special Frontier Force (SFF)
4 Oct 2017. inducted 500 female in 1972 for the first time in medical, signals and clerical roles.
/ref>

Central Armed Police Forces

Women personnel of India's Border Security Force

In 1992,

Asha Sinha Asha Sinha is a former Director General of Police in Jharkhand Police. She has the distinction of being appointed the first Woman Commandant of any of police force in the year 1992. She is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer of 1982-B ...

, a 1982 Batch IPS Officer, became the First Woman Commandant in the

Paramilitary forces of India India maintains 10 paramilitary forces. List of Paramilitary forces From 1986 to 2011 the Central Armed Police Forces were considered as Central Police Forces (CPF). However, as per their respective acts they all are Armed Police Forces. R ...

when she was posted as Commandant,

Central Industrial Security Force The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including 1 ...

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) ( IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore pl ...

and after 34 years of service she retired as

Director General of Police Director general of police (DGP) is a rank in the Indian Police Service, held by the highest ranking police officer in a State or a Union Territory of India, typically heading the state or the UT police force. The DGP is appointed by the cabin ...

(DGP). In 2018 an IPS Officer Archana Ramasundram of 1980 Batch became the First Woman to become the

of a Paramilitary Force as DG,

Sashastra Seema Bal Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The fo ...

, she retired after serving for 37 years. In March 2016, govt allowed direct-entry women officers in all five

Central Armed Police Forces Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police organisations in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF). Since ...

, namely

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...

(CRPF),

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

(BSF),

Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...

(ITBP),

(SSB) and

(CISF), allow direct entry to women in junior rank via direct recruitment and also to women officer via

Union Public Service Commission The Union Public Service Commission (ISO: ), commonly abbreviated as UPSC, is India's premier central recruitment agency for recruitment of all the Group 'A' officers under Government of India. It is responsible for appointments to and exami ...

in supervisory combat roles.Government allows women to be combat officers in all Central Armed Police Forces
Economic Times, 13 March 2016. In March 2016, Home Minister

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as t ...

announced that women will be inducted in 33% constable-rank personnel in CRPF and CISF and 15% in the border guarding forces BSF, SSB and ITBP.

Central Reserve Police Force

(CRPF) allows women officers in supervisory combat roles since a long time via UPSC route.

Central Industrial Security Force

(CISF) allows women officers in supervisory combat roles since a long time via UPSC route.

Border Security Force

(BSF) allowed women officers in supervisory combat roles in 2013.

Sashastra Seema Bal

(SSB) allowed women officers in supervisory combat roles in 2014.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police

(ITBP) allowed women officers in supervisory combat roles in 2016. About 1.75% (1,500) of 80,000 ITBP personnel are women, mostly in the rank of constables (c. March 2016).

Other Forces

Women also serve in the

National Security Guard The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and p ...

(NSG),

Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...

(SPG),

Railway Protection Force Railway Protection Force is a security force under the ownership of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957; enacted by the Indian Parliament for "the better protection ...

(RPF),

National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster M ...

(NDRF) and

Border Roads Organisation The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a road construction executive force in India that provides support to and is now a part of the Indian Armed Forces. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring ...

(BRO).

National Security Guard

(NSG) (Black Cat Commandos) inducted female commandos for the first in 2011–12, however the first discrimination they faced was from the then female Chief Minister,

Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social cha ...

who refused to be guarded by the female commandos.Battle of sexes: NSG loses its last woman commando after she goes on maternity leave
India Today, 29 Oct 2017. In 2015, govt announced that the female NSG Black Cat Commandos, who undergo the same training as their male counterpart, will be deployed in counter-terrorism operations as they also perform VIP protection duties.NSG planning to deploy women commandos in anti-terror operations
17 Oct 2015.

Special Protection Group

(SPG) inducted female commandos in 2013, and then Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

's wife

Gursharan Kaur Gursharan Kaur Kohli (born 13 September 1937) is an Indian history professor and author who is the spouse of the former prime minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, the 13th Prime Minister of India. Early life Gurusharan was the youngest of s ...

became the first SPG protectee to have women commandos."Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife has become the first Special Protection Group (SPG) protectee to have women commandos in her immediate security cordon.",

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

, 9 Nov 2013.PMs wife first SPG protectee to have women commandos

, 18 Feb 2014.

Railway Protection Force

(RPF) has female unit, Shakti Squad. In 2015, 25-year-old Debashmita Chattopadhyay became first female Assistant Security Commissioner (ASC) in RPF who took charge of the Shakti squad of RPF women constables.More women personnel in railway stations, trains soon: RPF

, 27 Mar 2015.

National Disaster Response Force

(NDRF) got its first woman commander in 2015 when 40-years old senior Commandant Rekha Nambiar joined the 4th Battalion based in Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu to lead 1,000 personnel-strong all-men battalion.National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) gets first woman commander
14 Aug 2015.

Border Roads Organisation

In June 2021, Vaishali Hiwase became the first women commanding officer to command a BRO Road Construction Company part of the India-China Border Roads.

Three star officers

Six women have been promoted to

in the

. All of them are from the Medical Corps and graduate medical doctors of the

Armed Forces Medical College upright=1.1, AFMC main building The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) is a leading medical training institute in Pune, India, in the state of Maharashtra. The college is managed by the Indian Armed Forces. Established in May 1948 as a post ...

(AFMC).

In popular culture

* ''

Aarohan ''Aarohan'' is an Indian TV series that aired on DD National from 1996 to 1997. The show was written and produced by Pallavi Joshi, who also played the character of protagonist Nikita Sachdev. Overview ''Aarohan'' takes place in a make-believe ...

'' (1996–97), tele serial showcasing women officers serving in the

. * '' The Test Case'' (2017), web series on the fictional story of the first woman training to serve in a combat role within the

. * '' Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl'' (2020–21),

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

starring

Janhvi Kapoor Janhvi Kapoor (born 6 March 1997) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Born to Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, she made her acting debut in 2018 with the romantic drama ''Dhadak'', which was a commercial success. Kapoor went on to receive a ...

as real life Indian Air Force pilot

who was the first Indian female airforce pilot in combat.

References

External links

Indian Army
– Official website
Indian Air Force
- Official website
Indian Navy
- Official website {{Military of India Military of India Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force Indian female military personnel Women in India Women in 21st-century warfare Women in warfare post-1945