Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 1: Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Shakti Sharma on Tuesday assumed charge as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Education), becoming the first woman officer from a non-medical branch of the Army, Navy or Indian Air Force to attain the two-star rank or its equivalent.
Sharma's elevation marks a significant milestone in the history of women in India's armed forces, as women have held senior ranks in the military for decades, but those who reached flag rank earlier came through the medical or nursing services.
Women first entered the regular branches of the armed forces in significant numbers in 1992, when the first women cadets joined the Officers Training Academy in Chennai and the Air Force Technical College at Jalahalli. Over the past three decades, women officers from these streams have served as flight commanders, commanding officers and one-star officers.
Sharma was commissioned into the Indian Air Force's Education Branch in 1994. During her career, she has served at training establishments, field stations, command headquarters and Air Headquarters.
She was earlier the first woman Group Captain in the IAF outside the medical branch and became the first woman officer from the three Services to head a Sainik School when she served as principal of Sainik School Kapurthala.
Women have held flag ranks in the Indian military for around five decades. Major General Gertrude Alice Ram of the Military Nursing Service became the first woman to attain the rank in 1976. Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay became the first woman Air Vice Marshal in 2002 and later the first woman Air Marshal. Lt Gen Punita Arora and Air Marshal Sadhna Saxena Nair also subsequently rose to three-star rank.
These officers, however, came through the medical or nursing services, which had opened senior ranks to women much earlier than the regular branches of the armed forces.
Sharma's elevation comes as women officers commissioned since the early 1990s begin reaching the levels of seniority from which flag and general officers are selected.
The Indian Air Force opened its fighter stream to women in 2016, while women began entering the National Defence Academy in 2022 and received their commissions earlier this year. The Supreme Court's 2020 ruling on permanent commission also enabled hundreds of women officers to pursue longer careers instead of being limited to short-service tenures.
Despite the progress, women remain underrepresented at the highest levels of military command outside the medical services. No woman from a non-medical branch has yet reached three-star rank or headed a major operational command.
The Army's combat arms also remain largely closed to women, while disputes concerning gender-differentiated promotion criteria continue to be examined by courts and tribunals. Sharma's appointment therefore represents an important step forward while also highlighting the continuing challenges for women seeking senior leadership positions in India's armed forces.