Women to be inducted as fighter pilots: IAF chief Arup Raha

“There has been a resurgence of violence in the region, which is of concern to India”, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said while addressing the 83rd Air Force Day parade at Hindon air force base near Delhi.

Earlier today, former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was present at the occasion, became the first sportsperson to be made an honourary Group Captain in the Indian Air Force. “What if they are taken as PoWs (prisoner of war)?”

This comes in stark contrast to a statement by Raha previous year, where he said women were physically not suited for the job and they might face problems while flying fighter planes.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has also previously expressed skepticism with recruiting women for combat operations in armed forces due to apprehensions about their safety. Women comprise about 3% of the army and navy’s total strength, while the air force does better at 8.5%. “He is very much interested in the air force”, Tendulkar said.

The Indian Air Force has so far not let women pilots fly fighter jets due to fears that they may be tortured if captured in combat.

However, no one ever had any doubts on the capabilities women pilots.

“The role of IAF is not only limited to fighting a war but also rendering timely assistance during national crisis”.

“Many women pilots have proved themselves flying helicopters and transport aircraft in high-risk rescue and other missions”.

The 1.3 million-strong armed forces have 59,400 officers. The last impediment comes from the services themselves: submarines and warships are cramped facilities that don’t have separate toilets, for example, but that comes from a presumption that there will not be women in combat roles.