The 181-year-old Assam Rifles, India’s oldest paramilitary force, is no longer a male bastion, they inducted 100 women on Wednesday, among 212 recruits. These recruits were all put through a year-long training programme, and graduated in the passing out parade at the Assam Rifles Training Centre and School in Nagaland’s Shokhuvi.

The Assam Rifles, which is under the control of both the home and defence ministries, admitted 127 women last March for training in their Dimapur school. Lt. Col. Rahul Josan, spokesperson for the Assam Rifles, spoke to Hindustan Times, and said, “Three lady army officers were specially posted to the Dimapur school in March 2014 to plan, raise and institutionalise a separate training company for women recruits.”
The new recruits will be part of search operations, besides frisking and interrogating female accused, and dealing with women protestors during agitations.

 

Director-General of the Assam Rifles, Lt. Gen. HJS Sachdev, said, “The newly-inducted women soldiers will be posted to various battalions of the force and be used for frisking and interrogation of women when needed, dispersing female mobs, controlling crowd and tackling agitations involving women… Relief and rescue operations during communal tension and natural calamities, dealing with women protesters to avoid violation of human rights and projecting a clean image of the force would be the other important tasks of the women personnel.”

 

Officer-in-charge of the first batch of the female recruits, Major Zorampari Oinam Joshi, said, “I am proud that our nation is moving forward in accepting (that) women can do the same job that men can.”

H/T: Hindustan Times

Cover image for representational purpose only

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