by Anurag Bende

PUNE: In the city for the NDA passing out parade, naval chief admiral confirmed that the proposal is being discussed with the MoD

Women officers serving in the Indian Navy may soon be following in the footsteps of their counterparts in the Indian Air Force and participate in combat roles, after Indian naval chief admiral RK Dhowan on Saturday stated that such a proposal has been taken up with the Ministry of Defence.

Dhowan was at the National Defence Academy (NDA) as parade reviewing officer for the 129th course’s passing out parade (PoP) on Saturday.

He said, “The Indian Navy is proud of its women officers and they are doing a fine job. As far as including them in combat roles is concerned, the issue has been taken up with the Ministry of Defence and the proposal is under consideration.”

When asked about gender bias in the Indian Navy, however, Dhowan was quick to retort, “There is no gender discrimination in the force. Women are already working in key positions such as observers in aircraft, at air traffic control and are doing a wonderful job. We are working on providing the necessary infrastructure on our ships and once this is achieved, we will see women playing even more important roles.”

Dhowan also stated that the Indian navy is working closely with fishermen for better information to make the country’s coastline safer. “India has a huge coastline, spread over 7,516 km. We have four million active fishermen and over 14 million people are from the fishing community. We are working on sensitising these fishermen, so that they can become our eyes and ears in the ocean.”

These steps are considered to be important considering that the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks had come to the city via the sea. Also, last December, a boat, allegedly from Pakistan and filled with explosives, had exploded after the coastguard intercepted it near Porbandar. Even in April this year, the coastguard seized a huge haul of narcotics from a boat also intercepted near Porbandar, in which eight crew members were arrested.

Dhowan said that every single village along the coastline has been mapped by the navy. “Officials are interacting with fishermen in their local language to gain their confidence,” he added.

Dhowan also informed that the international fleet review (IFR) 2016 will be held at Vishakhapatnam from February 4 to February 8 next year, in which the naval forces of around 50 countries will be participating. “We are geographically separated, but united by the ocean. There will be all kinds of exercises and operational demonstrations at the review,” he said.