Gone are the days of Glory. In World War II, more Indians won the Victoria and George Cross decorations than the British. But 57 years after Independence, the defence forces are making more news for wrong reasons that ever before. Who can forget the ‘heroics’ of “Ketchup Colonel” H.S. Kohli who claimed a gallantry medal after pouring tomato ketchup on civilians and passing them off as slain militants? Or of “Booze Brigadier” R.P. Singh who sold liquor from the service canteen in the open market. There was a “Video Major” also, a commanding officer of the Gorkha battalion who made fake videos of a non-existent attack – clearly, an indication of the rot in the defence forces.
Events like those mentioned above have cast a dark shadow on the shining image of the Indian Armed Forces. With the court-martial of IAF flying officer, Anjali Gupta, this image has taken another beating. But this particular case is different from the ones mentioned above in two ways. The first difference is that the crime (if she is guilty), in Anjali’s case is a very trivial one. The second is that the military court has dismissed her charges of sexual harassment in a very hastily manner. That is, the court has preferred to look the other way when some of IAF’s senior officials could have been actually guilty of wrong-doing.
The IAF’s charges against Anjali included fudging bills for allowances, ‘behaviour unbecoming of an officer in throwing a breakfast parcel meant for a senior officer’ and not reporting for duty. Anjali responded by alleging that her superiors had sexually harassed her. The embezzled amount is only Rs.1000 and it is hard to believe that a woman would put her reputation at stake for such a small amount. Besides, even if she is guilty, court-martial is too strict a punishment and it seems that the IAF top brass has actually punished her for speaking out against the sexual advances made by her seniors. After all, according to the IAF unofficial rule book, questioning your senior can be termed as an act of indiscipline. Moreover, it is a common practice not only within the defence forces but in all Government offices to fudge travel bills.
A day after Anjali was removed from service and stripped of her rank, a court of inquiry, headed by an Air Marshall unanimously concluded that Ms. Gupta has failed to prove her complaint of sexual harassment and declared that no action needs to be taken against those accused by Anjali. Anjali was correct in pointing out that “IAF thought it better to sacrifice her to save the skin of three IAF officers against whom she had levelled sexual harassment charges. The IAF perceived a threat to its image from her and got her removed from service.” By approaching the civial court, Anjali has given signs that she is prepared to fight for justice that was denied to her by the Air force.
There are people who have quit National Defence Academy (NDA) after they were sexually harassed by seniors. When such things can happent to guys, one can wonder what an ordeal it must have been Anjali and other women out there. No matter how much the defence forces deny it, sexual harassment exists and the IAF’s biased handling of the matter would deter young girls from joining the force through the SSC. At a time, when more and more women are excelling in many of the perceived male-only bastions, the insult inflicted on Anjali (who has become the first woman to be cashiered) will certainly deal a big blow to women empowerment drives. The clean-chit handed by the IAF to its male officers would only encourage them to continue to openly flout all rules and would do nothing to stem the rot.
Shades of Gray 