Territorial Army to raise, deploy all-women wing in northeast, J&K

RAJOURI: The Territorial Army, a reserve force of trained civilians for the Indian Army, proposes to raise two all-women battalions, and deploy one each in insurgency-hit areas of northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

The project has the defence ministry's nod and is being given a final shape, sources said. At present, women can only join as doctors and nurses in the Territorial Army, which has a strength of 40,000.

The decision to deploy these battalions, around 300-women force, in counter-insurgency areas has been taken in view of an increasing number of women in militancy operations and to help deflect any kind of allegations of sexual abuse of local women by male soldiers, Rajouri-based spokesperson for TA unit of 38 Rashtriya Rifles said.

These battalions would primarily be used to investigate and interrogate women militants and female residents during counter-insurgency operations. They would also be deployed at the gates of fencing near the Line of Control for checking the movement of local residents, especially women.

There are incidents when a lot of hue and cry is raised and allegations of human rights violations levelled against officers carrying out search operations in insurgency-hit villages, the officer added. There have been instances when suspected women militants have managed to escape when such ruckus is kicked up, the spokesman said.

With the deployment of women battalion, we would not only be able to curb militancy but our operational procedure would also become more transparent. The necessity to set up all-women TA battalion was felt when the security agencies observed that terror outfits were using women against them, he said. They have clear instructions from their mentors that once across the border, they are to rely heavily on women ground workers to hit out at security officials involved in counter-insurgency operations, he added. Many women have been arrested in the past, who worked as couriers and overground workers of militants.

The Territorial Army is a voluntary, part-time Citizens Army, consisting of people who are not professional soldiers but civilians eager to do their bit for the country's defence. It acts as a reserve for the regular Army in times of need and draws men from the 18-42 age group.

On joining the TA, officers have to undergo mandatory training of arms handling and crisis management. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Army guards around 740 km of Line of Control (LoC) and the Border Security Force (BSF) 216km of international border. The BSF has now inducted women battalions and deployed them along the border.