O is for Officers

The very first profesison which came to my mind related to officers is an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer. Then, there are some more which have almost equal respect and authority – IPS and armed forced.  In the present era, we have many women on different chairs of these prestigious positions. So, I again went back in time and tried to look for ladies who cut the ribbon.

 Isha Basant Joshi, was the first woman to be accepted as an officer in the Indian Administrative Service. Apart fron it, she was also the first "Indian" to be accepted into the "Bastion of the British"^[1] school of La Martiniere Girls High School in Luck now, India. She has also authored three books namely - The Jewel in the Case – collection of short stories, Sanctuary- poems and Spindrift – poems.

Image and information sources:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041114/women.htm#1

Anna Rajam Malhotra, the first woman from independent India, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer joined the services in 1951. As expected she was initially discouraged to join the A-list. She worked with C. Rajgopalachari who was sure that the lady was not capable of handling law and order situation. Her hard work and determination made the CM change his mind and got good confidential report while also mentioning her as an example of progressive women!

Image and information sources:

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/article2981603.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/grit-meets-grace/article3000578.ece

Kiran Bedi, joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972, becoming its first woman officer. During her tenure of over three decades (1972 to 2007), Bedi took the world on her stride and proved that law and order if implemented aesthetically and without being partial to rich and famous can work wonders for any nation. She was known for removing the VIP culture from Delhi. One of her most famous incidents include her full support to sub-inspector Nirmal Singh on towing away of an Ambassador car (DHI 1817) belonging to Prime Minister Office as it was wrongly parked outside the Yusufzai Market at Connaught Place on 5^th August 1982.

Bedi resigned from the police service on grounds of personal reasons in 2007. Since then, the powerful lady has been actively involved in various social and anti-corruption activities.

Image and Information Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiran_Bedi

http://www.boydom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/KiranBedi.jpg

This post is written as a part of April 2015 A to Z Challenge. My theme for this year is Women In A to Z Professions. Click at the link to check other professions women have excelled in and their respective links.