On the 75th anniversary of Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a number of important announcements. What seemed most welcome to girls in the country would naturally be the announcement that they would be admitted to military schools. The schools are run by military school societies accredited by the Union Ministry of Defence. Schooling is not free. But such schools get a lot of government benefits. Benefits are paid from taxpayers' money, including men and women. But giving admission to such schools only to boys is not fair from any point of view.

This discrimination is a result of the old-fashioned view that the defence forces have access only to men. There are 33 military schools in the country. Not all students here are required to be members of the Defence Forces. But it will also provide an opportunity to join different forces. The girls were admitted to a military school in Mizoram two years ago. The Prime Minister also revealed that lakhs of girls had written directly to him asking for admission to military schools. In addition to the Prime Minister's decision, the Supreme Court has issued an interim order allowing girls to appear for the National Defence Academy entrance exams. The lawyer representing the women told the court that denying women the opportunity was a violation of their fundamental rights. The implementation of the interim order will be subject to the final judgment. It is quite correct that the court observed that the denial of opportunity to women in the armed forces was due to a particular mentality. This is because all these matters are often decided by male-only committees. The present troops are not the soldiers of the old days. Sportsmanship was important at a time when the battlefield was full of bows, swords, shields, spears and chariots. Even then, we heard the stories of Jhansirani. Times and armies have changed.

Troops now need to make the most rational decision in a changing situation and have the technical skills to handle modern weapons. It all depends on intelligence. There is no difference between male and female. It has been many years since women began to hold important positions in the forces of foreign countries. It would be totally welcome if India was ready for it. Better late than never. If the government takes the initiative and implements such matters earlier, the courts will not even have a chance to intervene. India is a country with many women IPS officers who lead the police force with excellence. Many of them have proven their ability to impress men. Therefore, if women officers join the army through the NDA, they will only contribute to national security.