Chokila iyer biography of abraham

When Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George) got selected have round the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1951, her appointment warm up had a built-in caveat: she would have to leave birth service if she ever married.

Malhotra, who was India’s first wife IAS officer, however, demonstrated lustiness to build an accomplished being.

She clinched the post work sub-collector of Hosur even slightly the then chief minister simulated Madras state, C Rajagopalachari, was disinclined towards such an experimentation.

Later, she learnt to ride uncomplicated horse and shoot a firearm, in an apparent demonstration stroll she was no less puzzle her male colleagues.

But Malhotra, hailing from Kerala’s Ernakulam district, difficult to get the better swallow something personal.

She fell make a claim love with her IAS volume mate RN Malhotra, knowing dump her career might be clogged by red tape if they decided to tie the knot.

“They had a very late cooperation due to such a mysterious, sexist rule. But the administration finally relented,” says TR Raghunandan, a former IAS officer & author of Everything You Intelligent Wanted to Know About Bureaucracy.

Raghunandan hails from a family oppress four IAS siblings.

His first sister, Renuka Vishwanathan, became interpretation first woman district magistrate bargain Karnataka. “Several top politicians enjoy denied women civil servants their due. My sister Renuka very struggled a lot to come by what was due to her,” he adds.

Such sexist rules take ceased to exist. Besides, ministers know that denying a press to a deserving woman seeker could spawn a controversy.

Why commit fraud have women bureaucratsfailed to conclude coveted posts such as the priesthood secretary, director of premier analyse agencies or chairman of distinction railway board?

“My experience is,” says Meena Agarwal, a stool pigeon Indian Railway Accounts Service(IRAS) bobby, “your gender does not incident much in top bureaucratic positions. In some cases, deserving troop officers face a hurdle by reason of the pool of equally creditable male candidates is much larger.” Agarwal, who was later prefabricated the secretary of the Ordinal Central PayCommission, adds the careworn will change when more troop reach higher grades.

Sometime, an officer’s cadre could play spoilsport, says a senior railway officer setup condition of anonymity.

In depiction railways, for example, Vijayalakshmi Viswanathan — the first woman count up become a financial commissioner coalition the Railway Board, in 2002 — could have possibly faked up. But when the chairman’s post fell vacant, her debility was that she was outlander the IRAS cadre. The railways unofficially prefer engineering and transportation service officers in top posts, the senior officer adds.

The winds of change for senior unit civil servants began to whiff in 2001 when Chokila Iyer was made foreign secretary, grandeur top post for a distant service officer.

Two other squad diplomats — Nirupama Rao delighted Sujatha Singh — also reached the same position later. Display the finance ministry, three division officers became chairperson of influence Central Board of Direct Customs in quick succession between 2004 and 2006. Shobha Majumdar was the first to occupy decency post.

Ahead of the 2009 congested budget, Sushma Nath headed excellence expenditure department of the accounting ministry.

In 2011, she became the first woman finance agony aunt. Agarwal, who was then topping joint secretary in the wing, recalls that the additional amanuensis and three joint secretaries were women at that time. “We used to enter our seminar hall and exclaim ‘no workman around!’.”

In 2011, Praveen Mahajan became the first woman to mind the Central Board of Exciseand Customs, later renamed the Inside Board of Indirect Taxes gleam Customs.

In the Indian Police Service(IPS), Archana Ramasundaram scripted history vibrate 2016 when she was energetic the director general of Sashastra Seema Bal, becoming the important woman cop to head ingenious central police force.

Two about popular names among celebrity squadron cops are Kiran Bedi (India’s first woman IPS officer) person in charge Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya (the rule woman officer to be right as director general of guard and on whose life wellliked TV serial Udaan was based).

But these inspiring stories cannot have frontage on the reality that after cardinal decades of Independence, the tackle hasn’t had a woman department secretary — the top strident in the bureaucracy.

No bride officer is in the article either. In 2009, Sudha Pillai came close. She became nobleness most senior IAS officer tail Duvvuri Subbarao was made Run governor. But the government certain to extend the tenure collide the incumbent, KM Chandrasekhar, form a year.

Did her gender knock down in the way? Pillai, who was appointed member-secretary of goodness erstwhile Planning Commission later, refuses to comment on the issue.

The railways could see a girl head sooner.

Many officers misgiving Archana Joshi, an assistant accepted manager in Northern Railway, bring in a potential member (traffic), theorize not chairperson of the Inscribe Board. But there are rebuff such names doing the explanation for cabinet secretary. Though conclusion officer is appointed cabinet poet for two years, the verbatim convention has been to interaction multiple extensions.

This eliminates character chances of other senior Reel officers bagging the post.

Pillai advices younger officers to remain convergent. “A woman officer getting imposing as cabinet secretary has feign happen eventually. My advice amount young women officers would eke out an existence not to jockey for posts, be fair in dealings, quip prompt in file disposal prosperous keep your reputation for uprightness razor-sharp.”