“Indian President Pratibha Patil’s Historic Feat – Symbol of Indian Women Power” – Prof.M.S.Rao

25 November 2009 is the historic day for the women of India. It is the historic day for the Indian Air Force. It is the historic day for the Indian Armed Forces and to the entire Indians where our President Pratibha Patil who is 74 years old flew Sukhoi-30 MKI supersonic plane successfully.

It is unique in many ways as Pratibha is the first woman President to fly in a war plane and also she is the oldest women to fly in Sukhoi-30 MKI. It is not the success for Pratibha alone. It is, in fact, the success for all Indian women who dare to dream and think big beyond gender barriers.

Pratibha has become a symbol of inspiration for Indian women to look for career in defense forces also by coming out of traditional mindset of working in civilian organizations. It helps Indian women to break the glass ceiling and achieve big. In this context, let us know what ‘glass ceiling effect’ means.


Glass Ceiling Effect:

The glass ceiling effect is all about the artificial barriers that prevent women from moving up to the senior positions within the organizations. It is mainly based on attitudinal or organizational prejudices towards women. In fact, there are certain myths that prevent women from rising from ranks such as women are weak physically and cannot don leadership roles. The truth is that women are better at interpersonal relations and they are emotionally more intelligent than men. They gauge the body language better than men as they are smarter in gauging the hidden data of communication such as egos, emotions and feelings.

It is unfair not to treat women on par with men. Indian organizations should remove the barriers and allow women to rise from ranks on par with men. Indian women are no way behind men in terms of capabilities and competencies. When we look at Indra Nooyi, the CEO of Pepsi company, she broke all traditional barriers and currently she is one of the top powerful women in the world.

The successful flying in Sukhoi by Pratibha Patil is a laudable one. The aircraft flew 2 kilometers above the ground with a speed of 700 to 900 kilometers per hour and the sortie was for 30 minutes. With her inspiring act she connected with Indian women successfully. Indian women should break their mental barriers based on gender and must dream that everything is possible in the world.

With her bravery act Pratibha achieved twin objectives of proving that Indian women have full capability to perform and sent a message to Indian women to seek career in Armed Forces.

Dear President, I salute you wholeheartedly for your act of bravery and inspiring Indian women to dream big. You proved that you are the real Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces with your personal example. Keep soaring high.


The End