Committed to introducing gender-neutral term instead of 'ex-servicemen', government submits before Punjab and Haryana High Court

This has been revealed in the government's reply to a writ petition filed by Captain Sukhjit Pal Kaur Sanewal (retd), one of the earliest woman officers of the Indian Army

The petition had also listed out gender-inclusive language employed by various militaries and establishments globally, including the Parliament of India and NATO.

Tribune News Service

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, March 8

In a progressive development that would be of great significance to former women members of the Armed Forces, the central government has submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it was in the process of changing the nomenclature of the term “ex-serviceman” to a gender-neutral term.

This has been revealed in the government's reply to a writ petition filed by Captain Sukhjit Pal Kaur Sanewal (retd), one of the earliest woman officers of the Indian Army, for directions that the term “ex-servicemen” should be replaced by a gender-neutral and gender-inclusive terms such as “ex-service members” or “ex-service personnel”.

The petitioner had pointed out that while women are now an integral part of the military and are also holding command appointments after judgments to this effect by the high courts and the Supreme Court, yet former women personnel continued to be referred as “ex-servicemen” in government policies and schemes.

She had averred that this not only resulted in mis-gendering but also sounded outdated and promoted gender stereotypes. She had stated that she was obviously not a man, and was a woman, hence there should be no occasion to call her an “ex-serviceman”, using the male gender.

The petition had also listed out gender-inclusive language employed by various militaries and establishments globally, including the Parliament of India and NATO.

When the petition was first heard on November 23, 2023, by the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta, the court had orally remarked to the advocates representing the government and the petitioner - Additional Solicitor General Sat Pal Jain and Navdeep Singh respectively, that the issue needed urgent redressal, to which both lawyers had responded that the matter was non-adversarial and was expected to be resolved since now the court had taken cognizance.

In the response submitted to the high court now, the central government has submitted that it is committed to addressing the matter on priority and acknowledges the evolving social landscape and importance of embracing gender-neutrality in the armed forces and will expeditiously implement a term which reflects “not only the ethos of the Indian subcontinent but also aligns seamlessly with global inclusivity standards”.

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