Missile woman

As if the gender barrier needed one more final crash in India, the April 19  launch of the Agni V ICBM accomplished this feat when it was fired into the early morning sky from the Wheeler Island in Odisha.

A key scientist behind this mammoth effort was a quiet, confident woman named Tessy Thomas whose talent and dedication was recognised by none other than Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The missile’s successful launch catapulted India into the elite missile club of China, USA, Britain, France and Russia. The launch simultaneously brought Dr Thomas a burst of publicity!

Dr Thomas comes to her present assignment after a career involving varied responsibilities in the Defense Research & Development Organisation. She joined this august body in 1988 when there was just a sprinkling of seven women officers in the office. “We were seven women scientists on the Agni III project. This test failed and we became more determined to prove that there was nothing wrong with the missile developed by us. We forged ahead with our efforts and today, we can all rejoice in the success we have brought to our nation,” says Dr Thomas.

An expert in solid propellant systems, Dr Thomas holds a B. Tech from the Thrissur Engineering College and an M Tech in Guided Missiles from the Defense Institute of Advanced Technologies, Pune. She began her career in 1988 under the guidance of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam who proudly gave her the name ‘Agni Putri’ when she joined the Agni project early in her career.

“Gender has never been an issue in our organisation,” says Dr Thomas who has been associated with the Agni project from its initial stages two decades ago, “In our organisation, we are scientists and not men or women. When I joined DRDO, there were only five women. Today, we have more than 25 in a laboratory which has 250 scientists. We all understand the criticality of the work involved and try our best to fulfill this responsibility towards our nation.”

It is because of this attitude that Dr Thomas and her colleagues have inspired more and more women to seek a career in this profession. The women scientists of DRDO are icons for all women who wish to participate in the missile technology field in India. “All of us balance our family lives and our careers,” says Dr Thomas who lives in Hyderabad, has a son at college and a husband in the navy, posted in Vishakhapatnam.

“I am aware that market forces are attracting scientists to the private sector where incomes are four to five times higher than in the government service. But I prefer to work in the national interest and am proud of India’s achievements in this field. Like many women, I have achieved my position purely on merit and am proud of the success of India’s missile programme. Today, in the DRDO, in a staff of 7,000, there are 1,000 women at various levels and this is a quiet tribute to what we have accomplished”, she adds.

Many missile tests were conducted before the success of Agni V. Dr Thomas worked on Agni II and was the associated project director of Agni III which had a range of 3,000 km.