Bharat ki Veerangana – Neerja Bhanot
Know all about Neerja Bhanot
Bollywood film Neerja, set to be released on February 19, is based on the life of Neerja Bhanot, the senior flight attendant on Pan Am 73 which was hijacked by Libyan terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, on September 5, 1986. She had saved 359 passengers at the cost of her life, two days before her 23rd birthday.
In the whole world, she is the only woman recipient of Ashok Chakra, India’s highest civilian award for bravery.
The movie starring Sonam Kapoor in the titular role tells the story of Neerja’s extraordinary courage.
Her Ashoka Chakra Citation reads :
On the Fifth of September, Nineteen Eighty Six, twenty three years old Shreemati Neerja, daughter of Shri Harish Bhanot, was a member of the crew of Pan American Airways Flight from Bombay to New York via Karachi as Senior Flight Purser.
A group of four heavily armed hijackers rushed to the aircraft on the tarmac at Karachi Airport.
Showing tremendous presence of mind and quick reflexes, it was her instant shout of ‘Hijack‘ which alerted the flight crew who immediately escaped, thereby immobilizing the aircraft.
With the exit of the flight crew, she took command of the situation and kept the terrified passengers calm.
She deftly managed the situation and prevented the trigger-happy hijackers from going berserk.
However, when suddenly the power in the aircraft went off in the aircraft and she helped a number of passengers to escape through the emergency door, she became a marked target of the hijackers.
One of the desperate hijackers grabbed her from behind and shot her dead.
Her loyalties to the passengers of the aircraft in distress will forever be a lasting tribute to the finest qualities of the human spirit.
Shreemati Neerja, daughter of Shri Harish Bhanot , thus displayed the most conspicuous bravery in the face of grave adversities and tried to save the lives of the passengers on the ill- fated flight at the cost of her own life.
About Neerja
Neerja Bhanot was born in Chandigarh, India, the daughter of Rama Bhanot and Harish Bhanot, a Mumbai-based journalist. She went to Sacred Heart School (Chandigarh). Her family name was “Lado“. She was a model and acted in many ad commercials.
Bhanot had ad-based arranged marriage in March 1985 and joined her husband in the Gulf. However, the marriage turned sour following dowry pressure and she returned to her parents’ home in Mumbai within two months. She then applied for a flight attendant job with Pan Am, and upon selection, went to Miami for training as a flight attendant but returned as purser.
During the hijack
The terrorists entered the aircraft wearing security personnel dress. As the terrorists rushed to “capture” the aircraft, Neerja dashed to inform the captain in the cockpit. A terrorist, however, caught her by her handy ponytail but she was able to shout the “hijack code”. Another flight attendant who got her code conveyed it to the cockpit. The 3 member cockpit crew – pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer – slipped away, leaving the aircraft, passengers and the 13 member cabin-crew at the mercy of 4 member team of terrorists. Since Neerja was the cabin-crew leader, she took over the “command”, as soon as she found that the three seniors (cockpit crew) had deserted them.
The power generator was running out of fuel and voltage was falling. Then “something” happened. Neerja was standing close to the leader of the terrorists. The light had become very dim. Suddenly, guns began vomiting fire within the aircraft. Neerja jumped to the emergency exit and threw it open.
According to eyewitnesses, Neerja was caught by the leader of the terrorists and shot point blank. When she opened the emergency exit, she could have herself been the first to slide down the chute. But she was the “captain”, who believed that she had to be the last person to quit – alive or dead.
