Neerja Bhanot: The Saviour Without Uniform
Remembering Neerja Bhanot, the flight attendant who was shot while shielding the passengers on the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73. Till today and forever, her courage burns bright.
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Neerja Bhanot was born in Chandigarh, India, and brought up in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in a Punjabi Hindu family. She was the daughter of Harish Bhanot, a Bombay-based journalist, and Rama Bhanot. She had two brothers, Akhil and Aneesh Bhanot. It was in Bombay where she was first spotted for a modelling assignment which began her modelling career. She was a huge fan of actor Rajesh Khanna and used to refer to quotes from his films throughout her life.
Bhanot was the Senior Flight Purser on Pan Am Flight 73 flying from Mumbai to the United States via Karachi and Frankfurt, which was hijacked by four armed men on 5 September 1986 at Karachi airport in Pakistan. The hijackers were part of the Abu Nidal Organization, a Palestinian terrorist organization backed by Libya. The aircraft was carrying 380 passengers and 13 crew members. The terrorists wanted to fly to Cyprus with the goal of freeing Palestinian prisoners in Cyprus. Bhanot was able to alert the cockpit crew as soon as the hijackers boarded the plane, and as the plane was on the apron, the three-member cockpit crew of pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer fled from the aircraft through an overhead hatch in the cockpit. As the most senior cabin crew member, Bhanot took charge of the situation inside the plane.
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| PAN AM 73 CREW |
After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Bhanot opened one of the airplane doors, and even though she could have been the first one to jump out and flee from the aircraft, she did not do so and instead started helping the other passengers escape. According to a surviving passenger, “She was guiding the passengers to the emergency exit. That is when the terrorists were firing constantly fearing a commando attack. They saw Neerja relentlessly trying to help three unaccompanied children, among others, out and that is when they caught her by her ponytail and shot her point blank.” In addition to saving the lives of many hostages, Bhanot had also helped prevent the plane from getting off the ground.
Awards and Honours:
Neerja was recognized internationally as “the heroine of the hijacking” and became the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra Award, India’s most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peacetime. In 2004 the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.
- Ashoka Chakra, 1987, India
- Tamgha-e-Pakistan, 1987, (for showing incredible human kindness), Pakistan
- Flight Safety Foundation Heroism Award 1987, United States
- Justice for Crimes Award 2005, United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, United States
- Special Courage Award 2006, United States Department of Justice, United States
- Civil Aviation Ministry Award 2011, India
- Bharat Gaurav Award presented at the House of Commons, UK Parliament on 2 July 2016
Neerja Bhanot’s life will surely continue to inspire the coming generation and her story deserves to be celebrated everyday. Her name represents Bravery.
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