2024-09-06 14:47:29
New Delhi: Neerja Bhanot was a successful model and airhostess. She showed bravery in the plane hijack that happened on 5 September 1986 and saved the lives of more than 300 people. Beloved daughter of a journalist father, Neerja was beautiful and bubbly. An example of passion, courage and determination, this girl’s name is recorded in golden letters in aviation history. She was also recognized as the ‘Heroine of Hijack’. Neerja, who gave competition to the actresses of the 90s in studies, sports and looks, was the best in every respect. Everything was going well in her life. Then came a date which wrote a new definition of courage. 5 September 1986, ‘Pan Am’ 73 flight took off from Mumbai. The flight had to go to New York, but Karachi city of Pakistan was its first stop. The flight landed at Jinnah Airport in Karachi. Some passengers got off while some boarded for further journey. The pilot started preparing for takeoff. Meanwhile, four terrorists quickly entered the plane and suddenly shouted ‘hijack’. However, the terrorists with their evil intentions were unaware that there was a ‘lioness’ of India in this plane.
Passengers were evacuated safely with great understanding
There were 379 people on board the plane including four terrorists, 360 passengers and crew members. One of these crew members was Neerja Bhanot. She is the same brave woman of India who lost her life while saving the lives of all the passengers from the terrorists. If she wanted, she could have saved her life and escaped from there, but she did not do so and with her wisdom, she evacuated all the passengers safely from there.
Awarded with ‘Ashok Chakra’
After Neerja Bhanot’s sacrifice, the Indian government awarded her the highest civilian honour ‘Ashok Chakra’, while the Pakistani government also awarded Neerja ‘Tamgha-e-Insaniyat’. Neerja was indeed the greatest heroine of independent India. In 2004, a postage stamp was also issued in honour of Neerja Bhanot. Internationally, Neerja’s name is famous as the ‘Heroine of Hijack’. In 2005, America gave her the ‘Justice for Crime Award’. A film based on her story was also made in 2016, in which her character was played by Sonam Kapoor.