First Woman to get Ashok Chakra Neerja Bhanot

Neerja Bhanot, AC (Hindi: नीरजा भनोत; 7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986), was a purser for Pan Am, based in Mumbai, India, who was shot and killed while escorting passengers out of an emergency exit on a plane which terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 on 5 September 1986. Posthumously, she became the youngest and the only female recipient of India's highest peacetime military award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra. Born in a Punjabi family in Chandigarh, she was brought up in Mumbai. Early in her life Bhanot had a successful modelling career, simultaneously working as purser at Pan Am. Her life and heroics has inspired a biopic in the form of Ram Madhvani's Neerja (2016).

Early life and education

Neerja Bhanot was born in Chandigarh and brought up in Mumbai in a Punjabi family. Bhanot was the daughter of Harish Bhanot, a Mumbai-based journalist, and Rama Bhanot. She received her early schooling at Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh. When the family moved to Bombay, she continued her studies at Bombay Scottish School and then graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. It was in Mumbai, where she was first spotted for a modelling assignment which began her modelling career. She was a huge fan of actor Rajesh Khanna and use to refer to quotes from his film throughout her life.

Career

Bhanot applied for a flight attendant job with Pan Am, when it decided to have an all Indian crew for its Asian clients, and upon selection, went to Miami for training as a flight attendant but returned as a purser.

Hijacking

Bhanot was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73 flying from Mumbai to the United States, which was hijacked by four armed men on 5 September 1986 at Karachi airport in Pakistan. The aircraft was carrying 361 passengers and 19 crew members. The terrorists wanted to fly to Cyprus and wanted to release some of their members from jail. After the terrorists boarded the plane, Bhanot alerted the cockpit crew. As the plane was on the tarmac, the three-member American cockpit crew of pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer evacuated the aircraft through an overhead hatch in the cockpit as per their training so that the aircraft could not be forcibly flown. Bhanot, being the most senior cabin crew member remaining aboard, took charge.

The hijackers were part of the terrorist Abu Nidal Organization and were backed by Libya. The terrorists then instructed Bhanot to collect the passports of all the passengers so that they could identify the Americans. The terrorists wanted to put pressure on America by identifying and threatening the Americans on the aircraft. Bhanot and the other attendants under her charge hid the passports of the 41 Americans on board; some under a seat and the rest down a rubbish chute so that the hijackers could not differentiate between American and Non-American citizens.

After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Bhanot opened one of the doors, flung open an emergency chute, and assisted passengers from the aircraft. She could have been the first to jump out when she opened the door but she decided not to and was shot while shielding three children from a hail of bullets. Out of a total of 41 American passengers, only two were killed during the firing. One of the children, then aged seven, is now a captain for a major airline and has stated that Bhanot has been his inspiration and he owes every day of his life to her. Bhanot was recognized internationally as "the heroine of the hijack" and is the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra Award, India's most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peace time.

This incident occurred just two days before her twenty-third birthday. She had invited her family to meet for her 23rd birthday. Not only had she ensured the failure of the hijacking by preventing the plane from getting off the ground, but also saved the lives of hostages in those long hours of incarceration. Bhanot also posthumously received multiple awards for her courage from the United States government and Tamgha-e-Insaniyat from Pakistan, an award given for showing incredible human kindness.

Killer

The hijackers were members of the Abu Nidal Organisation. In 2001, Zayd Hassan Abd Al-Latif Masud Al Safarini, one of the hijackers who shot the passengers, was captured by the FBI in Bangkok. He is currently serving a 160-year prison term in Colorado, after he was released by Pakistan Government. Four others escaped from Adyala Jail in January 2008 when it was attacked by terrorists. The FBI announced a million bounty on their heads. In January 2010, Pakistani intelligence officials announced that a drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal region had killed one of the released hijackers, Jamal Saeed Abdul Rahim. His death was never confirmed and he remains on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists and Rewards for Justice Program lists.

After death:

For her bravery, the Government of India posthumously awarded Bhanot the Ashoka Chakra Award (India's highest gallantry award for bravery in the face of the enemy during peace time). Bhanot is the youngest recipient as well as the only female recipient of this award. In 2004 the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.

With insurance money and an equal contribution from Pan Am for using the brand Pan Am in the title, her parents set up the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust. The trust presents two awards every year, one for a flight crew member, worldwide, who acts beyond the call of duty and another, the Neerja Bhanot Award, to an Indian woman who when faced with social injustice such as dowry or desertion difficulties and then helps other women in similar social distress. The award includes a sum of INR 1,50,000, a trophy and a citation.

Bhanot's brother Aneesh went to Washington, D.C. in 2005 to receive the 'Justice for Crimes Award' awarded posthumously to her as part of the 'Annual Crime Rights Week' at a ceremony held at the United States Attorney's office for the District of Columbia. In 2006, she and the other Pan Am Flight 73 flight attendants and Pan Am's flight director for Pakistan were awarded the Special Courage award by the United States Department of Justice.

The civil aviation ministry of India conferred an honor on Bhanot posthumously on 18 February 2010 in New Delhi on the occasion of the launch of the celebrations of the centenary of Indian aviation.

Personal life and family

Bhanot had an arranged marriage in March 1985 and joined her husband in the Gulf. However, the marriage soon deteriorated following alleged dowry pressure and she returned to her parents' home in Mumbai within two months.

Bhanot had two brothers, Akhil and Aneesh. Her father, Harish Bhanot, worked as a journalist with The Hindustan Times for more than 30 years and died on 31 December 2007 in Chandigarh at the age of 86.

Awards:

• Ashoka Chakra 1987, India
• Tamgha-e-Insaaniyat (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