Neerja Bhanot

This article is about the Indian Pan Am purser. For the 2016 biographical film, see Neerja.
Neerja Bhanot
AC
Neerja Bhanot
Born (1963-09-07)7 September 1963
Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Died 5 September 1986(1986-09-05) (aged 22)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality Indian
Occupation Purser, Model
Known for Pan Am Flight 73
Parent(s) Rama Bhanot
Harish Bhanot
Awards Full List

Neerja Bhanot, AC (Hindi: नीरजा भनोत; 7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986),[1] was a purser for Pan Am, based in Mumbai, India, who was shot and killed while saving hundreds of passengers on board a Pan Am plane which terrorists had hijacked - Pan Am Flight 73 -on 5 September 1986. Posthumously, she became the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra. Born in a Punjabi family in Chandigarh, she was brought up in Mumbai. Neerja Bhanot had a successful modelling career, simultaneously working as purser at Pan Am. Her life and heroism 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.[2] Bhanot was the daughter of Harish Bhanot, a Mumbai-based journalist, and Rama Bhanot. She had two brothers: Akhil and Aneesh Bhanot [3] 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.[1] It was in Mumbai, where she was first spotted for a modelling assignment which began her modelling career.[4] She was a huge fan of actor Rajesh Khanna and use to refer to quotes from his film throughout her life.[5]

Career

Neerja 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.[1][6]

Hijacking

Neerja 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, Neerja 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 left the aircraft through an overhead hatch in the cockpit. Neerja Bhanot, as the senior-most cabin crew member, took charge.[6][7][8]

The hijackers were part of the terrorist Abu Nidal Organization and were backed by Libya. They were targeting Americans and American assets. Right in the early minutes of the hijack, they identified an American citizen, dragged him to the exit, shot him dead and threw his body on to the tarmac. The terrorists then instructed Neerja Bhanot to collect the passports of all the passengers so that they could identify the other Americans on board. In a remarkable act of courage and compassion, Neerja 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 passengers.[6][7] They did this at a grave risk to their own lives, because if the terrorists had found them doing so, they would have killed them immediately.

After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Neerja Bhanot opened one of the doors, flung open an emergency chute, and started assisting passengers to escape from the aircraft. If she wanted, she could have been the first to jump out and save her own life when she opened the door but she decided not to and instead started saving the passengers. She was shot while shielding three unaccompanied American children from a hail of bullets of the hijackers. Out of a total of 41 American passengers, only two were killed during the hijacking. Another child on board, then aged seven, is now a captain for a major airline and has stated that Neerja Bhanot has been his inspiration and he owes every day of his life to her. Neerja 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.[6][7][8]

This incident occurred just two days before her twenty-third 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. Neerja Bhanot 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.[7][9][10]

Killer

The hijackers were members of the Abu Nidal Organisation.[7] 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.[11][12]

After death

"

Her loyalties to the passengers of the aircraft in distress will forever be a lasting tribute to the finest qualities of the human spirit".

Ashok Chakra citation[1]

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 and the first woman recipient of this award.[1][13][14] In 2004 the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.[15][16]

With insurance money and an equal contribution from Pan Am for using the brand Pan Am in the title, her family 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, has faced the situation with guts and grit AND and then helped other women in similar social distress. The award includes a sum of INR 1,50,000, a trophy and a citation.[6][17][18]

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.[19] 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.[10]

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 1 Jan 2008 in Chandigarh at the age of 86.[20]

Popular culture

Awards

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Vij, Illa (13 November 1999). "Brave in life, brave in death". The Tribune (Tribune Trust).
  2. ↑ "The glamorous lives of ’80s air hostesses in India". Quartz.
  3. ↑ Avantika Bhuyan (5 March 2016). "It is incredible how blessed this project has been: Atul Kasbekar".
  4. ↑ "'The Sky Was Her Limit". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  5. ↑ http://m.rediff.com/movies/report/neerja-a-fond-tribute-to-a-forgotten-hero/20160219.htm
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "The story of India's bravest flight attendant".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Neerja Bhanot – The Indian Flight Attendant Who Saved 360 Lives". The Better India.
  8. 1 2 "The hijack heroine".
  9. ↑ Neeraja Bhanot
  10. 1 2 3 "Special Courage Awards: Pan Am Flight 73 flight attendants and the Pan Am Director for Pakistan". United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Most Wanted Terrorists". Wanted by the FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  12. ↑ "Wanted for Terrorism". United States Department of State.
  13. ↑ "Nominations invited for Neerja Bhanot Awards". The Indian Express (Indian Express Limited). 5 September 2006.
  14. ↑ "The times of India".
  15. ↑ "Stamp on Neerja released". The Tribune (Tribune Trust). 9 October 2004.
  16. ↑ Jaffry, Nasir (4 January 2008). "Pak frees Pan Am hijack quartet". The Telegraph (ABP Group).
  17. ↑ "NeerjaTrust – Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust". Karmayog.
  18. ↑ "Mumbai based Chanda Asani to get Neerja Bhanot Award 2008". Business Standard. 16 September 2008.
  19. 1 2 "America honours Neerja Bhanot". The Times of India (The Times Group). 13 April 2005.
  20. ↑ "Journalist, former MC member Harish Bhanot passes away". The Indian Express (Indian Express Limited). 2 January 2008.
  21. ↑ {cite news|Book in the memory of Neerja released. |url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Book-in-the-memory-of-Neerja-released/articleshow/51032897.cms}
  22. ↑ Sengupta, Durga M (2016-02-11). "Pakistan bans Neerja now. But why then did they award the Pan Am hero?". Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  23. ↑ "FSF Heroism Award". Flight Safety Foundation. 2011. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  24. ↑ "Centre honours Neerja Bhanot". The Times of India. 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  25. ↑ "Civil Aviation Ministry honours air hostess Neerja Bhanot who was killed by terrorists". Journalism of Courage Archive (The Indian EXPRESS). 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2016-04-10.

External links

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