Brave, full of life, dedicated, charming, and compassionate – Neerja Bhanot will always be remembered as the incredible young woman who made an extraordinary sacrifice for the protection of passengers on board the Pan Am Flight that was hijacked on September 5, 1986.
Neerja was 22 years old when she was killed, merely 25 hours before her 23rd birthday.
Neerja was born in Chandigarh to journalist Harish Bhanot and his wife Rama. The family later moved to Mumbai.
“Neerja was a very sensitive, deeply affectionate and an extremely decent person who believed in sharing with her people all her joys but not the jolts. She had well defined principles and there was little room for compromise in that area,” wrote her father in Hindustan Times after her death.
Here are 11 things to know about this amazing woman :
1. She was born on 7 September 1963 in Chandigarh. Her Father was a journalist and mother a house wife.
2. She dreamt of becoming a model but had to give up her dreams when she got married in 1985 which was arranged by her parents.
3. She went to gulf to live with her husband after marriage but things got worse. She was tortured for not bringing dowry with her. She was starved off finance and food in a foreign land and the bright girl lost five kg of weight in two months.
4. She decided not to give up her life and came back to Mumbai and applied for a flight attendant’s job with Pam Am. She was among 80 applicants selected for the job among 10000 applications.
5. Neerja Bhanot was the senior flight purser on Pan Am Flight 73 en route to New York From Mumbai Airport via Karachi and Frankfurt.
6. On Arrival at Karachi Airport the Flight was hijacked by four armed terrorist of Abu Nidal Organization. The terrorist wanted to fly to Israel and wanted to crash the plane against a building.
7. First thing Neerja did after realizing what has happened is to alert crew members inside the cockpit which included pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer. They evacuated the aircraft through an overhead hatch in the cockpit per their training so that the aircraft could not be forcibly flown.
8. Next Terrorists asked the Neerja Bhanot to collect passport of 400 boarded passengers to find out who are American Nationalists. Neerja and other attendant hid all passports of American citizens under a seat and down a rubbish chute. This act of her secured life of American Citizens on the plane.
9. After 17 Hours of Hijack Terrorists opened arms to kill as much people as they can. As soon as gun fire started Neerja Bhanot opened the emergency gate of the the plane and helped escaping all the passengers in plane.
10. 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.
11. Because of her courage, Decision making ability and desire that no one should get hurt in her plane saved life of 380 passengers and crew members. Unfortunately 20 people died which includes only 2 American citizens who were prime target.
Other Details :
She was awarded Ashok Chakra by Government of India (India’s highest gallantry award for bravery in the face of the enemy during peace time). She is youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra Award
Bhanot was recognized internationally as “the heroine of the hijack”
A square called Neerja Bhanot Chowk is named after her in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar (East) suburb by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
In 2005 she was awarded “Justice Of Crime” Award posthumously by the US Government.
One of the children, aged 7 whom she saved in the plane by giving up her life is now a Captain in Major Airline. He has stated that Neerja Bhanot has been his inspiration and he owes every day of his life to her.
Neerja Bhanot : 11Things You Should Know About The Brave Girl
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