A Tale Of 10 Indians With Extraordinary Caliber

6. Neerja Bhanot, a heroic air hostess:

Neerja was the vivacious and valiant senior flight purser of Pan Am. She inspired the world with self-sacrifice during the Pan Am hijacking (1986) at Karachi. The flight was heading from Mumbai to New York via Pakistan and Germany. While at Karachi, terrorists came aboard in an attempt to hijack. She warned the plane’s pilots so they could escape. Their quick getaway made the hijacking fail because the terrorists were stuck on the ground. In the final bloodbath at the end of the hijacking, Neerja was killed, just 25 hours ahead of her 23rd birthday. Not only had she assured the failure of the hijacking by preventing the plane from getting off the ground, she also saved the lives of hostages in those long hours of captivity. For her bravery, the Government of India posthumously awarded her the Ashoka Chakra (India's highest gallantry award for bravery in the face of the enemy during peace time), which made Bhanot the youngest recipient of this prestigious award in the country. In 2004 the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.

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