Mumbai: The trailer for Karan Johar’s ‘Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl’ starring Janhvi Kapoor was released recently.
Janhvi plays the role of fighter pilot Gunjan Saxena, the first ever female Indian to fly into a combat zone.
The trailer of the film has excited fans and many want to know why Gunjan Saxena is.
Let us learn some interesting facts about the brave pilot.
The Kargil War took place in 1999. During this war, two women had done tremendous work – Gunjan Saxena and Srividya Rajan. These two women not only fought against the enemies’ dead missiles but also carried injured soldiers to hospital. Gunjan was awarded the Shaurya Vir Award, a gallantry award presented for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice.
First batch of the Air Force
In the past, women in the Indian Air Force were not given full commission like today. They could however serve the country for 7 years through Short Service Commission. Gunjan Saxena and Srividya Rajan, who belonged to the military families, were among the 25 trained pilots who were the first batch of female Indian Air Force trainee pilots in 1994.
Shifted injured soldier to hospital during Kargil war
Lieutenant Saxena and Rajan were also looking for an opportunity so that they could serve their country and opportunity presented itself during the Kargil War in 1999. They had never flown a fighter jet, but during the war, they were deployed to shift the injured soldiers.
Cheetah helicopter
They were given small Cheetah helicopters which were unarmed and completely defenseless to enemy attack but the two brave hearts continued flying in and out of the danger zone in North Kashmir. Apparently, in one of the attacks, the Pakistani Army fired a rocket at Gunjan’s chopper that was ready for take-off at the Kargil airstrip. The missile barely missed the chopper and crashed into the hill right behind.
At that time, Pak troops were showering bullets and missiles on the enemy helicopters.
Gunjan had an INSAS rifle and a revolver for self defence if her chopper crashed in enemy territory. During this time, her only aim was to get the wounded soldiers to the hospital as soon as possible. However, seeing her courage she was also awarded the Shaurya Vir Chakra. She also became the first woman to receive such an honour from the military.
PNN/Agencies