Just last week , social media was abuzz with notes and messages remembering the first Indian-born woman to fly in space, Kalpana Chawla, on her 55th birth anniversary. She was one of the many Indian women whose commitment towards their work did not stumble even in the face of death. Here are some of such brave women who remain immortal, forever garnering our respect and admiration:
Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla was a pioneer in many ways, be it her choice of career as an astronaut or being the first Indian woman to join NASA. Chawla first went to space on November 19, 1997 on Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming first Indian woman and second Indian, after Rakesh Sharma, to go to space. In 2003, it was her second space mission that proved to be fatal for her and the along with six of her crewmates. Just 16 minutes prior to landing, the space shuttle disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, leaving us heartbroken over the loss of a promising star. Chawla continues to remain a role model for those who aspire nothing less than the stars.
Neerja Bhanot
The word 'self-sacrifice' has almost become synonymous with the 22-year-old flight attendant, Neerja Bhanot, for her act of sheer bravery that saved the lives of more than 300 passengers but her own. India, perhaps, for the first time saw a hero in an air hostess. In September 1986, the ill-fated New York bound Pan Am flight was hijacked by Palestinian militants from the Abu Nidal Organization during a halt in Karachi. The flight was pinned to ground by the hijackers for almost 17 hours. In that moment of vulnerability, Bhanot took charge as the head purser and hid passports of American citizens onboard the flight—the prime targets of the hijackers—saving them. She lost her life while shielding three children from bullets.
Flight Lieutenant Harita Kaur Deol
Harita Kaur Deol was the first woman pilot from Indian Air Force to fly on a solo sortie. Born in Chandigarh, she was amongst the first seven women flight cadets inducted into the Air Force Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in 1993. Marking the critical transition in the military that previously remained an all-men arena, Deol created history when her solo flight took her to a massive height of 10,000 feet. Tied with a strap to the pilot’s seat inside the cockpit of an Avro aircraft and neatly zipped up in her navy blue overalls, Deol was just 22-years-old when she achieved this feat. Unfortunately, her air bound career and life came to a unforeseen halt when the aircraft carrying 24 Air Force personnel including Deol crashed near the Bukkapuram village in Andhra Pradesh on December 25, 1996, killing all the passengers onboard.
Indira Gandhi
The first woman prime minister of India unarguably personifies a woman of substance. She is also the longest-serving woman prime minister in the world. The untimely death of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri paved way for Gandhi to prove her mettle in the national politics. She was known as a decisive, ruthless and authoritarian leader. Her role in guiding developing nations and her personal contribution towards disarmament and global peace cannot be repudiated. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes misjudgments too. The implementation of the Operation Blue Star to flush out Sikh militants demanding self-rule in Punjab in 1984 did not go too well with many people, including the Sikh community. Hardly four months after Operation Blue Star, she was assassinated en route to her office by her own Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
