All you need to know about Neerja Bhanot (Heroine of the Hijack)

Neerja Bhanot

The successful model who later became an air hostess with Pan Am. The average Indian middle-class girl who became an inspiration for her self-sacrifice. Some people live till eternity and the ‘Heroine of the Hijack’ was one of them.

Neerja Bhanot was a flight attendant for Pan Am, based in Mumbai who was murdered while saving passengers from terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 on 5 September 1986. 

 Story of the last day of her life 

Neerja Bhanot was the senior flight purser on the ill-fated Pan Am Flight 73, which was hijacked by four heavily armed terrorists after it landed at Karachi at 5 am from Mumbai. PA 73 was en route to Frankfurt and onward to New York City. Bhanot alerted the cockpit crew about the hijack and, as the plane was on the tarmac, the three-member American cockpit crew of pilot, co-pilot and the flight engineer fled from the aircraft. Bhanot, being the senior-most cabin crew member on board, took charge.The hijackers were part of the terrorist Abu Nidal Organization and were backed by Libya. The terrorists then instructed Bhanot to collect the passports of all the passengers so that they could identify the Americans. 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.
After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fire and set off explosives. Bhanot opened the emergency door and helped a number of passengers escape. 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. Bhanot was recognised 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.

 After Death 

For her bravery, the Government of India posthumously awarded her the Ashok Chakra Award (India's highest gallantry award for bravery in the face of the enemy during peace time), and Bhanot became its youngest recipient. In 2004 the Indian Postal Service released a stamp commemorating her.

With the insurance money and an equal contribution from Pan Am for using the brand Pan Am in the title, Bhanot's parents 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 to an Indian woman who, when faced with social injustice such as dowry or desertion perseveres and then helps other women in similar social distress. The award includes a sum of INR 1,50,000, a trophy and a citation.

Bhanot's brother Aneesh went to Washington DC 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.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 US Department of Justice.

A square called Neerja Bhanot Chowk is named after her in Mumbai's Ghatkopar (East) suburb by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which was inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan in the early 1990s.

The civil aviation ministry of India conferred an honour on Neerja Bhanot posthumously on 18 February 2010 in New Delhi on the occasion of the launch of the celebrations of the centenary of Indian aviation.

 "Neerja" The Film 

Neerja is an upcoming Hindi film, based on Bhanot and the highjacking, with Sonam Kapoor playing title role of Neerja directed by Ram Madhvani.

 Video of Neerja Bhanot's Personal life