Wing Commander Abhinandan to Get Vir Chakra!

Indian Air Force's (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman did the unforgettable job during 2019 India-Pakistan standoff. He was held captive for 60 hours in Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight. Fearless Abhinandan didn’t reveal the secrets of the country, though the Pakistan army tortured him at that time. He risked his life to save the people and the country thus became the hero of the nation.

Now, defense sources said on Thursday revealed that Abhinandan is going to get the Vir Chakra, India's top military honor. Along with Abhinandan, pilots of the five Mirage-2000 fighter jets, who had dropped bombs on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, are also going to be honored with Vayu Sena medals.

“The final list of gallantry awardees will get the nod from President Ram Nath Kovind on August 14. Only after the list has been formally approved by the President can we disclose the names of awardees to the general public (sic)," a senior Indian Air Force official told IANS. Honoring the great person like Abhinandan made his family and fans very happy. People expressed their happiness for honoring the daring commander.

The February 27 dogfight took place a day after the Mirage-2000s struck targets in Balakot in response to the Pulwama suicide attack in Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force men were killed on February 14. “If the awards are being announced on Independence Day, it will be an acknowledgment of the professionalism and courage displayed by the fighter pilots in missions where stakes were very high,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.

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