Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986) was an Indian flight attendant. On 5 September 1986, she saved a large number of passengers on board Pan Am Flight 73, which had been hijacked by four Palestinian terrorists from the Abu Nidal Organization after it made a stopover at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan. Around 17 hours into the standoff, after she opened an emergency exit door and began helping passengers escape from the plane, Neerja was shot and killed by the hijackers. Shortly afterward, Pakistan's Special Service Group stormed the aircraft and captured all of the hijackers.
Posthumously, Bhanot became the first female recipient and, until 2003, the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of India. She also received the Tamgha-e-Pakistan, the 4th highest civilian award of Pakistan, in addition to several accolades from the United States. Her life and humanitarian actions inspired the 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical film Neerja, directed by Ram Madhvani and starring actress Sonam Kapoor.
Early life and family
Neerja Bhanot was born on 7 September 1963 in Chandigarh, India into a Punjabi Hindu Brahmin family of the Bhanot clan. She was the daughter of Harish Bhanot, a Bombay-based journalist, and Rama Bhanot. She had two brothers, Akhil and Aneesh Bhanot. She received her early schooling at Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh. When the family moved to Bombay, she continued her studies at Bombay Scottish School and then graduated from St. Xavier's College, Bombay. She was a huge fan of actor Rajesh Khanna and used to refer to quotes from his films throughout her life.
Her father, Harish Bhanot, worked as a journalist with the Hindustan Times for more than 30 years and died on New Year's Day in 2008 in Chandigarh at the age of 86. Her mother died on 5 December 2015 at the age of 86.
Career
Bhanot applied for a flight attendant job with Pan Am, when in 1985 it decided to have an all Indian cabin crew for its Frankfurt to India routes. Upon selection, she went to Miami, Florida for training as a flight attendant, but returned as a purser.
Hijacking
thumb|upright=1.1|The hijacked aircraft seen at [[Miami International Airport in May 1983]]
Bhanot was the Senior Flight Purser on Pan Am Flight 73, a Boeing 747-121 flying from Bombay to New York City via Karachi and Frankfurt. On 5 September 1986, the aircraft was hijacked on the apron at Karachi by four Palestinian terrorists affiliated with the Libya-backed Abu Nidal Organization. The aircraft was carrying 380 passengers and 13 crew members. The hijackers intended to fly to Cyprus to demand the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The hijackers specifically targeted Americans and American assets. Shortly after seizing the aircraft, they identified an Indian-American passenger, dragged him to the exit, fatally shot him, and threw his body from the plane. The hijackers then instructed Bhanot to collect the passports of all passengers to identify the remaining Americans. Bhanot and the cabin crew under her direction hid the passports of the 43 American passengers under seats and down a garbage chute.
After a 17-hour standoff, the hijackers detonated explosives and opened fire inside the cabin. Bhanot deployed an emergency exit door. Rather than evacuating, she remained on board to assist passengers in escaping. She was fatally shot at close range by the hijackers while assisting passengers down the exit when the leader of the group caught her by her ponytail and shot her point-blank in the head, as noted by a passenger.
Legacy
Bhanot was recognized internationally as "the heroine of the hijacking". In 2004, the Indian Postal Service released a commemorative stamp in her honour.