Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena was the first woman officer of the Indian Air Force who went to the Kargil War. He made history during the Kargil war in 1999, as a flying officer, he flew Cheetah aircraft in the war zone and rescued many soldiers.
Early life
Gunjan Saxena was born in a military family. His father, Lt Col Anoop Kumar Saxena and brother Lt Col Anshuman both served in the Indian Army.
Saxena earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Hansraj College, University of Delhi in New Delhi.
Indian Air Force service
Saxena was one of six women who joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) as pilots in 1996. This was the fourth batch of women air force trainees for the IAF .Saxena's first posting was in Udhampur, as part of the 132 Forward Area Control (FAC) as a flight lieutenant. Flying Officer Saxena was 24 years old when she flew during the Kargil War and was stationed in Srinagar. In the Kargil War, as part of Operation Vijay, apart from evacuating the wounded[a], she helped transport supplies to troops in the forward areas of Dras and Batalik. She also was assigned surveillance roles such as mapping enemy positions. She had to deal with makeshift landing grounds, heights of 13,000 to 18,000 feet and enemy fire. She was one of the ten pilots, based in Srinagar that flew hundreds of sorties during the war, evacuating over 900 casualties, wounded and killed Saxena was the only women in the Indian Armed Forces who flew into war zones in the Kargil War. In 2004, her career as a helicopter pilot ended after serving for seven years. Permanent commissions were not available during her time in service.
Personal life
Saxena's father Anup Saxena was a Lieutenant Colonel in Indian Army. Saxena's husband Gautam Narain, a Wing Commander is also an Indian Air Force pilot. He is the pilot of IAF Mi-17 Helicopter. He also served as an instructor at the National Defence Academy, which is the first tri-service academy in the world. The couple have a daughter, Pragya Narain who was born in 2003.
In popular culture
A chapter in the book Kargil Untold Stories From The War by Rachna Bisht Rawat focuses on Gunjan Saxena.Gunjan Saxena's autobiography, titled ‘The Kargil Girl’ co-written with author-duo Kiran Nirvan, was released by Penguin Publishers along with the movie. The book garnered immense praise and five star-reviews by print and electronic media including BBC India, CNN Network 18, Forbes India, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, etc. “Never jingoistic but measured and matter-of-fact, the book makes for thrilling reading with vividly described, moving, cinematic and enthralling scenes” is what Hindustan Times said about the book.The 2020 Bollywood film, released on Netflix Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is inspired by her life. Saxena is portrayed by Janhvi Kapoor while the film has been produced by Dharma Productions and Zee Studios. Saxena's's father and brother are played by Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi respectively in other popular roles.
Media inaccuracies
After the film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl released, there was a lot of confusion related to some facts about Saxena. In an article in NDTV she clarifies some of them:
I was lucky and blessed to have so many firsts to my name in my years with the IAF. To list a few -- first in the order of merit during my basic training and also in helicopter training, the first woman to fly in a combat zone (mentioned in the Limca Book of Records), the first 'BG' (a coveted flying category) among women helicopter pilots and the first woman officer to undergo the jungle and snow survival course. There are other small achievements, but those are not of much significance to my story right now.
—?Gunjan Saxena, NDTV
Neither I nor the filmmakers ever claimed I was a "Shaurya Chakra" awardee. After Kargil, I received the "Shaurya Veer" award from a civilian organisation in Uttar Pradesh. A certain section of the internet news possibly turned "Veer" into "Chakra". This has been clarified many times during my media interactions for the film's promotions.
—?Gunjan Saxena, NDTV
