Neerja Bhanot

Neerja Bhanot: The Unselfish Surrender

The flight Neerja was on when it was hijackedhttps://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_World_AirwaysThe sounds of gunshots filled the air as people screamed in panic. With her spontaneous thinking, she quickly opened all the emergency exits that laid on either side of the plane. Even when she could have escaped with the rest of the passengers, she stayed behind voluntarily, making sure everyone fled to safety. Doing so, she even took the gunshot meant for a group of children, and willingly sacrificed her life. Neerja Bhanot, born on September 7th, 1963 to Harish and Rama Bhanot, set a whole new standard to being a hero. It wasn’t just one act of her’s, but instead her whole life: a feat hard to achieve. Being introduced to the modeling career at the age of 18, Bhanot soon became a popular face in India. Though at the peak of her career, she was sent off to marry, not realizing that she would become a victim of an abusive relationship. Despite this obstacle, she didn’t give up on her dream to become what she always wanted to be: a flight attendant. Putting utmost dedication into her work, Bhanot soon became one of the senior crew members with her experience. Her knowledge in working tasks at ease is what allowed her to save innocent souls that day. On the day of September 5th, 1986, Neerja Bhanot saved 360 lives in spite of having her own on the line, during a hijack. Neerja Bhanot strived to prove herself worthy by becoming a flight attendant, and also saved many lives when she was one, making her a hero living in everyone's hearts, even if not on Earth.

Neerja Bhanot suffered through a relationship that unexpectedly turned abusive, yet she was a determined person and didn’t let that affect her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Bhanot was always an independent and self-respected individual:

Therefore, her decision to accept a marriage arranged by her father to a man based in Sharjah surprised many of her friends. She agreed to go along with the marriage because she respected her father. Unfortunately, her marriage was unhappy and short-lived. Her husband harassed her for her dowry and forced her to cut all ties with her family. In addition, her husband did not treat her very well. (Tsem Rinpoche)

A quote by Neeraj Bhanot, the brother of Neerja BhanotOriginal WorkBhanot was known to be a proper women and very independent of her choices. When she submissively accepted her dad’s proposal to marriage, it was shocking news for everyone. In India, a marriage is considered a lifetime and typically permanent relationship, but for Bhanot, it was spoiled in a short matter of time. She put up with harassment and abusive acts of her former spouse, who never cared for anything but her dowry. Yet, she still fought through her tough circumstances and officially left him for good. Rather than having such a lifestyle torture her, she evaluated the situation, and made the decision that was right for her, which allowed her to pursue a better life. Through this situation, her lack of dwelling on the past can be seen as she chose to focus on moving onto a better future. After she finally broke ties from the ill-fated marriage “Neerja decided to prove herself. She applied for a flight attendant's job with Pam Am, in times when 'air hostesses' were cherry-picked. But Neerja, from among 10,000 applications, was picked in the top 80” (India Today). Though the incidents between her and her ex-husband scarred Bhanot, she didn’t end her story there. She wanted to prove her true potential and applied for a flight attendant’s job: being in the top 80, out of 10,000 people, which is the top 0.008%. She contradicted the stereotype of “Women are usually disregarded and are known to be weak” by proving herself worthy, inspiring many people (women in particular), to always keep trying and never stop until you have achieved what you want. Bhanot, coping up with what might have been one of the most damaging incidents in her life, and not letting that diminish her true will, is what proves a quality of a hero: fighting through the toughest times regardless of what society does to you. Afterall, a hero won’t become a hero unless they prove their point against all the people who prevent it from becoming true, which is what Bhanot did.

It wasn’t surviving through a once-abusive-marriage that Bhanot was just known for, but also when she saved 360 lives on a hijacked plane through her selfless and quick-thinking. Upon being informed that:

[...]the terrorists boarded the plane, Bhanot alerted the cockpit crew, who escaped through an overhead hatch in the cockpit. As the senior-most crew member remaining on board, this left Bhanot in charge. One of the terrorists asked the flight crew to collect and hand over the passports of all passengers on board. When Bhanot realised that the primary targets of the terrorists were American passengers, she hid their passports – even discarding some of them down the rubbish chute. From a total of 41 American passengers, only 2 were killed. (Kapoor)

Being the senior-most crew member left on board, it was up to her for decision-making. Rather than physically fighting to escape from the grasps of the terrorists, Bhanot carefully observed what it is that they exactly wanted. When one is usually under stressful circumstances, they tend to freeze, not being able to think, not being able to know what to do next. However,  Bhanot’s impulsive thinking that day saved most of the lives on board. Her sense of control shows that she is always there for others, to serve her people, and to keep them protected, no matter the situation. Though, the factor that played the most important role that allowed her to do what she did was the fact that:

Bhanot was absolutely calm and efficient through the horrific episode. She was the first one to alert the captain, the co-pilot and first officers about a possible hijack and it was on her instruction they made their way out from the cockpit, ensuring that the plane could not take off. She had the choice to save herself first, but she chose to save others. When she opened the emergency exit, she could have herself been the first to slide down the chute. But she was the 'captain', who believed that she had to be the last person to quit - alive or dead. (India Today)

Another quote by Neeraj BhanotOriginal WorkBeing a crew member, Bhanot had the opportunity to leave the plane in order to reach safety first. However, she went beyond her designated duty of being flight attendant, and prioritized the lives of the passengers over hers. Knowing that worrying would cause a rift of panic within the passengers (which can make them more vulnerable to getting shot by the terrorists), she handled the situation with the opposite reaction: by being calm and collected. Knowing lives of hundreds of people were at stake, the way she handled this hijacked situation was very logical and efficient. She had the cockpit crew escape so the plane was still kept on ground. This prevented more tension from arising, which went accordingly with her plan of keeping a calming environment within the plane. When the terrorists did start to fire, she quickly opened the emergency doors to let all the passengers out. This unselfish act of helping others regardless of race, gender, and culture shows the world how a true human should serve, how a hero should serve: with the motto of “your people are the first priority”.

Bhanot went through many circumstances in life, yet she bore all of them and still fought through. She was a determined and unselfish individual who did what’s right. She is an inspiration because she stayed optimistic through what would have put a normal person under a lot of struggle. Staying positive and determined allowed her to achieve what she wanted in the end- both in terms of becoming a flight attendant and saving lives of the passengers on board. In the year of 1987, Bhanot was awarded the:

Neerja was recognized by officially having her face on an Indian stampIndia Post, Government of India [GODL-India (https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf)]Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime military decoration for the “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice”, and the Tamgha-e-Insaniyat, awarded by the Pakistan government for showing incredible kindness. She also posthumously received multiple awards for her courage from the United States government. (Kapoor)

The awards that Neerja has earned aren’t usually received by many. Her being recognized for these awards shows how much she cared about not only serving her life for the people of her country, put people in general. She valued the lives of them more than her’s. Not only that, but Bhanot’s parents used:

[...]the insurance money that they received after her death and an equal contribution from Pan Am, to set up the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust. Through the Trust, they present two awards of Rs. 1,50,000 every year – one to an Indian woman who faces social injustice but overcomes it and helps other women in similar situations, and one to honour an airline crew member who acts beyond the call of duty. (Kapoor)

In the name of her brave act, her parents even started a trust for unprivileged women. Not only did she save lives during the hijack, but her heroic act is saving many when she isn’t there too. A true hero makes a lasting impact. Taking from what a passenger from the flight said “That day, nobody saw religion, caste, or creed in each other. That day we saw each other as humans and wanted to help and save each other. It’s as simple as that in end” (Better India). Bhanot’s act of saving all the passengers on board was an act of kindness and courage shown through a human-to-human relationship. Being the citizen of this world, we have to respect our people and always watch out for them, which Bhanot has proved. Her act will always teach us to always be giving and never differentiate people...because it all condenses to one point: we are all human in the end. She put up through many fights throughout her life without ruining her true potential. Even being in life-death situations, her true human moral still stayed intact. This always inspires me, not only because she was unselfish, but how she struggled through to meet ends. I, being a person who loses confidence within moments, is always struck in an awe when remembering the fights Bhanot handled. It shows me that I shouldn’t lose my good moral towards people because of incidents that mentally strained me or brought me down. Whenever I don’t feel like I will be able to do something, I will always think back to the young lady who suffered, yet overcame challenges by staying strong, and put her life before everyone else’s: someone who did an unselfish surrender.

Works Cited

Desk, India Today Web. “Who Was Neerja Bhanot? Remembering the Hijack Heroine on Her 31st Death Anniversary.” India Today, 5 Sept. 2017, www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/neerja-bhanot-death-anniversary-father-article-husband-hijack-1038298-2017-09-05.

Kapoor, Vandita. “The Incredible Story of Neerja Bhanot – Indian Flight Attendant Who Saved 360 Lives.” The Better India, 10 Feb. 2016, www.thebetterindia.com/40218/neerja-bhanot-flight-attendant-hijack-bravery/.

“Neerja Bhanot – A Selfless Heroine.” Tsem Rinpoche, 9 Apr. 2018, www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/current-affairs/neerja-bhanot-a-selfless-heroine.html?nomobile.

Tbi. “MY STORY: I Survived the Pan Am Hijack During Which Neerja Bhanot Lost Her Life.” The Better India, 24 Feb. 2016, www.thebetterindia.com/47090/neerja-bhanot-pan-am-flight-hijack-survivor/.