Since the Balakot airstrike took place in February, every Indian household knew who Indian Air Force's (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is. During the Balakot airstrike, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's MiG 21 was shot down after he brought down one Pakistani F-16 fighter during a dogfight to repel the attack. He was captured by Pakistan. But he was soon returned to our country and hailed as a hero.
He will now be bestowed with the country's top military honour, Vir Chakra, for his tremendous courage and valour.
India conducted airstrikes in Pakistan's Balakot in the early morning hours of February 26. A day after the airstrikes, Varthaman was flying a MiG-21 as a part of a sortie when he got involved in an aerial fight with Pakistan’s F-16 and crossed into Pakistan’s territory.?
He was then placed in Pakistan’s captivity for 60 hours and on March 1, he returned to India. The whole country celebrated his return to India - people gave him a well-deserved hero's welcome.
Not only this honour that has kept Abhinandan on the headlines, reports of him resuming his duties soon also brought joy to people's faces.
His bravery story has also found a way to Rajasthan Board school's syllabus.?
From the next academic year, students of Class IX in Rajasthan will study about the Balakot Air strikes and Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.?
The Rajasthan government has introduced the two topics in the social science textbook in the chapter on “Rashtriya suraksha evam shaurya parampara (National security and tradition of valor)’’ by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education.?
According to The Times of India, students will study about both the strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot and about the role of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.
“After an attack on defence forces by terrorists in Pulwama, the IAF on February 26, 2019, with 12 Mirage-2000 fighter jets, attacked terrorist camps in Balakot. The next day, an F-16 Pakistan fighter jet violated Indian air space and attempted to attack (military establishments). IAF directed its “braveheart” Wing Commander Abhinandan, who flew a MiG-21, to respond. He displayed his excellence by shooting down a plane which was better than the jet he was flying,” reads the text.