#01 | व्यक्ति विशेष | Person of significance | #knowledge_wikipedia from free international calls from mobile Watch Video

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✓ Published: 26-Jun-2024

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We often used to highlight or profile an individual who has made notable contributions or has a significant impact in a particular field or society. This can include famous personalities, leaders, or individuals with unique achievements or characteristics.Today we have a specific person in mind for this profile. <br/><br/>Neerja Bhanot (7 September 1963 – 5 September 1986) was an Indian flight purser. On 5 September 1986, she saved a large number of passengers onboard Pan Am Flight 73, which had been hijacked by four 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 afterwards, Pakistan's Special Service Group stormed the aircraft and captured all of the hijackers. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>Early life and family <br/>Neerja Bhanot was born on September 7, 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. It was in Bombay where she was first spotted for a modeling assignment which began her modeling career. She was a huge fan of actor Rajesh Khanna and used to refer to quotes from his films throughout her life. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>Career <br/>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. <br/><br/>Hijacking <br/>Bhanot was the Senior Flight Purser on Pan Am Flight 73 a Boeing 747 flying from Bombay to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt, which was hijacked by four Palestinian fedayeen on 5 September 1986. The aircraft was carrying 380 passengers and 13 crew members. The fedayeen wanted to fly to Cyprus with the goal of freeing Pakistani prisoners in Cyprus. The hijackers were part of the Abu Nidal Organization.