Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan were both IAF pilots who saved the lives of dozens of soldiers during the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed every year on July 26 to remember the victory of the country during the Kargil war between India and Pakistan in 1999, and also to remember the sacrifices made by the war heroes over two decades ago. Two such unsung Kargil war heroes are Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan.
Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan were two Indian Air Force pilots who were deployed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kargil region during the India-Pakistan war, and became the first female warriors of the war, being active in the combat zone.
While women were only allowed to be a part of the fighter squadron of the IAF in 2016, pilots Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan had already achieved this feat in 1999, becoming feminist role models for the country by playing a crucial part in India’s victory in the Kargil War.
During the Kargil War, IAF pilots Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan were not allowed to fly fighter jets but small Cheetah helicopters, tasked with evacuations and delivering medical supplies in the active combat zone of the India-Pakistan war.
The two brave-hearted women flew the unarmed and unsecured helicopters through the combat range in the Kargil War, not worrying about their own safety but only evacuating the Indian army officials who had been brutally injured during the active firing.
One Pakistani missile also nearly took down IAF pilot Gunjan’s helicopter, only missing it by an inch. Gunjan Saxena, known as The Kargil Girl, also carried an assault rifle with her in case her helicopter crashed and she had to face the rival army on the ground.
Meanwhile, Sreevidya Rajan braved the disturbed terrain and environment of the combat zone and risked her own life to transform injured army officers to the Army Hospital in Srinagar, all the while looking death straight in the eye.
Both IAF pilots Gunjan Saxena and Sreevidya Rajan saved dozens of lives during the Kargil War, setting a new precedent for female defence officers across the country.
READ | Kargil Vijay Diwas: Meet IAF's Sreevidya Rajan, Kargil’s unsung hero who flew with Gunjan Saxena, saved soldiers’ lives
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 "Kargil Vijay Diwas 2023: How this female pilot duo saved Indian soldiers, became first women heroes of Kargil War")
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