Republic Day 2021: 2 IAF Women Pilots Chart History, Become 1st Women Pilots to be Part of R-Day Parade

NEW DELHI: Two Indian Air Force women officers became the first women pilots to participate in the Republic Day parade at and over Rajpath.

Twenty-eight-year-old Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth became the first woman fighter pilot to take part in the parade as part of an India Air Force tableau that displayed models of a light combat aircraft, light combat helicopter and a Sukhoi-30 fighter plane. Flight Lieutenant Swati Rathore became the first woman pilot to be part of the flypast over Rajpath as she flew a Mi-17 V5 helicopter in a formation of four choppers.

Ft Lt Bhawana Kanth is currently posted at an airbase in Rajasthan. She flies MiG-21 Bison fighter jets. This is the same aircraft that was used by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman to bring down an F-16 of Pakistan during the India-Pakistan face-off in 2019. Kanth was inducted into the IAF as the first woman fighter pilot in 2016 with Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh. In 2019, Ft Lt Kanth became one of the first three women fighter pilots to qualify for day-time combat missions on a fighter aircraft.

Kanth is from Baur village and grew up in the refinery township of Bihar's Begusara. She completed her Bachelor of Engineering (Medical Electronics) degree from Bengaluru's BMS College of Engineering in 2014 and later joined Tata Consultancy Services before applying to the IAF. Her father too is an engineer. Her father spoke to the media and charted her interest in flying to her childhood and credited their neighbour, Manas Bihari Verma, an aeronautical scientist who helped in the development of LCA Tejas, as Kanth's inspiration.

Ft Lt Swati Rathore was born in a village, in Rajasthan's Nagaur district and did her schooling from Ajmer. She joined the NCC air wing after her schooling and won a gold medal in shooting while there.

Swati appeared in the IAF common admission test in 2013. She was then called for an interview by the Air Force Selection Board, Dehradun in 2014. As per Swati's statements to the media, there were around 200 women candidates from all over the country, out of which 98 were selected for screening. Post screening, only five students were left, out of whom she was selected for the flying branch.

Ft Lt Swati Rathore, in an interview to the media earlier, said, "Opportunities are everywhere. You have to look for those opportunities and make the most of them. In fact, parents should always find out the interests of their children and should develop those interests by supporting the kids in every possible way."

Her father, Dr Bhavani Singh Rathore, who is the deputy director of the Rajasthan Department of Agriculture, said, "I held my head high because of my daughter. I am really happy that she could realise her dream."

Her achievements drew praise from political leaders like former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.

The armed forces of our country have forever been a male dominated area, and Ft Lt Swati Rathore and Ft Lt Bhawana Kanth have broken through a tremendously high glass ceiling, and have become an inspiration for all.

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