In a major step, Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra on Wednesday announced that a direction has been given to include Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in textbooks.
Wing Commander Abhinandan is the Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 Bison fighter pilot, who shot down a Pakistani Air Force F-16 on February 27 during a dogfight over the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Dotasra said that our forces keep us safe while sacrificing their own lives and so to inspire the upcoming generation of the bravery of our forces the step has been taken.
"Our forces keep us safe while sacrificing their own lives, to inspire the upcoming generation from the bravery of our forces, a direction has been given to include Wing Commander Abhinandan in textbooks," said Dotasra.
Wing Commander Abhinandan, flying a MiG-21 Bison, had engaged a PAF F-16 jet on the morning of February 27, 2019, when the neighbouring country launched an air raid to target Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. During the dogfight, Wing Commander Abhinandan shot down the much-advanced F-16 but the IAF jet, too, went down in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra: Our forces keep us safe while sacrificing their own lives, to inspire the upcoming generation from the bravery of our forces, a direction has been given to include Wing Commander #Abhinandan in textbooks. pic.twitter.com/G4Qmp3BywD
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2019
He became the first IAF pilot to shoot down an F-16 fighter jet during aerial combat with the Pakistani Air Force.
The officer was taken into custody by the Pakistani military after he ejected from the MiG-21 Bison and landed in PoK. He was released and returned to India late on Friday evening after being in Pakistan's custody for almost 60 hours.
An MRI scan revealed that he suffered injuries in his lower spine due to the stress his body had to undergo following the high-speed ejection at a high altitude. The scan also showed that there was an injury in one of his ribs after he was assaulted by the locals in PoK after he landed.
His MRI scan was conducted on Sunday at Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi Cantonment and the doctors did not find any bugs. He will undergo more medical tests at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi where is under observation and treatment.
