Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed
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On the morning of Friday, 20th August, 1971, Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, pilot still under training, was in the front seat of a jet trainer, taxing out for take off. A Bengali instructor pilot from the same unit forced his way into the rear cockpit, seized control of the aircraft and having taken off, headed the aircraft towards India. With just some 40 miles of Pakistan territory remaining, Minhas had only one course open to him to prevent his aircraft from entering India. Without hesitation, and living up to the highest traditions of the Pakistan Air Force, Rashid Minhas tried to regain control of his aircraft, but finding this to be impossible in the face of the superior skill and experience of his instructor, forced the aircraft to crash at a point 32 miles from the Indian border. In doing so Pilot Officer Minhas deliberately made the supreme sacrifice for the honour of Pakistan and the service to which he belonged. For this act of heroism above and beyond the call of duty, Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas, aged 20, became the youngest ever recipient of the Nishan-i-Haider, Pakistan’s highest award for gallantry.
Now thats what I call guts or we say in Urdu "Bahaadrii"!!
Fazool fazool sii posts e.g. clothes and some useless actor/ actress ki 3/4/ pages kii ho posts ho jaati hain, kaam kii koii cheez post karo, to koi nahii phoot taa.
I agree with FunkyDesi baji.
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Rashid Minhas Shaheed always inspired me for his achievement at such a young age. I have heard a story and someone might correct it if I am wrong. Usually, trainee pilots have to pass certain physical test and go through certain hurdles. Normally, people cover 8 hurdles in a set time but he did it all of them twice in that set time.
mad_scientist wrote: “A bengali officer…” I don’t know why but I sense some racism in this sentence and I would have rather said it something like “A senior officer Mati-ur-Rehman who happened to be bengali…” as I know that some Bengalis fought together with West Pakistanis against India.
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Thanks mad_scientist
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I included the word Bengali because otherwise there may have been some concern amongst readers as to why a Pakistani officer would try to defect to India. The fact of the matter is that as a result of the conduct of the Pakistan Army and Government in East Pakistan during 1971, many Bengali personnel in the Armed Forces defected to India to join Mujibur Rehman's men. Eventually, to prevent such desertions the government was forced to confine all Bengali officers and enlisted men in all branches of the armed forces to Prisoner-of-War camps in West Pakistan. By this stage, though, the damage had already been done. Bengali defectors from the Pakistan Air Force revealed to the Indians the exact range and location of all radars in Pakistan. As a result, Indian planes were able to fly over Pakistan with the PAF often unaware of their presence until Indian bombs were falling on Pakistan.
I am well aware, however, that many Bengalis did side with Pakistan. The maulana who got me to become religious himself was a Bengali who sided vehemently with Pakistan, and was terribly punished my Mujibur Rehman for that afterwards.
The maulana who got me to become religious himself was a Bengali who sided vehemently with Pakistan<<<<
What a coincidence. Imam of our mosque is also Bengali and welcomed me in this mosque and I always regard him as my elder. He made sure that I come to mosque regularly and take part in the community activities.
He said that his father never supported Bangladesh and he had a Pakistani Flag in his cupboard and his wish was that one day Bangladesh will unite with Pakistan. His father died and now it is our Imam's wish that one day both countries will be united. He has his dad's flag with him in his own cupboard now.