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Is Captain Saran getting an award?

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

There has been considerable speculation in the ministry of civil aviation circles whether the government would announce some kind of award for Captain Devi Saran, commander of the Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 which was hijacked recently.

While one group of officials thinks that Captain Saran is sure to get Ashok Chakra, the other group denies this. "How can Captain Saran be nominated for Ashok Chakra? This highest award is given to armed forces personnel or para-military forces for peace times. He could be nominated for other prestigious awards," an official of the civil aviation ministry argues.

According to sources in the ministry some discussions were held on the matter at the earlier stages of the post-hijack period but since then nothing has been heard about it.

"If the Prime Minister's Office is thinking in terms of giving him either Padma Shri or Padma Vibhushan then we do not know about it. There is no move in the ministry to recommend him for these awards because there is no culture in the Indian Airlines to honour the commander of a hijacked aircraft. If he is honoured then what would you do in respect of other commanders who have handled the hijacking situations tactfully in the past?" asked a senior official of the ministry of civil aviation.

But there are others who mention how Neerja Bhanot, an airhostess of Pan Am, was honoured posthumously when her plane got hijacked and landed in Karachi a few years back. Bhanot had helped the passengers get out of the plane through the emergency doors and chute when the hijackers tried to blow up the plane.

When contacted by rediff.com, Captain Devi Saran confirmed that so far nobody has got in touch with him regarding any award being given to him on the Republic Day.

"So far nobody has mentioned anything to me in this respect. In fact I am hearing for the first time about it from you. If there was any hope of me getting anything, it has been marred by my verbal dual with Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. How dare he call me a coward for taking off from Amritsar airport? Does he know anything about aviation and the responsibilities of the commander of the aircraft?" asked Saran.

Top officials of the ministry of civil aviation are tightlipped on the matter. "If there is something, you would know it in due course," they say.

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