It is impossible to speak of India’s successes in the aviation field without recalling the heroic deeds of flight purser Neerja Bhanot.
She died on 5 September, 1986, at the age of 22, while attempting to save passengers on the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73.
Bhanot displayed remarkable courage as she saved the lives of more than 350 passengers on board. For her gallantry, she was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra in 1987.
Another such hero in India’s aviation domain was Captain Durba Banerjee who was India’s first woman pilot.
When she joined Indian Airlines in 1956, it set the stage for women across India to shatter glass ceilings and step into leadership roles.
She turned a deaf ear to stereotypes that clouded her path and through her career, she accumulated an impressive flight time of over 9,000 hours.
While Neerja and Captain Banerjee made their mark in the skies, Mumbai-born Persis Khambatta made it in front of the camera.
Her career was tinged with successes, the most popular one being her role of Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
The daring actor even went bald for the role. Through her work, she is credited with paving the way for Indian actors in Hollywood.
Heroines of war
During the Bangladesh Liberation War (1947–1971), a group of freedom fighters organised themselves into a group called the ‘Mukti Bahini’ to train young women in combat.
Two of its members, Captain Sitara Begum and Taramon Bibi, were conferred with the ‘Bir Protik’ — the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh — for their outstanding bravery.
Taramon Bibi worked as a cook for the Mukti Bahini and would keep track of the enemy while in the guise of a woman with a mental disability.
She would observe the Pakistani Army’s movements and then report these to the Mukti Bahini, who would then act on these reports.
Captain Sitara Begum, meanwhile, served as a doctor with the force.The Kolkata native oversaw operations at a Bangladesh Hospital where casualties of war and emergent cases needed attention.
Years before these two fearless women could play their role, a young girl, Rajkumari Gupta, displayed the same zeal during India’s freedom struggle.
She and her husband, Madan Mohan Gupta, joined the Independence movement where they would deliver secret messages to leaders.Numerous times, Gupta put her life on the line while delivering guns to the revolutionaries.
Breaking stereotypes through literature
Women and their pragmatic approach to dealing with crises has gone down in history. One such instance is Dr Gangubai Hangal.
Her excellence in classical music won her the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1973), the Padma Bhushan (1971) and the Padma Vibhushan (2002).
She sang the welcome song at the inauguration of the Indian National Congress session in Belagavi in 1924 while an audience comprising Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu looked on.
Hangal also performed at the Dover Lane Music Conference and the All Bengal Music Festival — two of India’s most prestigious classical music events, continuously for 15 years.
Another literary magic maker, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s body of work includes nearly 100 poems and 50 short stories focused on caste discrimination and the dowry system.
One of her well-known creations is the collection ‘Mukul’ released in 1930, which includes the famous ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ poem.
Another of India’s women who ignited patriotic fervour through their writings was Kuntala Kumari Sabat, a devoted follower of Gandhi.
Her literary accomplishments include ‘Na Tundi,’ ‘Kali Bohu,’ ‘Parasmani,’ ‘Bhranti,’ and ‘Raghu Arakhita.’
Literature was not the only area where she excelled. In 1921, she graduated from medical college and became Cuttack’s first female doctor.