Bhawana Kanth Makes History As The First Female IAF Officer To Fly In The 2021 Republic Parade
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Breaking the glass ceiling is no easy feat. Yet, Indian women have proven daily that they can accomplish this task without breaking a sweat. Bhawana Kanth proved her worth as a capable pilot when she was selected to represent the Indian Air Force at the Republic Day parade. Just one week ago, commercial pilot Captain Zoya Agarwal broke the mold when the team she commanded were the first Indian female pilots to fly across the North Pole. And like Captain Zoya Agarwal, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth too, will make history by being the first woman to ever fly a plane during the parade. So here’s her story and how she came to be:
Rise To Fame
Flight Lieutenant Bhawana, who is a resident of the state of Bihar, is currently stationed out of the Rajasthani air force base and flies a highly specialized MiG-21 Bison fighter plane. Bhawana was inducted into the IAF back in the year 2016. She had earlier been honored on the occasion of International Woman’s Day by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. He had awarded her and two other female IAF pilots with the Nari Shakti Puraskar. The three incredible women were the first to complete a solo flight with the MIG-21 in 2018 and were hence inducted into their squadron.
In regards to the award and her career, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth had said, “Flying the Mig-21 is a matter of pride for me. I think that giving Puraskar is a way to inspire people and there are a lot of women who have got the award and it shows the efforts put by various women in the country.” It’s wonderful to see the government take notice of such talented individuals and encourage them to reach the skies (literally). Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth will be participating in a tableau that is going to showcase mock-ups of a lightweight combat helicopter, light combat aircraft and a rare Sukhoi-30 fighter plane. She will also be flying alongside the famed Rafale fighter jets. These fighter jets were purchased by the IAF for a whopping amount of money (59,000 crores)!
Early Start
Hailing from an academic family, Bhawana’s father worked as an engineer at the Indian Oil Corporation in their hometown of Bihar. She did her schooling in her hometown and then moved to the city of Bengaluru to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Engineering. She studied medical electronics at BMS College of Engineering in Bengaluru. Even in those days, Bhawana was an adventure-loving sports enthusiast and even had a passion for photography. Bhawana was quite the all-rounder and even enjoyed the competitive games of Badminton, swimming and kho-kho. She was also an avid painter and definitely a starry-eyed and bright child. She had dreams of soaring to the skies from her younger days and finally got to achieve her dreams after her graduation. Bhawana received the opportunity to fly with fighter jets after she managed to clear her Stage 1 examinations. Kanth was flying Hawk advanced jet trainers before she got to fly the Mig-21.
She had managed to maneuver and recover her jet from a spin around a height of 20,000 kilometers above sea level. When interviewed, she had revealed that she was terrified when the aircraft took too violent a spin, but the fighter pilot side of her took command and made sure that she landed safely. She spoke about how when she managed to recover her aircraft from the spin, her confidence in her own skills was recovered as well. In June of 2016, she was sent to Hakimpet Air Force Station in Hyderabad, Telangana. She undertook a six-month-long training session in Stage II of her training and trained on Kiran Intermediate Jet Trainers soon after. She also got commissioned as Flying Officer in Dundigal in the same year.
Although she is only 28, it is clear that Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth has some major plans for the future and is extremely accomplished and proud of herself. When she was inducted into the IAF in 2016, she had no idea she’d be making history not once, but many times. In May of 2019, she also became the first female fighter pilot to qualify for undertaking combative missions. Besides being an active member of the IAF, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth has also appeared in print advertisements and done a little bit of modeling as well (beauty with brawn!).
We’re so proud of women like Flight Lieutenant Bhawana for taking us further and making Indian women all around the world proud. Her incredible dedication to her work and career makes her the perfect role model for many young girls out there and we hope that more Indian women join the air force as fighter pilots. Do let us know all of your thoughts on this article in the comment section below!
