Wg Cdr Yunus - First Pilot In Kedarnath.

[OrionHunter]

What was it like for a Muslim to be one of the first to come to the aid of Hindu pilgrims?

Yunus laughs out loud before giving a quick answer. “In the Air Force we are taught only one religion – to be Indian. That is what IAF pilots are trained to be. Had it not been for such tragic circumstances, I would have been grateful and happy to see the holy shrine.”

Here's the story...

When the IAF flew it first sortie to save pilgrims trapped by the raging waters of the Alaknanda in Kedarnath, at the cockpit was Wing Commander S M Yunus.

Commanding officer of the 152 Helicopter Unit based at Sarsawa Air Force Station, Yunus first got the message about the disaster on June 16. The rains, which had been pouring since June 14, had begun rampaging by the next day.

On June 17, Yunus landed at Dehradun’s Jolly Grant helipad. The next morning, around 9am, he was off to Kedarnath in his Mi-17 V5 chopper, IAF’s newest and most powerful acquisition with a carrying capacity of 3 tonnes.

The first batch of 20 people was evacuated to Guptkashi. From there, they made their way to Dehradun. Yunus reckons he might have flown about 500 people in innumerable sorties to safety. He is still at it. “We continued the operation on June 18 and 19,” he said from his current location in Joshimath. “I was then told to rescue people from the more isolated Harsil sector, ahead of Uttarkashi, and in a restricted helipad at about 6000 ft.”

Bad weather and poor visibility made things difficult. Add to that the terrain and Yunus’ job was cut out. “When we landed at Kedarnath, roughly 9,600ft, the helipad had been washed away. We had to rescue people from the ridge. Twice we set out on our mission and had to return to base as landing was impossible.” Yunus changed course and went to Badrinath on June 20, from where 25 pilgrims were brought to the safer Joshimath. The sorties continued. On June 23, he airlifted more than 200 from Badrinath and brought them to Joshimath.

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Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Sikh, we're all Indians first!

Proud to be Indian!

 

[third eye]

I do not understand why journalists try to inject religion where it has no place ??
@OrionHunter, you too have doctored the title - cannot understand why ?

The title is : "JOINING FORCES TO SAVE SCORES " , the title selected here is the second line.

The sequence of the paragraphs of the cut & paste job have also altered for max symbolic effect .

The Indian Armed Forces dont think or act religiously - lets keep it that way.

 

[Kompromat]

Isn't he doing what he's ordered to do by the commander?...Its ironic that such religious related stories are still making news after decades of Indian secularism.

 

[third eye]

Isn't he doing what he's ordered to do by the commander?...Its ironic that such religious related stories are still making news after decades of Indian secularism.

He himself is the Commanding Officer and took the first bird up himself.

Read the article whose link is there in post No 1.

Its not as ' inflamtory' as it is made to be. I am reproducing it below :

JOINING FORCES TO SAVE SCORES
Wg Cdr Yunus, first pilot in Kedarnath ( Not the first MUSLIM pilot as suggested in the title here)
Anand Soondas | TNN

Dehradun: When the IAF flew it first sortie to save pilgrims trapped by the raging waters of the Alaknanda in Kedarnath, at the cockpit was Wing Commander S M Yunus.

Commanding officer of the 152 Helicopter Unit based at Sarsawa Air Force Station, Yunus first got the message about the disaster on June 16. The rains, which had been pouring since June 14, had begun rampaging by the next day.

On June 17, Yunus landed at Dehradun’s Jolly Grant helipad. The next morning, around 9am, he was off to Kedarnath in his Mi-17 V5 chopper, IAF’s newest and most powerful acquisition with a carrying capacity of 3 tonnes.

The first batch of 20 people was evacuated to Guptkashi. From there, they made their way to Dehradun. Yunus reckons he might have flown about 500 people in innumerable sorties to safety. He is still at it. “We continued the operation on June 18 and 19,” he said from his current location in Joshimath. “I was then told to rescue people from the more isolated Harsil sector, ahead of Uttarkashi, and in a restricted helipad at about 6000 ft.”

Bad weather and poor visibility made things difficult. Add to that the terrain and Yunus’ job was cut out. “When we landed at Kedarnath, roughly 9,600ft, the helipad had been washed away. We had to rescue people from the ridge. Twice we set out on our mission and had to return to base as landing was impossible.” Yunus changed course and went to Badrinath on June 20, from where 25 pilgrims were brought to the safer Joshimath. The sorties continued. On June 23, he airlifted more than 200 from Badrinath and brought them to Joshimath.

“In fact, even today (June 24), when the whole day the weather has been bad, we tried to reach Badrinath, but had to return empty handed,” said the 38-year-old officer from Bhagalpur in Bihar. Yunus joined IAF in 1995 as a pilot officer, a rank that has now been abolished. These days they start as flying officer.

So what was it like for a Muslim to be one of the first to come to the aid of Hindu pilgrims? Yunus laughs out loud before giving a quick answer. “In the Air Force we are taught only one religion – to be Indian. That is what IAF pilots are trained to be. Had it not been for such tragic circumstances, I would have been grateful and happy to see the holy shrine.”

 

[Dash]

HE is an Indian, and this is what he is supposed to do...

 

[janon]

The reporter who asked that question should be punched in the face.

The officer should have retorted "What is it like for a hindu (or whatever the reporter's religion is) to be a journalist and interview a muslim?"

It was an insulting, demeaning and patronising thing to ask. What it highlights is not the qualities of the pilot, but the dirt in the mind of the reporter, who can only view people and events through the prism of religion.

 

[Star Wars]

Its his job .... stop injecting Muslim/Hindu into everything.... MUSLIMS DO NOT need to prove themselves they are Indian to anyone

 

[OrionHunter]

The Indian Armed Forces dont think or act religiously - lets keep it that way.

This was just to drive home the point to our Pakistani friends that religion in India comes second to nationhood. Many Pakistani posters here have often said that for them Islam comes first, the country second.

Here lies the difference between India as a nation and Pakistan that has been carved out as a religious entity.

 

[Windjammer]

I believe pilots are trained to defend and save their Nation or Nationals without any priorities ......does IAF has a religious preference in the pilot syllabus.

 

[anant_s]

Its a good thing that establishment of IAF and more importantly its pilots aren't as "smart' as our knowledgeable journalists. The guy in story, i'm sure, would've been least bothered about his or the people he was evacuating religious faith.
Don't know about country but our media has certainly gone to the dogs.
I can tell from my short stint during school days in NCC, instructors taught us to treat people as human beings and nothing more, while being taught about emergency services. Guess someone can force-feed the same to the idiots in our print media.

 

[third eye]

The reporter who asked that question should be punched in the face.

The officer should have retorted "What is it like for a hindu (or whatever the reporter's religion is) to be a journalist and interview a muslim?"

It was an insulting, demeaning and patronising thing to ask. What it highlights is not the qualities of the pilot, but the dirt in the mind of the reporter, who can only view people and events through the prism of religion.

Cannot blame the poor fellow.

Our media has become so silly that for a news item to be read / seen it needs to have some ' masala'.

A sign of the times really..

 

[anant_s]

The reporter who asked that question should be punched in the face.

The officer should have retorted "What is it like for a hindu (or whatever the reporter's religion is) to be a journalist and interview a muslim?"

I've would've done more than just punching the face.

 

[blood]

Its his job .... stop injecting Muslim/Hindu into everything.... MUSLIMS DO NOT need to prove themselves they are Indian to anyone

brother our neighbours have some grave misconceptions that muslims hate india and are unpatriotic , these articles help in clearing their little confusions.

 

[kurup]

Most Indian news reporters are !diots who always try to squeeze religion into everything.

But a good answer by the Wg Cdr -- “In the Air Force we are taught only one religion – to be Indian. That is what IAF pilots are trained to be.“

And it is the only thing that matters .

 

[kaykay]

We are Indians first then whatever.