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Gunjan Saxena

2022-11-16T13:10:24Z

103.77.197.197: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{short description|Indian Air Force officer}}
{{For|the movie|Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Flight Lieutenant]]
| name = Gunjan Saxena
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name = Gunjan
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}}<ref name="indianexpress-bio">{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-gunjan-saxena-6553605/|title=Watched ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’? Here’s the story of the woman it is based on|publisher=[[Indian Express]]|access-date=2020-08-20}}</ref>
| death_date =
| birth_place =
| death_place =
| placeofburial =
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| birth_name =
| allegiance = {{flag|India|23px}}
| branch = {{air force|India|23px}}
| serviceyears = 1996–2004
| rank = [[File:Indian IAF OF-2.svg|24px]] [[Flight Lieutenant]]
| servicenumber =
| unit =
| commands =
| battles = [[Kargil War]]
| battles_label =
| awards = |
| relations =
| laterwork =
| signature =
| website =
}}
'''Gunjan Saxena''' (born 1975)<ref name="indianexpress-bio"/> is an [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF) officer and former helicopter pilot. She joined the IAF in 1996 and is a 1999 [[Kargil War]] veteran.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Bhadani|first=Priyanka|date=26 July 2020|title=Gunjan Saxena never thought in her wildest dreams she would inspire a film|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/entertainment/2020/07/26/gunjan-saxena-never-thought-in-her-wildest-dreams-she-would-inspire-a-film.html|access-date=1 August 2020|website=The Week|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Menon|first=Smitha|date=16 June 2020|title=The story of Gunjan Saxena, one of India’s first women in combat|url=https://www.cntraveller.in/story/real-story-gunjan-saxena-one-india-first-women-combat-netflix-janhavi-kapoor/|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Condé Nast Traveller India|language=en-IN}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Javaid|first=Arfa|date=10 June 2020|title=Gunjan Saxena Biography: Early Life, Education, Career, Awards and Unknown Facts|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/gunjan-saxena-biography-1591793632-1|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Jagranjosh.com}}</ref> She is one of the first women to fly in a combat zone. One of her main roles during the Kargil War was to evacuate the wounded from Kargil, transport supplies and assist in surveillance.<ref name=":0" /> She would go on to be part of operations to evacuate over 900 troops, both injured and deceased, from Kargil. In 2004, after serving as a pilot for eight years, her career as a helicopter pilot ended; permanent commissions for women were not available during her time.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Rawat|first=Rachna Bisht|date=17 July 2019|title=Meet Flying Officer Gunjan Saxena, India’s only woman warrior in the Kargil war|url=https://scroll.in/article/930744/meet-flying-officer-gunjan-saxena-indias-only-woman-warrior-in-the-kargil-war|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US|quote="She has attained the glory of being in the two woman involved in the Kargil War."}}</ref>

The 2020 Bollywood film ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' is inspired by her life.<ref name=":0" />

Her Highly acclaimed bestselling autobiography titled “The Kargil Girl” was released along with the movie by Penguin Publishers, which she had co-written with author-duo Kiran Nirvan.

== Early life ==
Saxena was born into an Army family.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Talwar|first=Shikha|date=9 June 2020|title=This is the real story of Saxena, the Kargil girl who has inspired Janhvi Kapoor's next film|url=https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/this-is-the-real-story-of-gunjan-saxena-the-kargil-girl-who-has-inspired-janhvi-kapoors-next-film|access-date=1 August 2020|website=GQ India|language=en-IN}}</ref> Her father, [[Lt Col]] Anup Kumar Saxena and brother [[Lt. Col.]] Anshuman both served in the [[Indian Army]].<ref name=":3" /> Saxena graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Physics]] from [[Hansraj College]], [[University of Delhi]] in [[New Delhi]]. She was also interested in dance and singing and would often perform on the stage of her school till she graduated.

==Indian Air Force service==
Saxena was one of six women who joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) as pilots in 1996. This was the fourth batch of women air force trainees for the IAF.<ref name=":3" /> .Saxena's first posting was in [[Udhampur]], as part of the 132 Forward Area Control (FAC) as a flight lieutenant.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

[[Flying officer|Flying Officer]] Saxena was 24 years old when she flew during the Kargil War and was stationed in [[Srinagar]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> In the Kargil War, as part of [[Operation Vijay (1999)|Operation Vijay]], apart from evacuating the wounded{{Efn|Indian official figures for Indians killed in the Kargil War is 527.|name=|group=}}, she helped transport supplies to troops in the forward areas of [[Dras]] and [[Batalik]]. She also was assigned surveillance roles such as mapping enemy positions.<ref name=":3" /> She had to deal with makeshift landing grounds, heights of 13,000 to 18,000 feet and enemy fire.<ref name=":2" /> She was one of the ten pilots, based in Srinagar that flew hundreds of sorties during the war, evacuating over 900 casualties, wounded and killed<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Saxena was the only women in the [[Indian Armed Forces]] who flew into war zones in the Kargil War.<ref name=":4" /> In 2004, her career as a helicopter pilot ended after serving for eight years.<ref name=":3" /> Permanent commissions were not available during her time in service.<ref name=":4" />

==Personal life==
Saxena's father Anup Saxena was a Lieutenant Colonel in [[Indian Army]]. Saxena's husband Gautam Narain, a Wing Commander is also an Indian Air Force pilot. He is the pilot of IAF Mi-17 Helicopter. He also served as an instructor at the National Defence Academy, which is the first tri-service academy in the world. The couple have a daughter, Pragya Narain who was born in 2003.<ref name=":3" />

== In popular culture ==
A chapter in the book ''Kargil Untold Stories From The War'' by [[Rachna Bisht Rawat]] focuses on Gunjan Saxena.<ref name=":2" />

Gunjan Saxena's autobiography, titled ‘The Kargil Girl’ co-written with author-duo Kiran Nirvan, was released by [[Penguin Publishers]] along with the movie. The book garnered immense praise and five star-reviews by print and electronic media including BBC India, CNN Network 18, Forbes India, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, etc. “''Never jingoistic but measured and matter-of-fact, the book makes for thrilling reading with vividly described, moving, cinematic and enthralling scenes''” is what Hindustan Times said about the book.

The 2020 Bollywood film, released on Netflix ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' is inspired by her life.<ref name=":0" /> Saxena is portrayed by [[Janhvi Kapoor]] while the film has been produced by [[Dharma Productions]] and [[Zee Studios]]. Saxena's's father and brother are played by [[Pankaj Tripathi]] and [[Angad Bedi]] respectively in other popular roles.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 February 2019|title=Angad Bedi joins the star cast of Gunjan Saxena’s biopic, Kargil Girl|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/angad-bedi-joins-star-cast-gunjan-saxenas-biopic-kargil-girl/|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Bollywood Hungama|language=en}}</ref>

==Media inaccuracies==
After the film ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' released, there was a lot of confusion related to some facts about Saxena. In an article in NDTV she clarifies some of them:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Saxena|first=Gunjan|date=17 August 2020|title=Blog: "Won't Let Anyone Take Away My Achievements": Gunjan Saxena On Movie Row|url=https://www.ndtv.com/blog/won-t-let-anyone-take-away-my-achievements-gunjan-saxena-on-movie-row-2280730|access-date=2020-08-18|website=NDTV}}</ref>
{{Quote|text=I was lucky and blessed to have so many firsts to my name in my years with the IAF.

To list a few -- first in the order of merit during my basic training and also in helicopter training, the first woman to fly in a combat zone (mentioned in the Limca Book of Records), the first 'BG' (a coveted flying category) among women helicopter pilots and the first woman officer to undergo the jungle and snow survival course. There are other small achievements, but those are not of much significance to my story right now.|author=Gunjan Saxena|title=|source=NDTV}}{{Quote|text=Neither I nor the filmmakers ever claimed I was a "Shaurya Chakra" awardee. After Kargil, I received the "Shaurya Veer" award from a civilian organisation in Uttar Pradesh. A certain section of the internet news possibly turned "Veer" into "Chakra". This has been clarified many times during my media interactions for the film's promotions.|author=Gunjan Saxena|title=|source=NDTV}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxena, Gunjan}}

[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force personnel]]
[[Category:Indian aviators]]
[[Category:Indian women aviators]]
[[Category:Women air force personnel]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]

Gunjan Saxena

2022-11-16T13:10:24Z

103.77.197.197: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{short description|Indian Air Force officer}}
{{For|the movie|Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Flight Lieutenant]]
| name = Gunjan Saxena
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name = Gunjan
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}}<ref name="indianexpress-bio">{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/who-is-gunjan-saxena-6553605/|title=Watched ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’? Here’s the story of the woman it is based on|publisher=[[Indian Express]]|access-date=2020-08-20}}</ref>
| death_date =
| birth_place =
| death_place =
| placeofburial =
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| birth_name =
| allegiance = {{flag|India|23px}}
| branch = {{air force|India|23px}}
| serviceyears = 1996–2004
| rank = [[File:Indian IAF OF-2.svg|24px]] [[Flight Lieutenant]]
| servicenumber =
| unit =
| commands =
| battles = [[Kargil War]]
| battles_label =
| awards = |
| relations =
| laterwork =
| signature =
| website =
}}
'''Gunjan Saxena''' (born 1975)<ref name="indianexpress-bio"/> is an [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF) officer and former helicopter pilot. She joined the IAF in 1996 and is a 1999 [[Kargil War]] veteran.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Bhadani|first=Priyanka|date=26 July 2020|title=Gunjan Saxena never thought in her wildest dreams she would inspire a film|url=https://www.theweek.in/news/entertainment/2020/07/26/gunjan-saxena-never-thought-in-her-wildest-dreams-she-would-inspire-a-film.html|access-date=1 August 2020|website=The Week|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Menon|first=Smitha|date=16 June 2020|title=The story of Gunjan Saxena, one of India’s first women in combat|url=https://www.cntraveller.in/story/real-story-gunjan-saxena-one-india-first-women-combat-netflix-janhavi-kapoor/|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Condé Nast Traveller India|language=en-IN}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Javaid|first=Arfa|date=10 June 2020|title=Gunjan Saxena Biography: Early Life, Education, Career, Awards and Unknown Facts|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/gunjan-saxena-biography-1591793632-1|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Jagranjosh.com}}</ref> She is one of the first women to fly in a combat zone. One of her main roles during the Kargil War was to evacuate the wounded from Kargil, transport supplies and assist in surveillance.<ref name=":0" /> She would go on to be part of operations to evacuate over 900 troops, both injured and deceased, from Kargil. In 2004, after serving as a pilot for eight years, her career as a helicopter pilot ended; permanent commissions for women were not available during her time.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Rawat|first=Rachna Bisht|date=17 July 2019|title=Meet Flying Officer Gunjan Saxena, India’s only woman warrior in the Kargil war|url=https://scroll.in/article/930744/meet-flying-officer-gunjan-saxena-indias-only-woman-warrior-in-the-kargil-war|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US|quote="She has attained the glory of being in the two woman involved in the Kargil War."}}</ref>

The 2020 Bollywood film ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' is inspired by her life.<ref name=":0" />

Her Highly acclaimed bestselling autobiography titled “The Kargil Girl” was released along with the movie by Penguin Publishers, which she had co-written with author-duo Kiran Nirvan.

== Early life ==
Saxena was born into an Army family.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Talwar|first=Shikha|date=9 June 2020|title=This is the real story of Saxena, the Kargil girl who has inspired Janhvi Kapoor's next film|url=https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/this-is-the-real-story-of-gunjan-saxena-the-kargil-girl-who-has-inspired-janhvi-kapoors-next-film|access-date=1 August 2020|website=GQ India|language=en-IN}}</ref> Her father, [[Lt Col]] Anup Kumar Saxena and brother [[Lt. Col.]] Anshuman both served in the [[Indian Army]].<ref name=":3" /> Saxena graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[Physics]] from [[Hansraj College]], [[University of Delhi]] in [[New Delhi]]. She was also interested in dance and singing and would often perform on the stage of her school till she graduated.

==Indian Air Force service==
Saxena was one of six women who joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) as pilots in 1996. This was the fourth batch of women air force trainees for the IAF.<ref name=":3" /> .Saxena's first posting was in [[Udhampur]], as part of the 132 Forward Area Control (FAC) as a flight lieutenant.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

[[Flying officer|Flying Officer]] Saxena was 24 years old when she flew during the Kargil War and was stationed in [[Srinagar]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> In the Kargil War, as part of [[Operation Vijay (1999)|Operation Vijay]], apart from evacuating the wounded{{Efn|Indian official figures for Indians killed in the Kargil War is 527.|name=|group=}}, she helped transport supplies to troops in the forward areas of [[Dras]] and [[Batalik]]. She also was assigned surveillance roles such as mapping enemy positions.<ref name=":3" /> She had to deal with makeshift landing grounds, heights of 13,000 to 18,000 feet and enemy fire.<ref name=":2" /> She was one of the ten pilots, based in Srinagar that flew hundreds of sorties during the war, evacuating over 900 casualties, wounded and killed<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Saxena was the only women in the [[Indian Armed Forces]] who flew into war zones in the Kargil War.<ref name=":4" /> In 2004, her career as a helicopter pilot ended after serving for eight years.<ref name=":3" /> Permanent commissions were not available during her time in service.<ref name=":4" />

==Personal life==
Saxena's father Anup Saxena was a Lieutenant Colonel in [[Indian Army]]. Saxena's husband Gautam Narain, a Wing Commander is also an Indian Air Force pilot. He is the pilot of IAF Mi-17 Helicopter. He also served as an instructor at the National Defence Academy, which is the first tri-service academy in the world. The couple have a daughter, Pragya Narain who was born in 2003.<ref name=":3" />

== In popular culture ==
A chapter in the book ''Kargil Untold Stories From The War'' by [[Rachna Bisht Rawat]] focuses on Gunjan Saxena.<ref name=":2" />

Gunjan Saxena's autobiography, titled ‘The Kargil Girl’ co-written with author-duo Kiran Nirvan, was released by [[Penguin Publishers]] along with the movie. The book garnered immense praise and five star-reviews by print and electronic media including BBC India, CNN Network 18, Forbes India, Hindustan Times, The Tribune, etc. “''Never jingoistic but measured and matter-of-fact, the book makes for thrilling reading with vividly described, moving, cinematic and enthralling scenes''” is what Hindustan Times said about the book.

The 2020 Bollywood film, released on Netflix ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' is inspired by her life.<ref name=":0" /> Saxena is portrayed by [[Janhvi Kapoor]] while the film has been produced by [[Dharma Productions]] and [[Zee Studios]]. Saxena's's father and brother are played by [[Pankaj Tripathi]] and [[Angad Bedi]] respectively in other popular roles.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 February 2019|title=Angad Bedi joins the star cast of Gunjan Saxena’s biopic, Kargil Girl|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/angad-bedi-joins-star-cast-gunjan-saxenas-biopic-kargil-girl/|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Bollywood Hungama|language=en}}</ref>

==Media inaccuracies==
After the film ''[[Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl]]'' released, there was a lot of confusion related to some facts about Saxena. In an article in NDTV she clarifies some of them:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Saxena|first=Gunjan|date=17 August 2020|title=Blog: "Won't Let Anyone Take Away My Achievements": Gunjan Saxena On Movie Row|url=https://www.ndtv.com/blog/won-t-let-anyone-take-away-my-achievements-gunjan-saxena-on-movie-row-2280730|access-date=2020-08-18|website=NDTV}}</ref>
{{Quote|text=I was lucky and blessed to have so many firsts to my name in my years with the IAF.

To list a few -- first in the order of merit during my basic training and also in helicopter training, the first woman to fly in a combat zone (mentioned in the Limca Book of Records), the first 'BG' (a coveted flying category) among women helicopter pilots and the first woman officer to undergo the jungle and snow survival course. There are other small achievements, but those are not of much significance to my story right now.|author=Gunjan Saxena|title=|source=NDTV}}{{Quote|text=Neither I nor the filmmakers ever claimed I was a "Shaurya Chakra" awardee. After Kargil, I received the "Shaurya Veer" award from a civilian organisation in Uttar Pradesh. A certain section of the internet news possibly turned "Veer" into "Chakra". This has been clarified many times during my media interactions for the film's promotions.|author=Gunjan Saxena|title=|source=NDTV}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxena, Gunjan}}

[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Indian Air Force personnel]]
[[Category:Indian aviators]]
[[Category:Indian women aviators]]
[[Category:Women air force personnel]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]