Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

Rajeshwar Prasad Bidhuri (10 February 1945 – 11 June 2000), also known as Rajesh Pilot () was an Indian politician, a minister in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and a former Indian Air Force officer. He belonged to the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

party and represented the

Dausa Dausa is a city and administrative headquarters of Dausa district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is 55 km from Jaipur, 240 km from Delhi and located on Jaipur-Agra National Highway (NH-21).Current population is around 1.25 lak ...

constituency in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

. His original name was Rajesh Bidhuri. Rajesh Pilot died on 11 June 2000 in a car crash near

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

Early life and air force career

Rajeshwar Prasad Bidhuri was born in Baidpura Village in present day Greater Noida and was a member of the Bidhuri

Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradi ...

community. He was respected from an early age as he was admitted to Indian Air Force, which was an outstanding achievement in rural India. Rajeshwar Prasad, was commissioned in the General Duties (Pilot) branch of the Indian Air Force as a pilot officer on 29 October 1966. He was promoted to flying officer on 29 October 1967 and to flight lieutenant on 29 October 1971. He fought in the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

as a bomber pilot, flying a modified de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou. He was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

on 29 October 1977. On 8 August 1978, he was seconded to the Ministry of Agriculture. In late 1979, Prasad resigned his commission while posted in

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

to join politics, under the influence of his friend Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India. He contested the 1980 Lok Sabha elections as an INC candidate from Bharatpur, changing his surname to Pilot at the same time.

In politics

Pilot emerged as a prominent

leader in India. In his first election as a candidate, Pilot defeated the former queen of

Bharatpur State Bharatpur State, which is also known as the Jat State of Bharatpur historically known as the Kingdom of Bharatpur, was a Hindu Kingdom in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. It was ruled by the Sinsinwar clan of the Hindu Jat ...

. On an official visit to the Netherlands in 1988, his Dutch counterpart, learning Pilot was a former IAF officer, arranged for him to fly a

RNLAF , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

F-16; the IAF subsequently invited Pilot to test a new MiG-29 following his return to India. He sent Chandraswami to prison when he was the Internal Security Minister. Later, he lost the election for the post of Congress president to

Sitaram Kesri Sitaram Kesri (15 November 1919 – 24 October 2000) was an Indian politician and parliamentarian. He became a union minister and served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1996 to 1998. __TOC__ Political career Pre-Independen ...

, but remained in the first line of Congress leaders. Rajesh Pilot died on 11 June 2000 in a car crash near

. India Post has issued a commemorative postage stamp of ₹5.00 on 11 June 2008. In New Delhi and Gurgaon, a road has been named in his honour. In Rewari, a roundabout has been named after him in his honour.

Political career

Medals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilot, Rajesh 2000 deaths Rajasthani politicians Rajasthani people People from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Road incident deaths in India 1945 births India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1998–1999 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Indian National Congress politicians from Rajasthan India MPs 1999–2004 People from Dausa district Accidental deaths in India Indian aviators Indian Air Force officers Indian Hindus Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971