Vijay Srinivas Karnik is a retired Wing Commander from the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

who is known for his leadership during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. During the war, he was in charge of the Bhuj airbase. During the course of the war, the Bhuj airstrip was destroyed in air strikes in which Pakistani bombers dropped napalm bombs. The Bhuj airport attack has been compared to the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor by some. The airfield was raided 35 times in 14 days with attacks by 92 bombs and 22 rockets. Karnik rebuilt Bhuj Airport within 3 days with the help of 300 women from local areas.

Early life

Karnik was born on 6 November 1939 in Nagpur to Srinivas Karnik and Tarabai Karnik.

Air Force Career

Karnik was commissioned to the

on 26 May 1962. In 1967, he was posted to Pune as a part of the 6 Squadron. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was a Squadron Leader posted to the Bhuj Airstrip. On the 8th of December, 1971, Pakistan launched an aerial attack on the Bhuj airbase and damaged the airstrip by dropping 14 Napalm bombs from the 8 squadrons of Sabre jets. The airstrip needed to be urgently rebuild due to the ongoing war. However, due to a lack of workers at Bhuj, Karnik convinced 300 women from a nearby village of Madhapar for help to rebuild the airstrip. Despite the ongoing bombings by the Pakistani jets, the women were able to complete the repair work in a record 72 hours and the airbase was able to resume its operations. At the end of the war, the then Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, recognised and awarded the contribution of these women. Karnik was promoted to Wing commander on 1 October 1985. On 14 October 1986, Karnik retired from service.

Popular Culture

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's Bhuj: The Pride of India film where Ajay Devgn played the role of Vijay Karnik and his work during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

References

Indian aviators Indian Air Force officers National Defence Academy (India) alumni 1939 births Living people {{India-mil-bio-stub