Damayanti Tambay is an Indian former badminton player and the wife of Flt lt V. V. Tambay (one of

the missing 54 The Pakistani prisoners of war during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 were the servicemen deployed in the Eastern Command of the Pakistan armed forces who were held in by the Indian Army. Pakistan's Yahya administration conveyed their intention ...

Indian defence personnel from the 1971 Indo-Pak war who are believed to be in Pakistani custody).

Biography

During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, on 5 December 1971, Tambay's husband

Vijay Vasant Tambay Flight Lieutenant Vijay Vasant Tambay was an officer of the Indian Air Force whose aircraft was shot down on 5 December 1971 over West Pakistan while on a strike against the Pakistani airbase of Rafiqui, during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Officiall ...

, Flight Lieutenant of

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

was captured as the enemy by Pakistan Army. Consequently, Tambay had taken several initiatives to bring back her husband along with the other 46 war prisoners, but was not successful and the official standpoint of Indian Army was that all the missing personnel died. By 1971, Damayanti Tambay had won three consecutive National women's singles. But she announced her retirement in 1971, at the age of 23 after her husband got captured in

incident of 1971 Indo-Pak war taking the vow that she would not resume her career in badminton unless she gets her husband back or receives the confirmed news that her husband was dead. She later became a leading member of the '' Missing defence personnel association''. She is currently serving as the deputy director of physical education at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

In popular culture

Film

A short film on 1971 Indo-Pak War featuring Damayanti Tambay was directed by Akanksha Damini Joshi. The short film directed by Joshi in 2005 for Janmat voices the concern and hope of Damayanti Tambay who has awaited the return of her husband for nearly five decades.

Notes

* Koul, M. G. (. P. (2014). The Silence Speaks. United Kingdom: Partridge Publishing India. * Chatterji, S. A. (2015). Filming Reality: The Independent Documentary Movement in India. India: SAGE Publications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tambay, Damayanti Indian female badminton players Indian national badminton champions Indian women activists Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Living people 1948 births 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Sportswomen from Delhi Activists from Delhi Indian human rights activists Recipients of the Arjuna Award People from Delhi