Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC (17 July 1945 – 14 December 1971) was an officer of the Indian Air Force. He was posthumously awarded the

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

, India's highest military decoration during war time, in recognition of his lone defence of Srinagar Air Base against a

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

(PAF) air raid during the

Indo-Pakistani 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 Decem ...

. He is the only member of the Indian Air Force to be honoured with the PVC. Statue of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon and his aircraft, 10 sep 2013

Flying Officer Sekhon's remains as well as the exact location of the crash site of his aircraft are still unknown.

Early life

Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was born in a Sikh Jat family on 17 July 1943 in the village of Isewal,

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

, Punjab Province,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father was M.W.O. Tarlok Singh Sekhon and his mother was Harbans Kaur. He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force on 4 June 1967 as a Pilot Officer.

Param Vir Chakra Award

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was serving with the No.18 Squadron, "The Flying Bullets" of IAF, flying the

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...

fighter aircraft based at Srinagar. On 14 Decembers 1971, Srinagar airfield was attacked by six

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

F-86 jets of 26 Squadron from

PAF Base Peshawar PAF Base Peshawar is an airbase of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the operational site of the PAF's Northern Air Command, located to the east of Bacha Khan International Airport, which is ...

. Flying Officer Sekhon was on readiness duty at that time. As soon as the first aircraft attacked, Sekhon rolled for take-off as No 2 in a two-Gnat formation, with Flt. Lt. Ghumman in lead, just as the first bombs were falling on the runway. Only delayed due to dust kicked up by the preceding Gnat, Sekhon lost no time in singling out the first Sabre pair, which was re-forming after the bombing run. The Gnat Leader, Flt. Lt. Ghumman lost visual with his wingman just after take-off, remained out of the fight leaving Sekhon to handle the muddle all by himself. In the ensuing air battle, Sekhon scored a direct hit on one Sabre and set another ablaze. The latter was seen heading away towards Rajauri, trailing smoke. However Pakistani records deny any aircraft losses to Sekhon. A native of Rurka Issewal village in Dakha, had sacrificed his life during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. Sekhon, after being hit, was advised to return to the base by ATC Squadron Leader

Virendera Singh Pathania Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania was an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot reputed for making the first confirmed aerial dogfight kill of independent India when he shot down a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Sabre Jet with his Folland Gnat on ...

VrC, VM. He is said to have flown in straight, wings level for some time, then going inverted, plummeting down, probably due failure of control system. He attempted a last-minute ejection, which did not prove successful, as his canopy was seen to fly off. The wreckage of the Gnat was found in a gorge, near the road coming from Srinagar town to the base, a few miles from the base. Despite many search efforts by Army and Air Force, his remains were never found due to the mountainous terrain of where his fighter went down, much to the disappointment of his wife and family. A detailed story of his effort has been mentioned in fairly detailed account by Air Cdre

Kaiser Tufail Kaiser Tufail is a retired Pakistani fighter pilot. Outside of his military service, Tufail is an active blogger, aviation historian and has delivered motivational speeches at TEDx conferences. Service Kaiser Tufail was commissioned in 1975. ...

. His skill was later also praised in an article by Salim Baig Mirza, the pilot who shot him down. The bravery, flying skill and determination displayed by Flying Officer Sekhon, against odds of 1:6, earned him India's highest wartime medal for gallantry, the Param Vir Chakra.

Citation

The

citation reads as follows:

Honours

Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon is remembered for his gallantry and statues of him have also been erected in many cities in Punjab. A marine tanker built in 1985 was named ''Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC''.

Legacy and depictions in popular culture

N J Sekhon statue at Param Yodha Sthal Delhi

A statue in tribute of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon was erected at the district court of

(first erected at Samrala Chowk, Ludhiana) in the courtyard next to the flag pole. A decommissioned

fighter is part of the memorial and serves as a

gate guardian A gate guardian or gate guard is a withdrawn piece of equipment, often an aircraft, armoured vehicle, artillery piece, or locomotive, mounted on a plinth and used as a static display near to and forming a symbolic display of "guarding" the main ...

. His statue along with a decommissioned

fighter has been placed in the Indian Air Force Museum, Palam. Air Marshal BR Krishna unveiled Sekhon's bust in 2021 at Govt. Senior Sec. School, Issewal in Ludhiana, his birthplace.

References

External links

Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon's citation of the Param Vir Chakra at Bharat-Rakshak.com.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051125091755/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/HEROISM/Sekhon.html A tribute on Bharat-Rakshak
A tribute to Nirmal Jit

Jai Hind Jai Bharat

YouTube Video by Headlines today which, at 13:31, shows animated account of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon's PVC Action.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekhon, Nirmal Jit Singh 1943 births 1971 deaths Indian military personnel killed in action Sikh warriors Punjabi people Indian Air Force officers Indian aviators Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Military personnel from Ludhiana Aviators killed by being shot down