An Indian pilot lies seriously injured. He had 180 lives in his hands when his Omani co-pilot attacked him and tried to crash the aircraft.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have both praised Captain Machchhar. They said that without his courage and presence of mind, even while wounded, the world could have witnessed another 9/11.
Despite being stabbed, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers and crew rushed in and overpowered the attacker, and with help from fellow passengers, the pilot landed the aircraft safely at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The plane had dropped about 14,000 feet in roughly 30 seconds, leaving barely a minute or two to fight for survival. It was little short of a miracle.
Praise from the top
The acclaim now extends well beyond India. PM Narendra Modi said India is proud of Captain Machchhar. President Droupadi Murmu, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and several Union ministers have also saluted him.
Yet a question is being asked at home: where are Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav?
BJP leader Sambit Patra has targeted the opposition over its silence. As of October 1, when this story was written, we found no public reaction from the three leaders. Only Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge praised the captain, in reply to a media question. Arvind Kejriwal has also praised him, and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi spoke publicly about his Indian identity.
If Kharge can speak, what stops Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi? A leader not posting on social media does not by itself prove intent, but their silence in public life invites questions. They would surely have been briefed, and they may yet respond. The questions will remain.
Doubt and sarcasm
Soon after the incident, a section of social media began raising questions and conspiracy theories. Writer Mrinal Pande shared a post and added a sarcastic comment:
“In the beginning, many coincidences had come together. For instance, the Yemeni co-pilot of a plane being hijacked evading security to carry a knife onto a flying aircraft, the presence of two trained pilots as passengers, the injured pilot overpowering the accused as soon as he opened the cockpit door, and lavish praise from the head of India’s so-called fatherland!!”
The presence of two off-duty pilots is hardly suspicious. Crews routinely return home on flights after completing their duty.
After criticism, Pande deleted the post. Her second post offered no apology or sympathy and was even more sarcastic:
“In the public interest, we conclude this wonderful tale by congratulating Mr. Smit Machchhar. The assembly is dismissed, listen, O brave host; go to your own chambers and take rest.”
So the first post cast the events as a series of “coincidences,” was deleted under criticism, and was followed by a congratulation that was plainly mocking. Readers can judge for themselves. But with an Indian pilot in hospital, independent international reporting confirming his injuries and his opening of the cockpit door, and world leaders praising him, why was doubt and sarcasm the first instinct?
The Israel angle
Flight FZ1073 was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv with a large number of Israeli passengers. The accused co-pilot is reported to be an Omani national. Trump has said he is “perhaps a terrorist.”
Is the Israel connection the source of the discomfort? Does praising an Indian who saved Israeli passengers not fit some politicians’ established line? Or is the old politics of appeasement at work, with fear of upsetting a vote bank courted in the name of “Save Palestine”? Or is there another reason?
We do not have the answer. But the question is fair, because Captain Machchhar did not ask his passengers their nationality, religion or stand on Israel and Palestine. He saw only human lives.
Has India’s political and ideological divide reached the point where, before praising an Indian’s bravery, people first check where the plane was going, who was on board and who the accused was?