00:00The desire for awards and recognition is pouring in for India's hero pilot.
00:04There's been a demand to award the Ashok Chakra to Captain Smith Machar.
00:08The Shiv Sena MP has proposed having Ashok Chakra,
00:11which is the peacetime equivalent of India's highest, of course, military valor,
00:16the Parambeer Chakra for Captain Smith Machar.
00:19Now, this is, of course, a call which has been given for the top gallantry award for Captain Smith Machar.
00:23This is Mirin Deora's post as an MP from Mumbai.
00:26And on behalf of Ignath Shinde and the Shiv Sena,
00:29I've written to Primus Narendra Modi requesting that fly the waves Captain Captain Smith Machar
00:34be considered for the Ashok Chakra.
00:37He's a son of Mumbai who showed extraordinary courage when it mattered the most.
00:41So, of course, remember the Ashok Chakra is India's highest gallantry award in peacetime.
00:47It's the equivalent of the Parambeer Chakra, which is given during a case of armed conflict or in war.
00:52And this is, of course, one of the highest awards an individual can get during peacetime
00:56for showing exceptional bravery and valor.
00:58And this is a demand that has been raised by Mirin Deora, who is, of course, a Shiv Sena leader.
01:03He has said that as a son of Mumbai and as a proud son of India, Captain Smith deserves the
01:09Ashok Chakra
01:10for showing his exemplary courage and saving the lives of over 170 people on board that fly Dubai aircraft.
01:17And in terms of his courage in foiling a hijack attempt, which in many words,
01:23including that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could have been a repeat of 9-11.
01:28It is, of course, the man who has made India proud globally, who has got the world talking about it
01:34and acknowledging the bravery and courage of Indians worldwide.
01:37And as a result of his exemplary courage and bravery, not just in saving the lives of 170.
01:43In fact, let me go across to Mirin Deora, Shiv Sena MP, who has made this request.
01:49Mirin Deora, thank you for speaking to India today.
01:52Could you tell us more about that request which you have made asking for an Ashok Chakra for Captain Smith?
01:59Well, firstly, you know, I'm a born and bred Mumbai car.
02:03I have had the privilege of representing Mumbai in Parliament for several years now.
02:09And we are very proud as a city that Captain Smith hails from Mumbai.
02:15Of course, Captain Smith's act of bravery, valor and his heroic act has obviously transcended Mumbai.
02:24We understand that today he belongs not just to Mumbai, but to the entire nation in many ways, to the
02:29entire world.
02:31But on behalf of my party, I have written to the Honourable Prime Minister requesting that the Ashoka Chakra,
02:39which is the highest peacetime civilian honour in our country, for bravery, be bestowed upon Captain Smith.
02:46I believe he deserves it.
02:48And in my opinion, you know, bestowing these awards on people like him, today it's a potential terror attack.
02:56Tomorrow it could be a natural disaster.
02:58Day after tomorrow it could be something else.
03:01But inculcating a culture of bravery, of valor, to the young generation that sometimes putting your own life on the
03:11line to protect those that are innocent
03:13is a very, very important value and culture that we must inculcate in our country.
03:20And it's keeping that in mind that we have written to him and with the hope that his story will
03:28be an inspiration to future generations.
03:31Mr. Dheera, it's very interesting because the Ashoka Chakra, as you pointed out, is India's highest peacetime gallantry award.
03:37I'm just going through the list of previous awardees of that.
03:39And very rarely is it ever given to a civilian, someone who's not a part of the armed force or
03:43the military in some way.
03:44And the most high-profile case of a civilian ever getting that is in 1987.
03:48That was Nija Banot, who of course played a heroic role in the pan, in foiling the pan-amp flight
03:54hijack and saving as many lives as possible.
03:57There have been many parallels drawn between Captain Smith's bravery and that of Nija Banot's bravery as well, four decades
04:02ago.
04:02It could only be fitting if the next person from the aviation industry who receives that award is Captain Smith.
04:10Well, you're right. The last civilian to have received this award has been, is Nija Banot, which I mean, you
04:17can argue is a similar case.
04:19It's also an aviation incident of terrorism.
04:23But look, the fact is that this incident has nothing to really do with India.
04:28It's a flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv.
04:30In fact, it's a flight that I had myself taken many years ago, a flight Dubai, a flight between Dubai
04:34and Tel Aviv.
04:34But the fact that he is an Indian, and an Indian pilot who saved the day, who saved hundreds of
04:42passengers,
04:42I don't think, I'm not aware if even a single one of those passengers was of Indian origin.
04:47That, on its own, is a huge act of valor.
04:51And that, on its own, in my opinion, has made Mumbai and India very, very proud.
04:55And certainly the world very proud.
04:56But that's what has made India very proud.
04:59So these are different criterias based on which, of course, the government and the Ministry of Defense will evaluate
05:03who should get which award and whether someone is deserving for an Ashoka Chakra.
05:07But my personal view is that he is a hero.
05:12Bestowing a high civilian award upon a man like this is very important, as I said,
05:17not just for a young, budding pilot.
05:20It could be for a journalist.
05:22It could be for a politician, for a bureaucrat, for an entrepreneur, for anybody.
05:25Regardless of which walk of life you are in currently, which you will go in the future,
05:32what the challenge will be.
05:34As I said, it could be a natural disaster.
05:36It could be something else.
05:38Inculcating those values that you are putting yourself in harm's way to protect other innocent people
05:44is a very, very critical value that we must reward and we must encourage and we must exemplify.
05:52All right, Milindera, thank you so much for speaking to India today.
05:55I don't think any of your viewers would particularly disagree with your belief that Captain Smith
06:00definitely does deserve the highest gallantry award the nation can offer in terms of peace.
06:06That is, of course, the Ashok Chakra and it's only fitting that the last civilian who received
06:11the Ashok Chakra was, of course, Neerja Bhannath, a woman who was of exemplary bravery.
06:16She showed exemplary bravery and many parables have already been drawn to the bravery and
06:21heroism shown by Captain Smith, of course.
06:23Thank you so much, Milindera, for joining us on India Today, of course.
