Sachin Pilot, IAF veteran shoot down BJP's claim about Rajesh Pilot dropping bombs in Mizoram in 1966
"You have the wrong dates, wrong facts…Yes, as an Indian Air Force pilot, my late father did drop bombs. But that was on erstwhile East Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and not as you claim, on Mizoram on the 5th of March 1966." Sachin Pilot said.
![Sachin Pilot, IAF veteran shoot down BJP's claim about Rajesh Pilot dropping bombs in Mizoram in 1966 Sachin Pilot, IAF veteran shoot down BJP's claim about Rajesh Pilot dropping bombs in Mizoram in 1966](https://static-gi.asianetnews.com/images/01h7ys44qw0pyebfry6m4dqecj/pilot_363x203xt.jpg)
Sachin Pilot has fact checked BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya’s claim that the Rajasthan Congress leader's father Rajesh Pilot had dropped bombs over Mizoram’s capital Aizawl in 1966.The claim has also been fact-checked by former Indian Air Force officer Air Marshal SY Savur (Retd), who was was Rajesh Pilot's coursemate in the IAF academy.
On August 15, Amit Malviya had shared a news channel’s video footage and claimed on micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter): 'Rajesh Pilot and Suresh Pilots were flying the Indian Air Force planes which dropped bombs on Mizoram's capital Aizawl on March 5, 1966. Later, both of them became Congress MPs and later ministers. Indira Gandhi felicitated those conducting airstrikes on fellow citizens in the north east through political opportunities.'
Within hours of his tweet, Sachin fact-checked the BJP leader's claim and shared his father Rajesh Pilot’s commissioning certificate on the micro-blogging platform.
'You have the wrong dates, wrong facts…Yes, as an Indian Air Force pilot, my late father did drop bombs. But that was on erstwhile East Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and not as you claim, on Mizoram on the 5th of March 1966. He was commissioned into the IAF only on 29th October 1966! (Certificate attached) Jai hind and a happy Independence Day.'
Air Marshal Savur (Retd) also took to X to say, "Rajeshwar Prasad aka Rajesh Pilot is my coursemate (96th Pilots Course) In March 1966. We were Flight Cadets flying Harvard Mk IV or Texan T-6G & under training at Air Force Flying College in Jodhpur. We were commissioned at Air Force Station, Begumpet on 29 Oct 1966."
Rajesh Pilot rose to a cabinet-rank minister after resigning from the IAF. The last rank he held was Squadron Leader. In 1997, he also contested the Congress President’s post but lost to Sitaram Kesri. He died in a road accident in Rajasthan in 2000.
The Mizoram bombing issue
On August 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his reply to the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha brought by the Opposition members, had lambasted the Congress government in 1966 headed by Indira Gandhi for using the IAF to bomb civilians in Mizoram.
"Were not people of Mizoram our citizens? Even today, Mizoram mourns on March 5 every year. It has not been forgotten till now. And Congress has hidden this fact from the country," the prime minister had said.
However, the Congress defended the decision and said that the action was aimed at dealing with secessionist forces that drew support from Pakistan and China.
"She saved Mizoram, started negotiations with those fighting the Indian state and finally a Peace Accord was signed on June 30, 1986. The manner in which the Accord came about is a remarkable story that reinforces the idea of India in Mizoram today," Congress leader Ramesh had said.
The Mizo Peace Accord
After the 1996 bombing, the government completely outlawed the Mizo National Front (MNF) in 1967. In 1971, a delegation of the Mizo district council met Indira Gandhi and demanded a full-fledged state for the Mizo people.
In 1972, the government turned Mizo Hills into a Union Territory. On June 30, 1986, the MNF and the Government of India signed the Mizoram Accord to bring normalcy to the region. The agreement was based on the condition that the MNF will have to renounce violence and initiate talks within the framework of the Indian Constitution.
After the Accord was signed, then MNF President Laldenga was elected as the chief minister of the state. In 1987, Mizoram became the 23rd state of India.