Airliners-India.com

sabya99

Pilot who looked familiar to chief
- Prophetic friendly exchange
( The Telegraph report @ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120501/jsp/frontpage/story_15439683.jsp )
New Delhi, April 30: When Indian Air Force chief N.A.K. Browne visited Jessore on March 21, a young Bangladeshi cadet had briefed the air chief marshal who said the two air forces should have frequent friendly exchanges.
Little did Browne know that coincidence would land the cadet right into his arms a month later.
It was the same young man, Senior Air Cadet Rashed Sheikh of the Bangladesh Air Force, who lost his way and force-landed his trainer aircraft in Murshidabad last week. An IAF plane flew Rashed to Dhaka on Thursday.
Rashed has now become the new face of India-Bangladesh friendship, rising above the Teesta water stand-off.
This morning, the Bangladesh Air Force chief, Air Marshal Shah Mohammed Ziaur Rahman, too, telephoned Air Chief Marshal Browne and thanked him.
“We are very relieved and very touched. I should also say that the family of the cadet also wants to convey its gratitude,” the Bangla air chief was quoted as having told Browne.
There is a story behind such profuse thanksgiving. It is a story about new relationships that can be forged in South Asia despite uneven borders that are both the cause and effect of bloodied histories and of inadvertent transgressions by aircraft.
Browne, the first Indian air chief who joined the service after the 1971 war, replied he understood only too well the risks involved in flying. In October last year, an Indian Army helicopter had mistakenly flown into Pakistani space in the Kargil sector. It was also returned. That memory is still fresh.
Browne told his Bangladeshi counterpart that he was happy cadet Rashed was safe and that he had actually met the young man quite by chance in March.
Browne was on an official visit to Bangladesh during which he was given a tour of the BAF Academy in Jessore. Following Rashed’s briefing, the chief interacted with the cadets and told them about the need for friendly exchanges.
When Browne visited Jessore on March 21, it was not only a friendly exchange but also a trip to a place that is hallowed in the IAF tradition. During the 1971 war, Jessore, then in East Pakistan, was a base for the Pakistan Air Force.
Shortly after the Indian Army captured the base from Pakistan, the IAF moved its No. 14 Squadron of Hunter fighter aircraft to Jessore. The Hunters were based in Kalaikunda (that is even now a major base for the IAF in Bengal).
The Hunters took off from Jessore, pounded enemy positions and returned to the base. It was the first – and only time – that the IAF operated its aircraft from an erstwhile enemy base to pound the enemy.
In the battle for Jessore, the Hunters had also strafed the Pakistani base. A natural hazard in the Bangladesh Air Force Academy golf course is a crater that was caused by a bomb from one of the IAF Hunters. Browne was invited to play a game during his visit in March but could not because he did not have enough time.
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Sabya99

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Nice find, Sabyasachi!

shivendrashukla · Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 8:33 pm Post subject:

There was a pic of this doing rounds on FB. I hope i can get to lay my hands on this.

Cheers
Shivendra