LEEVENSPARK

Flying officer Nirmal jit Singh Sekhon is the only member of IAF to have been awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest military decoration. Flying officer Nirmal jit singh sekhon was a pilot of Folland Gnat Detachment based at Srinagar for the air defence. Flying officer Sekhon was therefore, unfamiliar with the terrain and was not acclimatised to the altitude of Srinagar especially wi th the bitter cold and biting winds of the kashmir winter. Nevertheless, from the setout of the war, he and his colleagues fought successive waves of intruding pakistani aircraft with valour and determination, maintaining the high reputation of the Folland Gnat aircraft.  On 14 december 1971, Srinagar airfield was attacked by a wave of six enemy sabre aircraft. Flying officer Sekhon was on readiness duty at the time.However, he could not take off at once because of the cloud of dust raised by another aircraft which had just taken off. By the time the runway was fit for take-of

Early 1960s.  From L to R: Sanjay Gandhi, Dara Singh's brother, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Dara Singh & Amitabh Bachchan The Bachchan family's ties with the Nehru-Gandhi family dates back to the early 20th century when Harivansh (Amitabh's father) and Motilal Nehru, being from the same city of Allahabad were both iconic & close aides. Amitabh Bachchan (BigB) first met Rajiv Gandhi when he was  4 years old and Rajiv Gandhi was 2 years. Their friendship grew stronger as they grew up particularly due to their shared interest and similar characters. Their friendship reached the pinnacle when BigB and his family lent moral support to Rajiv in late 1960s during his marriage with Sonia, which was opposed by Indira. It was BigB's mother who acted as a mediator between the young couple and Indira during their courship and successfully convinced Indira to accept the marriage. However after few decades, in the early 1990s, their relationship turned sour after the a

1991 AD:  Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated in a bomb blast in Sriperumbudur, near Madras (May 21); P.V. Narasimha Rao is sworn-in as the ninth Prime Minister of India(June 21); At least 1500 people are feared dead as a devastating earthquake rocks Uttarkashi district of Uttar Pradesh(Oct20); Pondicherry becomes the first Union Territory of India to be declared fully literate. 1992 AD:  Rupee is made partially convertible (March 1); Eighth Five Year plans starts; Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma is elected as the ninth President of India(July 16); Indian Air Force celebrates its Diamond Jubilee; The disputed Babri Masjid in Ayodhya (U.P.) is demolished (Dec 6). 1993 AD:  More than 400 people are killed in violence in Bombay (Jan 11). Nearly 300 people are killed in a series of bomb blasts in Bombay (March 12); Over 20,000 people are killed as earthquake rocks Latur district of Maharashtra (Sept 30).  1994 AD:  PSLV-D2 is successfully launched, putting India in a s