The sky is the limit: How these Indian women pilots smashed a male monopoly

From Sarla Thukral flying planes before independence to Abhilasha Barak becoming a combat aviator in the Army Aviator Corps, these are the women who have paved the way for Sania Mirza and more

Daughter of a TV mechanic from Mirzapur, Sania Mirza inched one step closer to achieving her dream of becoming a fighter pilot when on Thursday, she secured a seat in the National Defence Academy (NDA).

Mirza secured 149th rank in the defence academy's entrance exam and will join the NDA at Khadakwasla near Pune on December 27. Talking to ETV Bharat, Mirza said, "There were only two seats reserved for the women in the fighter pilot wing. I failed to grab a seat in the first attempt. However, I managed to bag a seat in the second attempt."

This will be step one in her aim of becoming a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. According to sources in the Indian Air Force (IAF), any candidate joining NDA as an Air Force cadet in the flying branch has to undergo three years of combined training with their coursemates from the other two services.

"The aim of NDA is to foster jointmanship amongst the services; hence the training is common for all. This has basic elements of flying training for AF cadets only in the last six months prior to passing out," the IAF sources said. They added, "After passing out of NDA, AF cadets proceed for flying training at AFA for a year. A cadet's stream (fighters or transports or helicopters) is decided at the end of this year; and is based on his/ her choice, aptitude, and merit."

If Mirza completes her training and passes all the required tests during the tenure of her course, she will become India's first Muslim female fighter pilot in the IAF.

As people celebrate Mirza for succeeding in step one, here is a list of women pilots who paved the way for the following generations to break the glass ceiling.

Sarla Thukral

Born on August 8, 1914, Sarla Thakur made history at 21 when she flew her first solo flight, proving that the skies were no longer only for men. A student of the Lahore Flying Club, Thukral was the first Indian woman to complete 1,000 hours of flight time to gain her A licence.

Usha Sundaram

Usha Sundaram holds the title of being the first woman to fly in the skies of independent India. At the time of partition, Usha flew rescue missions into unfamiliar terrain to bring back stranded Indians in Pakistan. After partition, Usha flew independent India's VIPs, including India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the first President Dr Rajendra Prasad, and the Maharaja of Mysore, to their destinations.  

Gunjan Saxena

Born in 1975, Gunjan Saxena was an IAF officer and former helicopter pilot. A Kargil war veteran, Saxena is one of the first women to fly in a combat zone. Saxena, who joined the IAF in 1996, was the only woman in the Indian Armed Forces who flew into war zones during the Kargil war in 1999. Saxena flew her chopper and evacuated over 900 injured and killed soldiers from Kargil during the war.

Avani Chaturvedi

Avani Chaturvedi, along with her cohorts Mohana Singh Jitarwal and Bhawana Kanth, was declared the first female combat pilot in the Indian Air Force. The trio was inducted into the IAF fighter squadron in June 2016.  

She made history in 2018 after taking a solo flight in a MiG-21, the first Indian woman pilot to do so.

Abhilasha Barak

Captain Abhilasha Barak made history by becoming the first woman officer to join the Army Aviation Corps as a Combat Aviator in May 2022. Her feat has been described as a "Golden Letter Day" in the history of Indian Army Aviation.