Abhinandan Varthaman

Many of you may familiar to this name but those who has no idea who he is !!Guys …You should watch news. But don’t worry this article might help you. So let’s start….

WHO IS HE?

Abhinandan Varthaman is a wing-commander in the Indian Air Force. In the 2019 India-Pakistan standoff, he was held under captivity for 60 hours in Pakistan after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight.

Abhinandan was born on 21 June 1983. His family is from Thirupanamoor, a village about 19 km from Kanchipuram. His father, Simhakutty Varthaman, retired Air Marshalin the Indian Air Force while his mother Shobha is a doctor by profession.

Abhinandan did his early schooling from Sainik Welfare School, Amatavatinagar in Chennai. He is said to be an enthusiastic reader and an outstanding speaker. He later graduated from the National Defence Academy, and was commissioned into the combat (fighter) stream of the Indian Air Force as a flying officer on 19 June 2004. He was trained at the IAF centres in Bathinda and Halwara. Promoted to flight lieutenanton 19 June 2006,he was promoted to squadron leader on 8 July 2010. He was a Su-30 MKI fighter pilot before being assigned to the MiG-21 Bison squadron.

Abhinandan is married to a retired IAF Squadron leader Tanvi Marwah and lives in Chennai. He has 2 children.

WHAT IS HE FAMOUS FOR?

Well there are two things for which he is actually famous for and the first is for being a war prisoner in Pakistan in feb 2019 and another is for his mustache….Varthaman's mustache has become trendy in India. It is now widely called the "Abhinandan-cut" in India.

He came into the eyes of media on 27 February 2019 when he was captured in Pakistan after his fighter plane was crashed in the territory of Pakistan. He was captured and manhandled by the villagers before being rescued by the Pakistan Army. Varthaman was identified by the villagers as an indian pilot by the indian flag on his parachute. Some of the villagers were angry and attacked Varthaman while others tried to stop them.Later that day, theIndian Ministry of External Affairsconfirmed that an Indian pilot was missing and demand his immediate release. Indian social media was full of tweets about him, with many calling him hero and praying for his afe return. He was returned two days later, in what Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan described as a "peace gesture".

THE VIRAL VIDEOS:-

In the first video which went viral on social media, Abhinandan was seen getting beaten up by the Pakistani civilians.

When he was captured by Pakistan Army, the Army released two videos of Abhinandan in first he was blindfolded and was being interrogated by the Pakistani Army. And in second video, Abhinandan was seen praising the Pakistan Army for the hospitality provided by them.