‘Happy beyond words': Air Marshal AK Bharti's father on knowing his son's role during Operation Sindoor
Jeevachhlal Yadav, 85, father of Air Marshal AK Bharti, director general air operations (DGAO), is a proud man after his son played a critical role in planning and executing the Indian Air Force's (IAF) operations against Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
'People are either calling up or dropping by to congratulate us. We are happy beyond words and on cloud nine for what my son has done for the country,' Yadav told HT.
The octogenarian was unaware of his son's heroics until his neighbours asked him to watch the officer's press briefing last Sunday evening. Yadav still regrets missing the first few minutes of the press conference and continues to stay glued to the news channels, hoping to see his son again.
'He did not tell me anything when he called up and spoke to me last week. He could have at least told me that he would be on TV. I would have watched the programme from the beginning,' Yadav said.
The man also said the officer was 'brilliant' since childhood and never took private tuition, from his schooling to joining the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune.
Mithilesh Kumar (48), the second of the three siblings in the family, stated how his brother does not discuss anything about his work.
'Though my brother regularly calls up, he never discusses anything about what he is doing. It's easier to talk to bhabhi (Sangeeta Bharti), who hails from Kashmir and was a short service commission officer in the IAF before she got married to bhaiya in 1996,' said Kumar, who works at a pharmaceutical firm.
AK Bharti joined the flying branch in 1987. Over 20 years of dedicated service, he achieved many key milestones. He is a Fighter Combat Leader and has completed training at the Defence Services Staff College. He served as the Flight Commander of a Sukhoi-30MK squadron and also worked at Air Headquarters as Joint Director of Air Defence Operations.
He was awarded the 'Three Stars' for safe flying, showing outstanding performance, and received a commendation from the Chief of the Air Staff in 1997 for his dedication to duty. He was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal in September 2023.
India launched Operation Sindoor targeting high-profile terrorists and terror infrastructure in Pakistan as a retaliation for the April 22 attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours soared for days as Pakistan launched 'Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos' targeting civilian and military sites in India, which was successfully thwarted by the Indian armed forces.
(With inputs from Ruchir Kumar/Aditya Nath Jha)
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