MiG-21s retd, mother of IAF pilot killed in crash speaks up for ‘all my Abhijits’

“In the years after, I discovered that my grief could not remain only mine. I had to speak for every mother, every father, every brother and sister who had stood at the funeral and asked why their loved one had been taken. And so began my journey, the fight for accountability, for safety, for honesty. I have often said that I speak for ‘all my Abhijits’, because behind each soldier, each sailor, each pilot, there is a story of love, sacrifice, and loss that deserves dignity,” She said.

After Flt Lt Abhijit’s demise, Gadgil and her husband Wing Commander Anil Gadgil (Retd), who passed away in August 2019, fought a long battle highlighting key safety concerns of IAF’s ageing fighter jets. Her battle was an inspiration for the 2006 film starring Aamir Khan, Rang De Basanti. In the years after the tragedy, the family channelled their grief into a relentless campaign for safer skies.

Kavita Gadgil, Wing Commander Gadgil and elder son Kedar’s efforts for safety of pilots included concrete steps in the form of training through the two establishments founded by them, Abhijit Air Safety Foundation and its school Jeet Aerospace Institute. Wg Cdr Anil Gadgil designed and built India’s first indigenously developed mobile flight simulator. They went on to train over 650 aspiring pilots between 2007 and 2019 through the Jeet Aerospace Institute. After Wg Commander Gadgil’s passing, Jeet Aerospace Institute was closed down and the flight simulator was decommissioned.

Flt Lt Abhijit Gadgil with his two loves, his bike and his aircraft. (Source: Kavita Gadgil)

“I stood beside Anil in running Jeet Aerospace Institute, and together we watched so many of those young men and women carry forward Abhijit’s dream into the skies. Anil worked until his last day, handing over certificates to his final batch, before leaving us in August 2019. His contribution was recognised by the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2018 with the Flight Simulation Medal, a tribute that still fills me with quiet pride,” she said.

“Indian Air Force decommissioned the last MiG-21 squadron almost to the day, 24 years after Abhijit’s death. And that last squadron is the Panthers, the very unit in which my son once flew. It is an irony too heavy for words. Yet it also feels like a circle closing, a chapter written at last… Today, I feel that the Shraddhanjali (homage) to all those Abhijits who were lost in Mig-21 accidents is complete. And I sincerely hope and pray these tragedies do not take place for other aircraft which are in service. I want this never to happen with the Abhijits who are flying,” she told The Indian Express.

On September 17 this year, as the Gadgil family and their close ones remembered Flt Lt Abhijit, the family released a film on YouTube marking their journey after losing Abhijit and the journey of Jeet Aerospace Institute. Speaking about the film, Kavita Gadgil said, “I share this film today not only in memory of Abhijit, but in honour of Anil, and of all the families who have borne similar losses. Our fight has always been for them, for every other Abhijit, so that the skies might one day be safer for those who guard them.”

Kavita Gadgil also fought another battle after the accident. She was aggrieved by the “misleading, confusing, hurtful” response and remarks about the performance of her son referred to in a letter from the Air Force Headquarters sent to her after the accident. She appealed the withdrawal of the letter as well as the remarks made against her son be expunged. She also raised concerns on the safety records of the Russian origin fighters on various platforms.

In August 2003, she met then-President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. “President Kalam spoke with us for 45 minutes. He said he could at least promise that the accident rate of MiG-21 will be reduced. The National Human Rights Commission also took up the issue. The NHRC then wrote to the Air Force and to the Ministry of Defence. In March 2005, the then Air Force Chief wrote apologising to us and stating that the letter sent earlier stood withdrawn. I have respect for the dignity and sense of accountability shown by the Air Force.” Kavita Gadgil says in the firm on YouTube.