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India is mastering the art of messaging. On Wednesday (October 29), New Delhi sent a subtle but clear message to Pakistan when President Droupadi Murmu took a historic sortie in a Rafale fighter jet, the same that was used during India’s Operation Sindoor.
And to make sure that the message was loud and clear — President Murmu was also assisted into the Rafale cockpit by none other than Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, the same woman pilot that Pakistan had wrongly claimed to have taken as prisoner during the military hostilities back in May.
Murmu’s Rafale sortie and Pakistan’s Shivangi Singh lie
On Wednesday, President Droupadi Murmu undertook a 30-minute sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Ambala Air Force base, accompanied by Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, India’s first woman Rafale pilot. After the sortie, the President posed for photographs with Singh in the backdrop of the Rafale aircraft.
What makes this significant is that Singh was in the news earlier this year when Pakistan ran a disinformation campaign during Operation Sindoor, saying that her aircraft had been shot down and she had been taken prisoner. At that time too, India had debunked these claims surrounding Singh.
But who is Singh?
Hailing from Varanasi, Singh dreamt of becoming a pilot as a young child and took her first steps towards that dream by joining the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Air Wing during her graduation at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Later, she made it to the Indian Air Force Academy in Hyderabad, where she underwent rigorous training to become a fighter pilot.
In 2017, she was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as part of the second-ever batch of women pilots and in 2020, was chosen for Rafale training, an advanced programme that involved simulator sessions with French instructors.
It was during Operation Sindoor that she became a household name when Pakistan claimed that it had downed six Rafale jets and even take Singh as prisoner of war. Fake videos were shared online showing Singh had been captured near Sialkot after ejecting from her aircraft, and that Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had visited her “grief-stricken” family. However, India fact-checked Pakistan’s lies, with PIB Fact Check terming the video as “baseless and fabricated”.
Murmu’s ‘unforgettable’ Rafale sortie
Around 9.30 am on Wednesday, Murmu arrived in Ambala from New Delhi following which she suited up in a G-suit and helmet and undertook the sortie in the Rafale fighter jet. This makes Murmu, the first Indian President to have flown in two fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. In April 2023, she had undertaken a sortie in a Sukhoi-30 MKI from the Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.
With Murmu in the jet was Group Captain Amit Gehani, Commanding Officer of the 17 Squadron, a statement issued by the President’s office said. The fighter jet flew at a height of about 15,000 ft above sea level and at a speed of about 700 kilometres per hour, it added.
Later in the visitor’s book, the President expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said: “I am delighted to visit Air Force Station Ambala for my maiden flight on Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force”.
“The sortie on Rafale is an unforgettable experience for me. This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation’s defence capabilities. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station, Ambala for organising this sortie successfully,” Murmu wrote.
For many, Murmu’s decision to be part of a Rafale sortie also sends a clear message to Pakistan and anyone else who questions the nation’s defence capabilities.
That’s because the Rafale was at the forefront of Operation Sindoor in which the Indian forces dismantled terrorist infrastructure deep inside Pakistan. Also, these jets were extensively used to strike at Pakistan’s military installations when Islamabad began to strike at Indian civilians.
Also, there’s been a lot of buzz over the success of Rafale jets in the operation, with Pakistan claiming that it shot down one Rafale, among other planes during Operation Sindoor. Moreover, US President Donald Trump has given credence to the claim; on Wednesday, in Tokyo, the US leader said that seven “brand-new, beautiful” aircraft were shot down during the May 7-10 cross-border military flare-up.
Though he had earlier claimed in the past that seven aircraft of the Indian and Pakistani armed forces were shot down during the conflict, this was the first time he described the planes as “brand-new” and “beautiful”, which has led to speculation that he was speaking of the Rafale.
With inputs from agencies
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