Many political figures killed in plane crashes in India
NEW DELHI : Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the 241 people who died on an Air India plane. The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft heading to London Gatwick fell on a medical college hostel and caught fire. 68-year-old Vijay Rupani was a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021. He was reportedly going to London to meet his family.
India has lost many politicians in air crashes in the last few years. A look at some other prominent names. The list includes Homi J Bhabha, the father of the Indian nuclear program, Sanjay Gandhi, son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Madhav Rao Scindia, Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat and many others. YS Rajasekhara Reddy (2009)
The then Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, died on September 2, 2009, when his Bell 430 helicopter, flying from Hyderabad to Chittoor district, crashed in the dense Nallamala forest due to bad weather. According to media reports, 122 people died of shock or suicide after Reddy’s death.
Sanjay Gandhi (1980)
Sanjay Gandhi, son of former prime minister Indira Gandhi who played a key role during the Emergency (1975-77), was himself a pilot. He died on June 23, 1980, at the age of 33, after losing control of his plane during an aerobatic maneuver. The death of Indira Gandhi’s political heir changed the course of Indian politics.
Madhavrao Scindia (2001)
Son of Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia, the last ruler of the princely state of Gwalior during the British Raj, Madhavrao Scindia himself was once the Minister of Civil Aviation and a leader of the Indian National Congress. Father of senior Congress leader and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Madhavrao Scindia was a prominent face in Indian politics and a member of the Gwalior royal family. He died in a chartered plane crash at Bhogaon in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh on September 30, 2001. He was on his way to address a rally in Kanpur. All eight people on board the plane died in the accident. People were killed.
GMC Balayogi (2002)
Lok Sabha Speaker and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader GMC Balayogi died in a helicopter crash on March 3, 2002 when a private helicopter carrying him from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district crashed into a pond near Kaikalur in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.Cyprian Sangma (2004)
On September 22, 2004, Meghalaya Rural Development Minister Cyprian Sangma and nine others were travelling from Guwahati to Shillong in a Pawan Hans helicopter when the helicopter crashed near Barapani lake, just 20 km from the state capital.
Om Prakash Jindal and Surendra Singh (2005)
Om Prakash Jindal, chairman of the O.P. Jindal Group and Haryana Power Minister, died in a helicopter crash along with Agriculture Minister Surendra Singh in 2005. The King Cobra helicopter was on its way from Delhi to Chandigarh when it crashed in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Dorjee Khandu (2011)
Then Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others died on 30 April 2011 when a Pawan Hans helicopter carrying them from Tawang to Itanagar crashed in the state’s West Kameng district. Their bodies were recovered from Luguthang near the China border.
Other prominent Indian personalities and celebrities who lost their lives in plane crashes:
Homi Jhangir Bhabha (1966)
India’s pioneering nuclear physicist Homi Jhangir Bhabha died in a tragic accident on Air India Flight 101 on 24 January 1966. The plane crashed into Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps due to a miscommunication with Geneva air traffic control. His death is shrouded in conspiracy, with several theories suggesting different reasons for it.
CDS General Bipin Rawat (2021)
India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash on 8 December 2021. Twelve people lost their lives in the accident, including Rawat and his wife Madhulika. The incident took place near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, when they were flying from Sulur to Wellington. The Standing Committee report said the cause of the accident was “human error (aircraft crew)”.
K S Soumya Satyanarayana (2004)
South Indian actress K S Soumya Satyanarayana, popularly known as Soundarya, died in an air crash on 17 April 2004. The co-star of Amitabh Bachchan in Sooryavansham was travelling from Bengaluru to Karimnagar with her brother when the accident happened. She was reportedly pregnant at the time.
