Amid row over Netflix series, Jaishankar says his father was on hijacked plane in 1984
Minister says he got to see the situation, both from the perspective of families of hostages and the government, as he was part of the team dealing with the hijack situation
Recounting an experience that could possibly inspire another edge-of-the-seat web-series, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has shared that his father, a former IAS officer, was aboard a hijacked flight in 1984 while he himself was part of the hostage negotiation team.
The event recounted by the former bureaucrat at a community programme in Geneva on Friday (September 13) gains significance in the wake of the raging controversy over the Netflix series IC814: The Kandahar Hijack based on the hijacking of a Delhi-bound Indian Airlines flight in 1999.
‘Saw crisis from both sides’
Narrating his experience of the 1984 hijacking, Jaishankar said he had a unique window on “both sides” in such situations – the perspective of family members and those in the government.
The minister told the audience how as a young officer then, he was part of the team dealing with the hijack situation on the one hand and on the other, he was part of the group of families putting pressure on the government to get the crisis resolved.
‘Was part of crisis team, found my father was on flight’
He said on the day of the hijacking, it was his turn to go home and feed his young son as his wife was working too. But he had to call his mother to fill in as he was called to work on the hostage situation.
“In 1984 there was a hijacking. I was a very young officer. I was part of the team which was dealing with it. I rang up my mother, actually, to tell her, ‘Look, I can't come. There's a hijacking,” he said.
“And then I discovered, my father was on the flight. The flight ended up in Dubai. It's a long story, but fortunately, nobody got killed. It could have ended as a problem,” he added.
1984 hijacking
On July 5, 1984, an Indian Airlines flight was hijacked from Pathankot and taken to Dubai. After more than 36 hours, 12 pro-Khalistani hijackers surrendered to authorities and released all 68 passengers and six crew members unharmed.
Jaishankar was an IFS officer and became a minister after his retirement. His father K Subrahmanyam was an IAS officer and a regular commentator on strategic issues.
The hijackers had later claimed in court that Subrahmanyam had planned the entire hijacking to “examine nuclear installations in Pakistan”.
The hijacking has inspired parts of the 2021 Akshay Kumar-starrer Bell Bottom.
With the Khalistani movement at its peak, the year saw the massacre of thousands of Sikhs following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in revenge for Operation Blue Star.
‘Netflix series shows govt in poor light’
When a member of the audience asked about his comments on the recently-released Netflix series on the Kandahar hijacking, Jaishankar said it has showed “the bureaucracy and the government dealing with hijacking in poor light.”
He, however, added that he has not watched the series.
‘Hero must look good’
Speaking more about his experience, he said it gave him the opportunity to view the situation from both sides – from the point of view of the families of the hostages and that of the government.
“And it was interesting because on the one hand, I was part of the team which was working on the hijacking. On the other hand, I was part of the family members who are pressing the government for the hijacking. So actually, I have that very unique window on both sides, in that sense of the problem,” he added.
He said that in the fictional adaptations of such crises, the government is often shown in a poor light to make the “hero” of the story look good.
“So, often these are situations and movie guys don't make the governments look good. The hero is supposed to look good. Then nobody would watch the movie and you got to accept that,” he commented, evoking peals of laughter from the audience.