Answer Mrs Gadgil

Having carried the story of Mrs Gadgil’s quest, we would urge the airforce to hold the questions, and respond to her, because she could actually be holding up a mirror to the failures of a system. Failures which have hitherto been all too easily justified or dismissed as part of the risks inherent in a flying career. While we do accept that flying is dangerous business, the questions we need answered are these: what is the airforce doing to minimise the chances of such catastrophes? Is the Government of India adequately concerned with protecting the lives of its airforce pilots, especially those of junior officers in training? While the authorities — both within the airforce and government — may claim that they are, clearly Mrs Gadgil and several others like her remain unconvinced. This is an unsatisfactory state of affairs, not just for the morale of officers and their families, but for the country’s defence preparedness given the crucial role air power plays in military operations. Indeed, it is the airforce that has the biggest stake in Mrs Gadgil’s quest.

Since these are extremely sensitive issues concerning the nation’s safety, there is also very little public discussion on such disasters. Even the findings of committees appointed to inquire into the crashes rarely make it to the public sphere. While the patina of secrecy is understandable given security considerations, the citizen should at least be reassured that the system is benefitting from the remedial measures suggested by the experts. Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case judging by the recent record of crashes.