‘What more can a mother ask for’: Bihar village celebrates Air Marshal AK Bharti’s role in Op Sindoor - 'Humble despite high rank'

Air Marshal AK Bharti

A day after India announced a ceasefire following a key counter-terrorism mission, Operation Sindoor, one of the most prominent voices in the armed forces' official briefing was that of Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, Director General of Air Operations in the Indian Air Force.

His statements during the press briefing gained attention across the country. Also, pride and emotion filled the home of his parents in Jhunni Kala, a small village in Bihar’s Purnia district. The villagers celebrated the fact that someone from their community had played a key role in one of the country's most critical air operations.

Air Marshal Bharti, son of a clerk in the irrigation department and a homemaker, had always excelled in academics, the villagers said while speaking to news channel NDTV. His performance earned him admission into Sainik School Tilaiya, and later, the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune.

His mother Urmila Devi said that Bharti always dreamed of joining the armed forces. "He was simple as a child and continues to be the same way even now. He always said he wanted to join the armed forces, even when he was a child, and he achieved that," she said.

Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in 1987, Bharti has had a distinguished career. In 2008, he was awarded the President’s Air Force Medal, and in 2023, he was promoted to Air Marshal. He has led a Sukhoi-30 Squadron and most recently served as Senior Air Staff Officer at the Central Air Command in Prayagraj before taking up his current position.

Villagers say he remains humble despite his high rank. "Like his parents, he has no airs, and this has been passed on to his children as well. He meets, greets and interacts with everyone and, despite being a senior officer, does not have any security personnel with him. He touches the feet of elders in the village even now and you will not find anyone in the village who will have a bad thing to say about him. His parents are also very simple and that is the reason they are still living in a thatched house," Anil Sharma, a local resident was quoted by NDTV as saying.

His father, Jeevach Lal Yadav, said they were unaware of his exact role in Operation Sindoor until his name appeared in the news. "He came here about a year ago. My son does not share any confidential details with us, we only know the broad strokes of what he does. Operation Sindoor was a success and my son had a role to play in it. This makes me very happy and proud," Yadav said.

Urmila Devi asserted, “My son is a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot). He has made the country proud, and our family too. What more can a mother ask for?”

"My son has shone the spotlight on Jhunni Kala and Purnia. He is married to a woman from Kashmir. I don't have much to say about how proud I am, it is for the world to see. I am happy. The world knows whose son, whose grandson made the country proud," she concluded.