As a tribute to IAF, Rajasthani couple names baby 'Mirage' after fighter jets

Representative image

When a fleet of 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force destroyed terror camps in Pakistan to avenge the Pulwama IED blast, the whole country rejoiced and lauded the mettle of the combat planes too. While some took to social media to express their gratitude, some others arrived at peculiar ways to ensure the victory against terrorism and the valour of the mighty IAF remains etched in their hearts forever.

A day after the attack, on February 27, a Rajasthani couple hailing from Dabra village in Nagaur district in Rajasthan decided to name their baby “Mirage” to pay tribute to the jet planes used in the covert, ‘non-military’ operation. Some members of the family serve in the Indian Armed Forces.

SS Rathore, the child’s father, said the family wishes that the newborn grows up to join Indian security forces someday. They stated that they named the baby so as a tribute to the IAF.

Rathore told ANI, “We named our child Mirage Rathore to commemorate the strike on Pakistan by the Mirage jets. We hope he will join the security forces when he grows up."

The father believes, when Mirage Rathore grows up, he'll always have an interesting anecdote to share with his friends.

Speaking to Tribune, the father, who is a school teacher by profession, said: “Nothing could be a celebration of the IAF’s feat better than eternalising it. As the feat was commanded by Mirage fighter jets and the child was born exactly when the jets were engaged in the strike, we decided to name the child after the jets.”

The name was reportedly suggested by Mirage’s uncle, who himself serves the Indian Air Force.

Now, the Mirage-2000 fighter jets were also instrumental in turning the course of the 1999 Kargil War. Interestingly, a valiant young officer who was martyred in the war, was also named after war equipment.

Captain Vijayant Thapar, who hailed from a defence family, was named after a war tank – Vijayant.  When he was born, his father was posted in Pathankot. He decided to name his son 'Vijayant' after the main battle tank of the army.