WATCH: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Shares Personal Story Of IC814 Flight Hijacking Involving His Father

Dr. S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, recently shared a gripping personal anecdote about the 1984 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC421, on which his father, K Subrahmanyam, was a passenger.

Jaishankar’s comments came while addressing the Indian diaspora in Geneva, Switzerland, where he also touched on the controversy surrounding the Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, which covers the 1999 IC-814 hijacking.

Jaishankar revealed that while he was a young officer involved in handling the hijacking situation, he discovered mid-operation that his father was on board the flight.

“It was an interesting situation,” Jaishankar said, as he was both part of the government team managing the crisis and a concerned family member. The 1984 hijacking ended after 36 hours, with all passengers and crew released unharmed.

What Happened in the 1984 Hijacking? On August 24, 1984, Indian Airlines Flight 421 was hijacked by seven Khalistan terrorists, who were members of the outlawed All India Sikh Students Federation.

Their demands included the release of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others, and they attempted to redirect the plane to the United States. The flight was rerouted across several airports, including Lahore, Karachi, and Dubai, before the hijackers finally surrendered.

Among the passengers was K Subrahmanyam, Jaishankar’s father, a distinguished IAS officer and a leading strategic thinker in Indian geopolitics, who served under several Prime Ministers, including Indira Gandhi.

The IC-814 Hijack Controversy Jaishankar’s speech also addressed the controversy surrounding the Netflix series on the 1999 IC-814 hijacking, which has come under fire for altering the real names of the terrorists.

Social media users accused the series of “whitewashing” the facts by renaming the hijackers. Following backlash, Netflix agreed to update the disclaimer and include the real names of the terrorists.

The 1999 Kandahar hijacking involved five terrorists from Pakistan who seized control of IC-814 en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi. The six-day ordeal ended with the Indian government negotiating the release of 176 hostages in exchange for three jailed terrorists, including Masood Azhar.