Pune:
How India perceives its President may have changed forever.
Move over, President Patil of the elegant saris. Welcome, Top Gun Patil in G-suit, giving the thumbs up to onlookers as she boarded her fighter jet at the Lahegaon Air Force base at Pune.
(In pics: President Patil flies in a Sukhoi)After a half hour sortie in a Sukhoi 30, the President became the first female head of state to fly in a fighter plane. The ride was a symbolic shot in the arm for women who've been arguing that they should be allowed to fly fighter jets. The President was frank about her take: "The technical requirements and the qualifications and situations which one has to face are the issues which the experts and the govt will decide and consider. But let me tell you, I have full faith in our women. They have the capability and the ability...they have done exceedingly well...and I have no doubt about their capabilities."
Patil is the second president to fly on a fighter jet after her predecessor, APJ Abdul Kalam. She didn't take it lightly. "I had been working out in the treadmill. I have been doing yoga. I exercise regularly so it was not very difficult," she said, smiling. Wing Commander S Sajan, who piloted her, says she's a natural: "She was very confident...she even recognised the Baramati air-strip." (
See video)
Where the President has gone, many other women hope to follow. Soon, please.