Twitter post on UP student who cleared NDA exam shared with allegedly false claims, wrong photo

NEW DELHI: A Twitter post that Sania Mirza, the daughter of a TV mechanic from Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur district, has become India's first Muslim fighter pilot excited massive curiosity with over 8 lakh views, more than 3,000 retweets and many shares.

However, a PTI Fact Check found that the post was allegedly misleading in terms of the fact and also in the photographs that accompanied it. While 17-year-old Mirza got an All India Rank of 63 and AIR 10 in the girls' category in the 149th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), she had not been commissioned as a pilot in the Indian Air Force as the December 24 post claimed.

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Moreover, the photos used in the tweet were allegedly of Mawya Sudan, the first woman fighter pilot from Jammu and Kashmir and the 12th woman officer in India. The Fact Check team started its investigation with a Google search using the keywords “Sania Mirza India’s first Muslim fighter pilot”.

The search results led to a report in the India Today website, which clarified that Mirza had cracked the NDA and chosen the flying branch. Whether or not she will be commissioned as an IAF pilot will depend on the further selection process of the IAF. The report also carried the official statement by the IAF: “A candidate takes four years to be commissioned as a pilot in the Indian Air Force. The IAF further stated that during four years, the candidate has to complete the designated training for the flying branch.”

In the next part of the investigation, the team scanned the IAF’s recruitment website, which clearly states, “Candidates, short-listed for Indian Air Force after the initial selection procedure, go through a rigorous three-year training regimen at the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla, followed by specialised training at one of the AF Training Establishments.

On successful completion, they are Commissioned as Permanent Commission Officers and posted as officers at any of the Air Force Stations.” The next step was a Google Reverse Image search on two photos shared in the tweet. The search results led to several media reports on Sudan becoming the IAF’s first woman fighter pilot in Jammu and Kashmir.