A Picture That Buries a Lie
In the world of geopolitics and military posturing, some images are worth more than a thousand words; they are worth an entire chapter of history. A photograph emerging from Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam this week is precisely that—a quiet, powerful, and deeply symbolic rebuttal to a lie that once echoed across the subcontinent.
The picture features President Droupadi Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a confident officer in a flight suit. That officer is Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, India’s first and only woman pilot to fly the formidable Rafale fighter jet. While the image is a testament to ‘Nari Shakti’ shattering the highest glass ceilings, for those who remember the tense days of February 2019, it is a resounding answer to blatant Pakistani propaganda.
Rewind to 2019: Pakistan’s Propaganda Play
Let’s rewind. In the aftermath of the Balakot airstrikes and the subsequent aerial dogfight, Pakistan’s disinformation machinery went into overdrive. While they had indeed captured a valiant Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, their narrative craved a bigger victory. In a desperate attempt to inflate their success, Pakistani media and social media accounts began circulating a photograph of a woman pilot, falsely claiming she was the second Indian pilot they had captured.
That woman was Shivangi Singh.
The lie was quickly and thoroughly debunked by India. But the attempt was clear: to use the image of a female officer as a pawn in their psychological warfare. It was a crude move that underestimated the integrity and spirit of our armed forces.
From False Narrative to Trailblazing Reality
Fast forward to today. The same officer, once the subject of a malicious falsehood, is not a captive in a propaganda piece but a celebrated pioneer at the forefront of India’s air power. Squadron Leader Shivangi Singh, part of the IAF’s elite No. 17 Squadron, the “Golden Arrows,” is living history. She has flown the Rafale in the Republic Day flypast and stands today as an icon of inspiration for millions.
Her meeting with President Murmu at the strategic Tezpur base—a frontline air station crucial for guarding our eastern flank—is layered with significance. The President had just completed a historic sortie in a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, a powerful statement in itself. Her subsequent interaction with Sqn Ldr Singh completes the picture. Here you have two of India’s most powerful women—one the constitutional head of state, the other a guardian of its skies—standing together.
This photo does more than just correct a historical lie; it buries it. It shows the world the difference between a nation that builds false narratives and a nation that builds trailblazers. Pakistan tried to frame Shivangi Singh as a symbol of Indian defeat; today, India proudly presents her as a symbol of its soaring ambition and strength.
The image is a masterclass in quiet dignity. There are no loud proclamations, only the undeniable truth: an accomplished Rafale pilot standing next to her Supreme Commander, both serving the nation with honour. In one frame, a lie has been exposed, a hero has been honoured, and a powerful message of progress has been sent to the world.
