ISLAMABAD – Social media trolls are having a field day trolling Indian air force group captain, Abhinandan Varthaman who has been awarded Vir Chakra – the highest Indian wartime military bravery award.
As the Modi-led government awarded Abhinandan, netizens once again managed to rile up Indian social media users with different memes featuring the MIG-21 pilot.
President Kovind presents Vir Chakra to Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Varthaman Abhinandan. He showed conspicuous courage, demonstrated gallantry in the face of the enemy while disregarding personal safety and displayed exceptional sense of duty. pic.twitter.com/zrmQJgfbEr
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 22, 2021
Indian media outlets, which are now acting as puppets of the ruling party, once again hailed IAF officer as according to them Abhinandan was the only pilot who shot down ‘Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft’ during the 2019 dog fight.
In reality, the Indian claim was debunked by US officials who said that they have counted the number of Pakistan Air Force F-16s in service and can say that none were lost to the Indian Air Force on that day.
The former Indian pilot was also captured by Pakistan after his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force jet two years ago. Local residents of Azad Kashmir captured Abhinandan after he had ejected from his plane. He was later handed over to India as a gesture of peace at the Wagah border.
Meanwhile, social media users said they feel bad for IAF’s former pilot for being reminded of the embarrassment every month while others trolled him with classic tea jokes.
Check some of the reactions:
https://twitter.com/PSFAERO/status/1462667093774680066
Fantastic 😂 Actually I feel for Abhinandan. Just because of @narendramodi and Indian media denial of the defeat and embarrassment they had bk then, poor Abhinandan is reminded of the episode every second month. https://t.co/tXTDHihrT7 pic.twitter.com/204G0RTIxL
— Dr Arslan Khalid (@arslankhalid_m) November 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/DnowMedia/status/1462709835632455683
https://twitter.com/haayemerijan/status/1462680260076613636
How a state uses various tools to fabricate its own narratives, propagate disinformation and invent its own victories. It knows that the international community won’t buy it but the audience here is domestic. Chest thumping jingoism against Pakistan sells in elections. https://t.co/YsciocObmH
— Husham Ahmed (@hushamahmed) November 22, 2021
