India: Wing Commander Afshan Syal, an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, rendered a crisp military salute to her husband, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, as she paid her final respects during his last rites in Patialkar village, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. The emotional scene unfolded on November 23, 2025, amid full military honors, with Afshan standing tall in uniform despite visible grief, her young daughter by her side and family members visibly distraught.
Syal’s body was repatriated via a C-130 aircraft, first received with honors at Sulur Air Base near Coimbatore on November 22, where IAF personnel, local officials, and his family laid wreaths beside his tricolour-draped casket. It was then flown to Kangra Airport, where villagers, schoolmates from Sainik School Sujanpur Tira, and locals gathered in solidarity. Cremation rites followed in his ancestral village, drawing tributes from Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who called him a “courageous and dedicated pilot whose service will remain etched in the nation’s memory.”
Namansh and Afshan, both Wing Commanders, embodied a rare power couple in the IAF. Afshan, stationed at Sulur, was in Kolkata for training when the crash occurred; their six-year-old daughter was with grandparents at the base. Syal, hailing from a military lineage (his father, Naib Subedar Jagan Nath Syal, is a retired Army Medical Corps veteran turned teacher), rose through Sainik School and the National Defence Academy’s Hunter Squadron. As an instructor, he trained future combat pilots, earning accolades for his professionalism.
