Madikeri private bus-stand circle named after war hero Ajjamada Devaiah

To honour a war hero from Kodagu, the Madikeri City Municipal Council has named the Madikeri private bus-stand circle as “Squadron Leader Ajjamada B. Devaiah Circle”.
Ajjamada Devaiah was awarded the Maha Vira Chakra posthumously for his heroism during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
The late Devaiah’s wife Sundari (in picture above) and daughters were present at a function held at the Madikeri bus-stand on Monday which was attended by Air Marshal Rajkumar (Retd).
The Squadron Leader who was taken as missing in action, emerged as a war hero following the publication of the book “Battle For Pakistan” written by a British author.
In the book, the author had quoted an episode narrated by Flight Lieutenant Amjad Hussain of Pakistan Air Force on how an Indian Air Force pilot had fought valiantly even though his aircraft was almost damaged.
Devaiah was a member of a strike force assigned to attack the Sargodha airfield on September 7, 1965. However, Devaiah failed to return to the base after the raid on the airfield.
The Pakistani pilot had narrated in the book how he had intercepted the Dassault Mystere aircraft piloted by the Indian pilot (Devaiah) while he flew the supersonic F104 star fighter aircraft.

Going by the account of Flt. Lt. Amjad Hussain in the book, Devaiah was piloting a Dassault Mystere aircraft which was intercepted by his supersonic F104 star. In the dog-fight, Devaiah’s aircraft was badly damaged, but this did not stop him from going after the Pakistani aircraft which was shot down. The Pakistani pilot managed to eject and lived to tell the story.
Apparently, Devaiah was killed either while failing to maintain control of his aircraft, or while attempting low-level ejection.
Only after the book of the British author was published, the Indian nation came to know the bravery of the pilot from Kodagu who was conferred the Maha Vira Chakra posthumously during the Republic Day and the award was received from the President of India by Sundari Devaiah.
The Madikeri Municipal Council should be complimented for honouring the war hero from Kodagu who laid down his life fighting the enemy. The Pakistani pilot should also be given credit for bringing the episode in the open and giving credit to a member of the Indian Air Force.