Only Angels Can Fly: INDIA'S AVIATION SAGA: I Aviation Saga: India's Aviation Saga

Aviation came to India by fits and starts mostly dictated by the British Empire's strategic interests and commercial objectives and within India by English business community who were attracted by the speed of this new form of transport. It was in early thirties of the 20th century when flying clubs were started in major cities to attract young people to learn to fly.

The narrative takes the reader through the first steps when the Directorate of Civil Aviation was set up in 1927 and Indians learnt to fly themselves and the research work done by pioneers. It was during the inter-war period (1919-1939) that pioneer entrepreneurs tried to set-up an aircraft factory in the country and the obstacles they faced. And then came the long line of pioneer pilots who braved the odds and came out victorious.

The fair sex put in its claim too and the narrative gives the reader fascinating glimpses of how individual women pilots faced the problems of bias and succeeded to the extent that today (2020) India has the largest number of women pilots in the world.

Post-World War II, saw independence and private enterprise in the airlines sector struggling, and then the nationalisation of the industry with the state monopoly functioning for almost 40 years.

The narrative closes in 1953 when civil aviation went completely into Government hands and became a state monopoly. I hope the reader will enjoy the book as much as I did while writing it, despite numerous difficulties in getting accurate information. This is an attempt at recording the chievements of our fellowmen and women!

Somnath Sapru With over 39 years of experience as a journalist and author, Somnath Sapru has, over the years, specialised in writing on military aviation. His earlier book Skyhawks was on the four Indian pilots of World War I who flew with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in Europe. He was earlier the Defence Correspondent of the Deccan Herald, and Indian Express, Bangalore, later at the Indian Express, New Delhi and at The Pioneer and finally at the Indian Express, Chennai, as Editor. He covered the activities of the three services of the armed forces extensively and specialised in the history of military aviation in the country. He has been given professional awards such as the Asian Journalist of the Year Award in 1988 and earlier the Jefferson Fellowship in the US in 1979. He served as a Special Correspondent in the Indian Express and as the Editor of The Pioneer, Lucknow and New Delhi for six years and as the Regional Editor of the Indian Express, Chennai, for five years. His published works cover a variety of subjects such as communication studies, country profiles such as of Japan and biographies but his overriding interest has been military aviation.