Background

The background to this book is the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi, India on 24 December, 1999. The flight landed the next day in Kandahar, Afghanistan after traversing through Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai. It was a one week hijack drama in Kandahar and the passengers were released on 31 December, 1999. While one of the passengers was killed by the hijackers, the other passengers were freed in exchange for release of three dreaded terrorists lodged in Indian jails.

The author being one of the passengers back from his honeymoon trip, recounts the tragic unfolding of events and how at times it felt that none would come home alive to India. More than two decades after the drama, the book also looks at the history of successful anti-hijack operations, lessons learnt from this hijack and the SOPs that are needed in case of a repeat. There is also a chapter on the judicial process that unfolded of this hijack. The natural beauty of Nepal and that last sunset of the millennium in Kandahar have also been captured in this book.