Hilal Ahmed Rather

A native of southern Kashmir's Anantnag district, Rather studied at the Sainik School Nagrota near Jammu from Class VI in 1978.[5] According to family friends, he rarely visited his home following the beginning of the insurgency in 1988.[5]

Rather was commissioned into the regular (flying) branch of the IAF as a pilot officer on 17 December 1988, with the service number 19863,[2] He passed out from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal as the "Best All-Round Pilot", winning both the President's Plaque and the academy Sword of Honor.[6] He was promoted flying officer on 17 December 1989 and flight lieutenant on 17 December 1993.[7][8] Rather was promoted squadron leader on 17 December 1999,[9] and went on a flight safety course in Bangladesh in 2003.[6] Rather also attended the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington.[1] He was promoted wing commander on 16 December 2004 and group captain on 1 May 2010.[10][11] He also served as an instructor at the DSSC.[1]

In 2011, Rather was selected for a course at the USAF Air War College, which he passed with distinction.[6] After completing the course, he returned to India in 2013 and was posted to the AHQ (Air Headquarters) of the Western Air Command.[6] From 2013 to 2016, Rather served as director of fighter operations for the Western Air Command, with responsibility for training and operational plans.[1] Commanding AFS Gwalior, Rather was involved in the September 2016 Indian Line of Control strike.[1] On 26 December 2016, he was promoted air commodore.[12]

As defense air attaché in Paris, Rather is one of only four IAF officers in this role; the others are posted at the Indian missions in the U.S., the U.K. and Russia.[1] He has over 3,000 accident-free flight hours on Dassault Mirage 2000, MiG-21 and Kiran aircraft.[1] He was promoted to the rank of air vice marshal in 2021.[13]

Rather received the Vayu Sena Medal (VM) for devotion to duty in 2010, followed by the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2016.[6]

AH Rather is the youngest of five siblings, including three sisters and 1 brother.[6] His father was Muhammad Abdullah Rather SM (d. 2013), a decorated veteran of the 1962 Sino-Indian War who fought with the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and who subsequently joined the J&K police, retiring as a deputy superintendent.[6] His brother is a teacher in Anantnag, a chemistry lecturer, while his three elder sisters retired after careers in teaching and in the law; both his parents are deceased.[6][5] He married his wife Samina in 1993, with whom he has two children.[14][6]