The aerospace conglomerate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL)on Tuesday removed the sticker of Lord Hanuman that featured on one of their aircraft at the ongoing Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru. "After internal discussion, we decided to remove the image of Hanuman as it is not appropriate to put it now," HAL Chairman and Managing Director C B Anathakrishnan said.
During first day of Aero India 2023 on Monday, the HAL showcased full-scale model of its supersonic trainer aircraft HLFT-42. The model aircraft, which was a major attraction at the show, featured a Hanuman picture on its tail.
The HAL said they had decided to use Hanuman's picture on vertical fin to display power of aircraft. The HLFT-42 aircraft is successor of HAL Marut, the first Indigenous aircraft. Marut is the other name for Wind, or 'Pawan' as it is called in Hindi. The son of Pawan was Lord Hanuman, which is why a picture of the lord was displayed on the model aircraft. The HLFT-42 is a next-generation, supersonic trainer that will play a critical role in modern combat aircraft training.