New Delhi/Mumbai, Oct. 1 -- Smit Machchhar. Unknown till a day ago, the flydubai pilot was the toast of the nation on Thursday for his courage in averting disaster by fighting off his co-pilot who was allegedly attempting to crash the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight with 174 people on board.

From special prayers in Varanasi and the Somnath temple in Gujarat to large crowds carrying the tricolour gathering outside his parents home in Mumbai, from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the everyday social media user, he was hailed as the epitome of heroism everywhere.

Machchhar was grievously injured in a knife attack and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

As drama unfolded in the skies on Wednesday, flydu...