Nation's mourns the colossal loss - gallant son, most decorated Army Commander General Bipin Rawat

It is with great grief – Nation mourns the untimely passing away of its gallant son, the most decorated Army Commander today in an accident.

 

During his career of over 40 years, he was awarded for gallantry and distinguished service with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, the COAS Commendation on two occasions and the Army Commander’s Commendation.  General Bipin Laxman Singh Rawat PVSM UYSM AVSM YSM SM VSM ADC  is no more. 

 

General Bipin Rawat  was the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India. On 30 December 2019, he was appointed as the first CDS of India and assumed office from 1 January 2020. ] Prior to taking over as the CDS, he served as 57th and last Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as well as 26th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. 

A very sad day for the Nation – this day  December 2021, General Rawat died in the crash of an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter in Tamil Nadu. He was accompanied by his wife and members of his personal staff.  The Defence Chief, his wife were among 13 killed in IAF chopper crash near Coonoor.   “With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that General Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,” the Indian Force said in a tweet. 

The crash happened at a distance of about 10 km from the helipad where it was to land.  Sources earlier said that at least three injured people from the crash were taken to a nearby hospital. The crash took place in the Nilgiris, shortly after the Mi-series chopper took off from the army base in Sulur. 

The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.  President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Government of India. With strength of over 1.4 million active personnel,  it is the world's second-largest military force and has the world's largest  army. 

Upon India becoming a sovereign republic on 26 January 1950, some of the last vestiges of British rule – such as rank badges, imperial crowns, British ensigns and "Royal" monikers – were dropped and replaced with the Indian tricolour and the Lion Capital of Asoka.  On 1 April 1951, the remaining units of Imperial Service Troops of the former princely states were integrated with the regular Indian Army.  On 1 April 1954, Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force. Effective from 1 April 1955, a Parliamentary Act, the Commanders-In-Chiefs (Change in Designation) Act, re-designated the office of Commander-in-Chief as the Chief of Staff of each branch. 

Shri Rawat was born in Pauri, Uttarakhand, on 16 March 1958, into a Hindu Garhwali Rajput family.  His family had been serving in the Indian Army for multiple generations. His father Laxman Singh Rawat was from Sainj village of the Pauri Garhwal district and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General.  His mother was from the Uttarkashi district and was the daughter of Kishan Singh Parmar, the ex-Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Uttarkashi.  Bipin Rawat joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, where he was awarded the 'Sword of Honour'. Rawat was also a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and the Higher Command Course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  From his tenure at the DSSC, he has a MPhil degree in Defence Studies as well as diplomas in Management and Computer Studies from University of Madras. In 2011, he was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy by Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut for his research on military-media strategic studies.

Shri Bipin Rawat was the Army’s 27th Chief, from December 31, 2016, to December 31, 2019,  belonging to a family of military officers and one of the most celebrated soldiers of his time, General Bipin Rawat took over as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on January 1, 2020 – the first to occupy the post that made him the country’s foremost military officer. As CDS, he ranked above the other four-star military officers heading the Navy, Air Force and Army, headed the Department of Military Affairs in the Defence Ministry, carving out responsibilities that were with the Department of Defence till then, and was the Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister on all matters related to the forces.  

A great man with more than 4 decades of service,   General Rawat has been awarded several gallantry and distinguished service awards.  Nation mourns the death of its highest ranking, most decorated Officer alongwith other servicemen in air accident.  

General Sir (Francis Robert) Roy Bucher KBE CB MC  was a British soldier who became the second Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army and the final non-Indian to hold the top post of the Indian Army after Partition. Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Army. He led Indian forces on the Western Front during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.  General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji Jadeja, DSO  also known as K.S. Rajendrasinhji, was the first Chief of Army Staff of the Indian army, and the second Indian, after Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa, to become Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. 

A sad day for the Nation, as we mourn the passing away of - General Bipin Laxman Singh Rawat  

With regrets and sadness – S. Sampathkumar
8^th Dec 2021