A Tall General bids adieu with other Bravehearts

From the editor's desk

A Tall General bids adieu with other Bravehearts

India’s first Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat tragically died on 8 December in a Mi-17V5 helicopter crash in the hills near Coonoor district in Tamil Nādu, along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other defence personnel onboard. The dead included CDS’ Defence Adviser Brig Lakhbinder Singh Lidder, Group Captain Varun Singh, Staff Officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh, Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington and all efforts are being made to save his life.

Expressing grief at the tragedy Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I am deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu in which we have lost Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the Armed Forces. They served India with utmost diligence. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Gen Bipin Rawat was an outstanding soldier. A true patriot, he greatly contributed to modernising our armed forces and security apparatus. His insights and perspectives on strategic matters were exceptional. His passing away has saddened me deeply. Om Shanti. As India’s first CDS, Gen Rawat worked on diverse aspects relating to our armed forces including defence reforms. He brought with him a rich experience of serving in the Army. India will never forget his exceptional service."

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also tweeted, “Deeply shocked by the tragic death of Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his spouse Smt. Madhulika Rawat, senior officials of the armed forces & others in a helicopter crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.” Homage poured in from around the world. The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin described Gen Rawat as a "valued partner". He said, "General Rawat left an indelible mark on the course of the US-India defence partnership and was at the centre of the Indian armed forces' transformation into a more jointly integrated warfighting organization." Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev said Russia lost "a very close friend." [Gen Rawat] played a big role in promotion of our bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership. Grieving together with India. Goodbye, friend! Farewell, commander!"

The European Union's ambassador to India Ugo Astuto, also condoled, along with General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s Army Chief who had served with Gen Rawat in a UN peacekeeping mission in Congo in 2008. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called the accident an "unprecedented tragedy". Sun Weidong, China’s Ambassador to New Delhi conveyed "deep condolences on the sad demise of CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and other victims in the helicopter crash". Bhutanese Premier Lotay Tshering described the tragedy as heart aching. Barry O'Farrell, Australian High Commissioner to India, conveyed condolences and noted that Australia-India relationship thrived during General Rawat's tenure.

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a statement in the Parliament said, “With profound grief and heavy heart, I stand to convey the unfortunate news of the crash of the military helicopter in the noon of 8th December 2021, with India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat onboard…A tri Service enquiry regarding the incident has been ordered by Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.” General Bipin Rawat was appointed India’s Army Chief on 31 December, 2016 and then first CDS on 1 January, 2020 and was slated to be in the position until March 2023.