General Bipin Rawat was a man of courage in the Indian military. He was a four-star officer in the Indian army and the first chief of defence staff in the Indian armed forces. The chief held the position from January 2020 until his helicopter crash in December 2021.
The early life of General Bipin Rawat
Bipin Rawat was born in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. He was born into a family of people serving in the Indian army and took birth on March 16, 1958. His family members have been in the Indian military for generations.
The father of Bipin Rawat, Lakshman Singh Rawat, was from Sainj village in the same Pauri Garhwal district. He was also in the Indian army and was commissioned into 11 Gorkha rifles in 1951. He served his duty and retired as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff as a lieutenant general in 1988.
His mother used to belong to the Uttarkashi district and was the daughter of Kishan Singh Parmar. Father Kishan Singh Parmar was in politics. He was an ex-member of the Legislative Assembly (ex-MLA) from the same district, Uttarkashi.
Education of General Bipin Rawat
General Bipin Rawat completed his elementary education at Cambrian Hall, which was situated in Dehradun, and St. Edwards School, which was situated in Shimla. After finishing high school, he enrolled in the National Defence Academy (NDA), where he earned a degree of B.Sc. Furthermore, he was admitted to the Indian Military Academy (IMA). Then he joined Services Staff College (SSC), from where he was doing his M.Phil.
He then joined the US Army Command and General Staff College, and in the end, he chose Chaudhary Charan Singh University for his PhD. As he was in defence, the title of his research paper was “Military-Media strategic research.”
The Military Career of CDS Bipin Rawat
Before completing his higher education, he was admitted into the military. He joined the 5th battalion, which was the 11th Gorkha rifle. He joined the battalion in December 1978. It was the same unit as his father’s, Lakshman Singh Rawat.
After nine years of training, he was sent to fight with the neighbouring enemies. His first fight was the Indo-Sino skirmish. That was a fight between India and China, where the Indian commanders were confronting the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
He was trained enough that with every win and used to get a promotion. As a Colonel, he also fought against Uri of Jammu and Kashmir. He guided his Gorkha Rifle in the eastern portion of India, which was the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and was promoted to Brigadier for his excellent work.
Awards won by General Bipin Rawat
During his 40 years of service, CDS General Bipin Rawat received nearly 20 awards for his bravery in the Indian Army and Indian Military. The Government of India (GOI) recognised and presented these awards.
These awards are :
- Param Vishisht Seva Medal
- Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal
- Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
- Yuddh Seva Medal
- Sena Medal
- Vishisht Seva Medal
- Wound medal
- Samanya Seva Medal s
- Special Service Medal
- MONUSCO
- Nine years long service medal
- 20 years long service medal
- 30 years long service medal
- 50 of independence medal
- Videsh Seva Medal
- High Altitude Service Medal
- Sainya Seva Medal
- Operation Parakram Medal
The demise of the brave General Bipin Rawat
General Bipin Rawat, with his wife, ten passengers and four other crew members, were travelling in an Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopter flight from Sulur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, air force base.
All the people went to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), where General Bipin Rawat would deliver a lecture. On the same day, at 12:10 pm, the aircraft crashed near the Nilgiri district. The location was only 10 km away from the destination. General Bipin Rawat and his wife, Madhulika Rawat, died on the spot, along with 11 other members. Group captain Varun Singh earlier survived, but after a few days, he also lost his life on December 15, 2022.
