The tragic death of India’s first CDS (chief of defence staff), general Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 11 others in a Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, is a great loss to the nation.
The lone survivor of the crash, group captain Varun Singh, was critically injured and is undergoing treatment currently.
The Indian air force has ordered an enquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. The type of helicopter (that met with the unfortunate accident) was delivered from 2011 to 2018, telling us that the choppers were modern and new.
These helicopters have been used for ferrying VVIPs (very, very important persons) on official duty. Incidentally, six year ago, Rawat, then a lieutenant-general, had a narrow escape when his Cheetah helicopter crashed in Nagaland, in February 2015.
What Does The Position Of CDS Stand For?
The untimely death of Rawat has created a vacuum in the army the government will soon try to fill. Although experts say that there is no immediate line of succession envisaged for the CDS.
As defence ministry officials have said, the CDS is a military officer, but also a bureaucrat like a secretary, which is why there is no “direct line of succession”. Some defence experts have said that the appointment of the CDS/DMA (department of military affairs) secretary is more akin to that of a secretary than that of a service chief.
There is no deputy to the CDS, who would have been automatically officiated in his role in his absence. Now, the government will take a call on who will handle his responsibilities, whether temporarily or permanently, in an upcoming cabinet committee on security meeting.
The incident also brings backs memories of the 1963 crash that claimed the lives of six, topmost Indian military commanders. It led to new protocols on the flying of top officials. The incident laid down new protocols saying senior army officials of the same rank shouldn’t fly in the same helicopter.
Bipin Rawat’s Achievements And Controversies
Rawat served as army chief until December 2019, before he was elevated to the newly created office of the CDS. He was a vastly experienced officer, having served in both the northern and eastern commands.
He also headed the southern command. Moreover, Rawat was involved in counter-insurgency operations in both Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the north-eastern states.
Rawat’s tenure as army chief coincided with India’s ruling party adopting a more muscular policy against Pakistan. Moreover, he was among the first to speak openly about the possibility of India facing a “two-front war”.
Rawat also attracted his fair share of controversies for speaking his mind on matters outside the concern of his office.
His remarks against queer people in the army, and the protests over the citizenship law amendments; comparison of migration into Assam from Bangladesh as an act of proxy warfare by Pakistan and China; approval of lynching as an acceptable way of dealing with terrorists in Kashmir, were deplorable.
We Lost An Outstanding Soldier
The death of Rawat is tragic at many levels. As India’s first CDS, he was building a new institution critical to coordination among the services. As CDS, it also fell on him to draw up plans for the modernisation of the military and to make it an efficient, elite, fighting force.
In the last few months, he was occupied with the challenge of envisaging five “integrated theatre commands”, that would combine the tri-services, instead of each force having several regional commands.
During the remaining one year of his tenure, Rawat was determined to push through difficult military reforms. Today, I and the nation, mourn the loss of an outstanding soldier of our country.