General Bipin Rawat was one of the most outstanding officers of the Indian armed forces who rose to become the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of India. When we were training at the National Defence Academy (NDA) during the 1970s, our only ambition then was to become second, third, fourth or sixth termers so that we have less number of senior cadets to tolerate. No cadet at the NDA thinks of becoming a General at that stage, Bipin was no different. We evolve in our careers where most of us work hard but some of us are found fit by the system and are lucky to be promoted to the rank of Generals. He went even further and made our course proud by becoming the first CDS.
Though we were course mates, we hardly served together during our early years in the Army because on commissioning in December 1978, I joined the Army Service Corps and he joined the Infantry (11 Gorkha Rifles). We would occasionally meet but kept a track of each other like all course mates do. The next time we were together was during the year long ‘Higher Command Course’ at the Army War College, Mhow. Because of our children’s education, we were attending the course as ‘MOSS’, an acronym for ‘Married Officers Staying Single’. We lived in neighbouring rooms and would go for morning or evening walks together. Our discussions during the walks were heated and both of us were known to stick to our convictions till we found another topic during the next walk. During my dining out from the Army Battle Honours Mess in April 2017, Bipin reminded me of our arguments in his speech, to which I replied in a lighter vein that I had lost that privilege because the ‘Chief is Always Right’.
I also served as the Director General of Supplies and Transport (DGST) for about four months when he was the COAS. During that period, I found him to be fair, upright and decisive. He was a visionary who firmly believed that the armed forces needed transformational changes to meet the future security challenges, and for which he was never shy of taking tough decisions even if they were unpopular. He always spoke his mind and did not possess the ability to pursue hidden agendas, qualities that made him a tall leader. He was an intellectual soldier who was selfless and totally committed to the organisation. He possessed military talent, was sharp and fearless, a rare combination in an officer. The nation lost a great military leader and we lost a fabulous course mate.
It was a coincidence that his wife Madhulika and my wife were classmates at college in Delhi University and their gang would meet regularly to date to catch up. She was always cool and personified grace and dignity and was the most easy-going person I have ever come across. It would be very difficult to fill the void created by this accident. All that I can communicate at this stage is our heartfelt condolences to all the fine people who lost their lives in this tragedy and we pray for their loved ones to find the strength to bear this unsurmountable loss.
My heart goes out to all the Indian Army and Indian Air Force personnel who were accompanying the CDS on this duty. Bipin and Madhulika, you will always be in our thoughts, and you live on with each of us who knew you.
Lt Gen Balbir Sandhu was course mate of General Bipin Rawat at NDA
The author was head of Army Service Corps. He is a distinguished fellow at United Service Institution of India and a motivational and leadership speaker. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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