Who is Bipin Rawat

CDS BI PIN Raw at General BI PIN Lax man Singh Raw at PV SM UY SM AV SM Y SM  VSM ADC (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a four-star general of the Indian Army.^[4] He served as the first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 until his death in a helicopter crash in December 2021.^[5][6][7][8] 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.^[9]

On 8 December 2021, Raw at died in the crash of an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter in Tamil Nadu. He was accompanied by his wife Malika Raw at and members of his personal staff, who were also killed in the crash.^[10]

early life and education 

Raw at was born in Pauli, modern-day Uttarakhand, on 16 March 1958,^[11] into a Hindu family.^[12][13] His family had been serving in the Indian Army for multiple generations. His father Lax man Singh Raw at was from Saint village of the Pauli Agarwal district and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General.^[14][15][16] His mother was from the Takashi district and was the daughter of Krishan Singh Par mar, the ex-Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Takashi.^[17]

Raw at attended Cambrian Hall School in Dehradun and the St. Edward's School, Shimano.^[18] He then joined the National Defense Academy, Dehradun and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, where he was awarded the 'Sword of Honor'.^[19]

Raw at was also a graduate of the Defense Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington and the Higher Command Course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.^[20][21][22] From his tenure at the DSSC, he obtained an M Phil degree in Defense Studies as well as diplomas in Management and Computer Studies from the University of Madras. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by CCS University, Meerut for his research on military-media strategic studies.^[23][24]

Military career 

Raw at was commissioned into the 5th battalion of 11 Gurkha Rifles on 16 December 1978, the same unit as his father.^[25][26] He has much experience in high-altitude warfare and spent ten years conducting counter-insurgency operations.^[22]

He commanded a company in URI, Jam mu and Kashmir as a major. As a colonel, he commanded his battalion, the 5th battalion 11 Gurkha Rifles, in the eastern sector along the Line of Actual Control at Kibitz. Promoted to the rank of brigadier, he commanded 5 Sectors of Rashida Rifles in Spore. He then commanded a multinational brigade in a Chapter VII mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.^[27][28]

After promotion to major general, Raw at took over as the General Officer Commanding 19th Infantry Division (URI). As a lieutenant general, he commanded III Corps, headquartered in Dimapur, before taking over the Southern Army in Pune.^[27][28]

He also held staff assignments which included an instructional tenure at the Indian Military Academy (Dehradun), General Staff Officer Grade 2 at the Military Operations Directorate, logistics staff officer of a Reorganized Army Plains Infantry Division (RAPID) in central India, Colonel Military Secretary and Deputy Military Secretary in the Military Secretary’s Branch and Senior Instructor in the Junior Command Wing. He also served as the Major General Staff (MGGS) of the Eastern Command.^[27][28]

After being promoted to the Army Commander grade, Raw at assumed the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief  Southern Command on 1 January 2016. After a short stint, he assumed the post of Vice Chief of Army Staff on 1 September 2016.^[29][30]

On 17 December 2016, the Government of India appointed him as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff, superseding two more senior Lieutenant Generals, Praveen Bashir and P. M. Hafiz.^[31] He took office of Chief of Army Staff as the 27th  on 31 December 2016, after retirement of General DAL BIR Singh Shag.^[32][33]

He was the third officer from the Gurkha Brigade to become the Chief of the Army Staff, after Field Marshal Sam  and General DAL BIR Singh Shag. On his visit to the United States in 2019, General Raw at was inducted to the United States Army Command and General Staff College International Hall of Fame.^[34] He was also the honorary General of Nepalese Army. It has been a tradition between the Indian and Nepali armies to confer the honorary rank of General to each other's chiefs to signify their close and special military ties.^[35]

During the 1987  valley, then-Colonel Raw at's battalion was deployed against the Chinese People's Liberation Army.^[36] The standoff was the first military confrontation along the disputed McMahon Line after the 1962 war.^[37]