India’s first Chief of Defence staff was General Bipin Rawat.
General Bipin Rawat was born on 16 March 1958. He was born in Uttarakhand.
His family has been serving the Indian Army for multiple generations as his father Lakshman Singh Rawat was also a soldier in the army and he was from Sainj village of the Pauri Garhwal district.
Rawat attended Cambrian Hall School in Dehradun and St. Edward School Shimla.
He joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy Dehradun and graduated first and was awarded the “sword of honour”.
After that he was first commissioned into the fifth Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles on 16 December 1978.
Throughout his Career he commanded many units :-
Southern Command
III corps
19th infantry division
MONUSCO north kivu brigade
Rashtriya Rifles Sector 5
5/11 Gorkha Rifles.
Awards of Chief Of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat :-
Padma vishisht Seva Medal
Ati vishisht Seva Medal
Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Yudh Seva Medal
Sena medal
Vishisht Seva Medal
Padma vibhushan.
On 17 December 2016, the Government of India appointed Bipin Rawat as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff after the retirement of General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
He was the third officer after General Manekshaw and General Suhag to become the Chief Of Army Staff.
He was the Chief Of the Army Staff during the 73-day Dokalam standoff with the Chinese army in 2017 when China was building a road in Dokalam.
Bipin Rawat also served as the 57th chairman of the Chief Of Staff Committee. He served the Indian Army for nearly 43 years and we are proud to have a general like him.
As a sign of respect to his career and service to the Indian Army CDS Bipin Rawat was awarded the Padma Bhushan Award after his death in the 2022 Republic day honours list.
On 8 December 2021, he died in a helicopter crash when he was returning from the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington after delivering a speech.
He is onboard with his wife and 13 other officials in the Indian Air Force’s Mi-17 Helicopter.
The crash site was near the area of Coonoor Taluk, Nilgiri District.
General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhuluka Rawat both were Cremated according to the Hindu rituals by their daughters with full military honours and their ashes were immersed in the Holy River Ganga at the Har Ki Pauri Ghat on 12 December 2021.
