CDS General Bipin Rawat was alive and able to say his name when he and another passenger, later identified as Group Captain Varun Singh, were extricated from the wreckage of the Mi-17V5 chopper near Coonoor on Wednesday, according to a senior leading fireman who was among the first to arrive at the crash site.
The Army has suffered an absolutely irreparable loss as a result of Gen. Bipin Rawat’s premature death. I saw him up close during the Doklam crisis during my time in Kashmir as the Military Secretary, and he possessed the traits of a great leader.
Decisiveness, boldness, bravery, risk-taking capacity, and personal honesty, to the finish, extreme honesty. And he was confident in what he was doing. He was a soldier who lived and breathed the Army. He was never far away. Because I was backed by a boss who would stand by me through all risks and tough situations, both as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) and as the 15 Corps Commander (Srinagar based), I had the confidence to make difficult judgments.
He was chosen as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) since he fulfilled all of the prerequisites. He possessed the qualifications, vision, and heart to be the first CDS. He believed in things; he believed in the Army as a whole, in the armed services as a whole. And he earned it through hard labour.
