It's been a year since a helicopter crash in the Nilgiris tragically took away India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 10 other military officers and personnel.
'I have been touched whenever I have known him personally as a human being.'
Glimpses of General Bipin Rawat in the weeks leading to his tragic death on Wednesday.
'With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,' the IAF tweeted.
By jettisoning the seniority principle, the government has sent a strong signal that only merit and suitability will count in occupying posts in the higher echelons of the military, writes national security expert Nitin Gokhale.
'He was a sentimental man, but his commitment to the Olive Green always came before anything else, including his family.' A fascinating excerpt from Rachna Bisht Rawat's Bipin: The Man Behind The Uniform.
On his last day in office as the Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday paid tribute to martyrs at the National War Memorial in New Delhi on Tuesday. General Rawat remembered the brave personnel who had sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation. He also received his farewell Guard of Honour as the Army Chief at the South Block.
The new army chief's highest priority must be to address the critical hollowness in the Indian Army's operational preparedness, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Huge crowds of mourners gathered outside as armed forces personnel took the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat inside the Brar Square crematorium in the Delhi Cantonment on Friday.
'It is ironic that General Rawat, an infantry officer who the government chose because of his expertise in counter-insurgency, has made his first bold statement in the realm of warfighting and mechanised operations,' points out Colonel Ajai Shukla (retd).
'It is crucial today to realise where we have reached in this 15 year-period in order to fully and properly assess the profundity of what General Rawat has said,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane's memoir has triggered a controversy by revealing behind-the-scenes decision-making during the 2020 India-China standoff in Ladakh. Its candid account of military and political responses at a critical moment has reignited debate over civil-military relations, accountability, and the limits of disclosure in matters of national security.
He said that just as there are rules related to religious conduct in mosques and churches, there are also traditional rules in Hindu religious places.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others were killed after their aircraft crashed in Baramati on January 28, 2026. Here are 11 other prominent Indians who died in air crashes.
The army chief also made it clear that a decision in this regard has to be taken by the government.
'We have to cut down on manpower to make more for equipment,' Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat tells Ajai Shukla.
Uttarakhand Police have filed an FIR to identify alleged 'VIPs' in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case, following a recommendation for a CBI probe. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi, highlighting concerns about concealed or destroyed evidence related to an unidentified 'VIP'.
The Army conducted a flag march in violence-hit West Karbi Anglong district of Assam to help maintain law and order after clashes between Karbi and Bihari communities. Two people were killed and over 70 injured in the violence.
A truck accident in Arunachal Pradesh has resulted in the deaths of 18 labourers from Assam. The truck, carrying 22 workers, fell into a gorge in a remote area. Rescue operations are underway to find the missing.
The Uttar Pradesh government, under Yogi Adityanath, is preparing a comprehensive plan to identify and act against infiltrators to strengthen internal security and ensure government schemes reach eligible beneficiaries.
'The scope of cordon and search operations has changed drastically.' 'Operations are now more focused, intelligence driven and involve very small cordons with minimum inconvenience to the people.' 'This has been the humanisation of conflict.' 'It has come to be institutionalised in the army's concept.' 'General Rawat has been schooled in this thinking and when he makes a statement it is with full consciousness of the institutionalised concept,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), the former GOC 15 Corps in Srinagar and the officer acclaimed as the 'People's General'.
'When the government says the army will make a bridge, what does it mean?' 'If this is not stopped here, then there is no telling where and for what all the army will be employed or deployed in the future,' says Veenu Sandhu
'One can be sure that General Rawat will have all-round support and that the Indian Army will have a strong chief,' says Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande (retd).
Before migrating into the theatre command concept, it would be worthwhile to study the shortfalls experienced by the Tri Services Command in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and make good the deficiencies, suggests Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Referring to the border with China, he said the armies of both India and China have issued new guidelines to their respective forces.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Tears flowed at a memorial event for General Bipin Rawat organised on his first death anniversary at the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi, December 10, 2022.
'A seniority-based system created a situation where officers in the higher rank would know, years in advance, who amongst them would be the chief at some future date and the rest would not have a shot at the highest post!' 'Out of this idiotic concoction was born the media created myth of 'line of succession', as if the Indian Army was some kind of monarchy.'
The government has extended the tenure of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan up to May next year.
Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
10 Heroes of the 1965 War which ended on September 23 60 years ago.
A parliamentary panel report has attributed the December 8, 2021, helicopter crash that killed India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat, and his wife, to "human error." The report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, also revealed that 34 Indian Air Force aircraft accidents occurred during the 13th Defence Plan period, including nine in 2021-22 and 11 in 2018-19.
'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
Kritika and Tarini -- the late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's daughters -- on Friday paid floral tributes to their parents at the general's official residence in New Delhi.
On Saturday morning, the daughters of CDS General Rawat, Kritika and Tarini, collected the ashes of their parents from Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment and reached Haridwar to immerse them in the Ganges.
Teenage sensation Tanvi Sharma and top junior men's doubles pair Bhargava Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu will lead a 19-member Indian squad at the Badminton Asian Junior Championships to be held in Solo, Indonesia, from July 18 to 27.
Members of the Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
Neeraj Chopra, who holds the rank of Subedar Major in the Indian Army, admits that his long hair often raises eyebrows when he dons the uniform.
The CDS will have a significant role in higher defence planning and operational aspects of India's nuclear arsenal.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat was laid to rest with a 17-gun salute and full military honours on Friday.
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