CDS Bipin Rawat, a General like no other. 12 unique facts you might not have known

On December 31, 2019, General Bipin Rawat was appointed as the first tri-service Chief of the Indian Military. On December 8, 2021, India lost its first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. The CDS and his wife Madhulika Rawat were onboard the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter, along with 12 others. 13 of the 14 people on that chopper are dead, including the General.

We have all seen the rise of General Bipin Rawat, a man from Uttarakhand's Paudi, who became India's first Chief of Defence Staff. We have seen and heard his outspoken speeches that made his well-wishers love him and his foes writhe. But deep down, underneath the tough exterior, General Bipin Rawat was an extremely humble, down-to-earth person. He loved conversations, says Sandeep Unnithan, Managing Editor, India Today Magazine, who has met General Rawat multiple times.

Here are 12 things you might not have known about General Rawat:

1. Before becoming the first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Rawat was the 57th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from September 27, 2019 to December 31, 2019 and 26th Chief of the Army Staff from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2019.

2. He was commissioned as a Colonel into the fifth battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles which was the same battalion as his father, Laxman Singh Rawat. He was known to be quite proud of this feat. His father had retired as Lieutenant General in the Army.

3. He had two Dachshunds and recently got a new one named Bailey. General Rawat loved them all very dearly. A fun fact about his first dog is that when young, he bit an electric wire and passed out. Thought to be dead, he suddenly came to back to life with almost unscathed.

4. General Rawat was the first military officer to wear three hats: he was the permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Secretary Department of Military Affairs and Chief of Defence Staff. 

5. Gen Rawat was also part of the planning for the 2016 surgical strikes in retaliation to Uri. These strikes saw the Indian Army going across the Line of Control into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It was on these strikes that Vicky Kaushal’s film Uri: The Surgical Strike and Amit Sadh's web series Avrodh were based upon.

6. The General was known to be a very frank, approachable person. Most times, Gen Rawat would converse with people for hours. To keep the conversations from running on and delaying the General, Brigadier LS Lidder usually had to remind him to 'wrap up' his conversations. 

7. An eerie coincidence you may not have known is that the last Army Chief to die while in office was General Bipin Chandra Joshi, in 1994. Other than having the same first name, both Chiefs were from Uttarakhand.

8. Gen Bipin Rawat's peak cap as CDS featured two swords to represent the Army, an eagle for the Air Force, and an anchor for the Navy. His cap also had the State emblem of the Ashok Chakra. 

For those asking about the uniform of the Chief of Defence Staff, here go the new belt buckle, shoulder rank, peak cap and car flag of the CDS. pic.twitter.com/SEQM2vt9UD

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) December 31, 2019

9. General Rawat was known to be a controversial figure in the military. He wanted to cut back on the pension bill and implement the ‘Integrated Capability Development Plan’. This plan would have drastically transformed the method of hardware acquisition done in the military forces. As CDS, he was also keen on uniting the Army, Air Force and Navy into a ‘synergy’.

10. In 1993, when General Rawat was a 35-year-old Major in the Army, deployed in Uri in Kashmir, his batallion came under heavy fire from Pakistan. A bullet hit Gen Rawat's ankle and a shrapnel grazed his hand. His hand and ankle were reconstructed at the 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. Gen Rawat was told that his days in the Army were 'over'. Here's the General recalling the incident for India Today Magazine. 

11. He has published multiple articles on National Security and Leadership in several journals and publications.

12. Recently, General Rawat had a concrete road built to his village, Sainj. His village had no concrete road. The road is meant to be 4.5 km long, and about 3.5 kms have been built.