General Bipin Rawat: the man tasked with military reforms in India

Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, and Sena Medal …. these honours are among the many that adorned chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat’s chest.

General Rawat took over as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff on December 31, 2019 after serving as the Chief of Army Staff for 3 years.

His role was to increase cooperation and coordination between Army, Air Force and Navy, and also advise the govt on military matters.

He took over as Army Chief on December 17, 2016 becoming only the third officer from the Gorkha regiment after Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and General Dalbir Singh Suhag to hold that position.

Born in Uttarakhand’s Pauri, General Rawat was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1978. He joined the same unit as his father, the fifth battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles.

His father Lt General Lakshman Singh Rawat, retired as the Vice Chief of Army Staff in 1988.

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He graduated from the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy. He received the ‘Sword of Honour’ when he passed out of the IMA.

A veteran of high-altitude warfare and counterinsurgency operations, he has served in northern, eastern and southern commands in over 40 years of his military career.

After serving as the southern army commander for a short period of time, he was made the Vice-Chief of Army Staff in September 2016.

21 Paras, the unit that launched cross-border strikes in Myanmar after 18 Indian soldiers were killed by militants in Manipur in 2015 were under the control of the 3 Corps then headed by General Rawat.

General Rawat was also a keen student of military strategy. He had an M.Phil in Defence Studies and a Ph.D in military-media strategic studies.