General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff, will be cremated will full military honours on Friday, after he and 12 others were killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday. General Rawat, 63, was travelling with his wife, Madhulika, and other senior officers when their air force helicopter crashed in a forest near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, killing all but one officer on board.
The death of the country’s senior-most defence officer has shocked the nation, with people from all walks of life paying glorious tributes.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country's top military brass paid homage to General Rawat, his wife Madhulika, Brigadier LS Lidder and 10 more defence personnel at the Palam air base in Delhi after their bodies were brought to Delhi in a military aircraft. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Army Chief MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Air Chief Marshal AVR Chaudhari, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar were among those who paid homage at a sombre ceremony to those who lost their lives.
On Friday morning, a string of VIPs, including Home Minister Amit Shah, several ministers and top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited General Rawat’s official residence in the heart of Delhi to pay him tributes.
Some social media users drew comparisons on the farewell given to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the architect of India’s victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, and that for General Bipin Rawat.
The country’s top leaders personally paying their last respects to Chief of Defence Staff is in sharp contrast to what was witnessed after Field Marshal Manekshaw’s death on June 27, 2008, they pointed out. Even at that time, the lack of VIP representation drew flak from many people.
The then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony and the three Service chiefs at that time did not attend Field Marshal Manekshaw’s state funeral in Ootacamund (Ooty), Tamil Nadu. The only central minister present at the relatively quiet funeral was the then minister of state for defence Pallam Raju.
To be sure, General Rawat died in a chopper crash while in service and Field Marshal Manekshaw died of age-related complications, at the age of 94, many years after retirement. That said, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the first India armyman to be bestowed this title, is a legend in the annals of Indian military history and a national hero.
Incidentally, both of them died in Wellington in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district.
Several people of social media pointed out the differences in the light of General Rawat’s death and the tame funeral rites of Field Marshal Manekshaw.
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw was the eighth Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, serving as the chief of staff during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. His career in defence was spread over four decades and five wars, including World War II, where he was a part of the British Indian Army.
He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in 1942, Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 1972.
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