While Rawat and Khemka were given Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, posthumously, Azad, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekharan, former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi, founder of Serum Institute of India that made COVID-19 vaccine Covishield Cyrus Poonawalla were among the eight honoured with Padma Bhushan, the country's third-highest civilian award, at a civil investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
This year, no names were announced for 'Bharat Ratna', India's highest civilian award, which was last awarded in 2019 to former president Pranab Mukherjee, social reformer Nanaji Deshmukh and noted singer Bhupen Hazarika.
The award for Rawat was received by his daughters while a close family member received the award for Khemka.
Many of those who received the Padma awards were "unsung heroes", including 125-year-old yoga practitioner Swami Sivananda.
Members of the audience clapped as a bare-feet Sivananda, dressed in a simple white kurta and dhoti, knelt before Prime Minister Narendra Modi who promptly got up and bowed, touching the ground as he returned the greeting.
These awards are given in various disciplines and fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
The Narendra Modi government has been honouring many such "unsung heroes" who have been contributing to society in different ways with Padma awards since 2014 when it came to power for the first time.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
'Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field.
The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year and are conferred by the President at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
This year a total of 128 Padma awards are being conferred, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one). The list of awardees comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri awards.
As many as 34 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI and 13 posthumous awardees. The second civil investiture ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 28.
Former West Bengal chief minister and CPI-M leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was among the Padma Bhushan awardees, had refused to accept the honour.
The formal announcement was made by General M.M. Naravane, Chief of Army Staff and Officiating Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, at a ceremony organised at the South Block on Tuesday.
Indian Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Air Marshal B.R. Krishna and Deputy Chiefs of the Army Staff Lt Gen S.K. Sharma also attended the event.
A cheque of Rs 5 lakh was handed over to Maj Gen B.K. Sharma (retd), Director, USI which will be paid as honourarium to the nominated Chair of Excellence.
Late General Bipin Rawat who served as India's first CDS as well as the 27th Chief of Indian Army was an outstanding professional and was in the midst of steering one of the most radical transformations of the Indian military.
Gen Rawat Memorial Chair of Excellence will focus on the field of Jointness and Integration.
The Chair of Excellence is a befitting tribute to the astute leadership and professionalism of the General.
On the occasion, the Army Chief recounted that General Rawat was passionate about strategic thoughts and invested considerable time and energy in the activities of various Think Tanks and therefore, his 65th birthday provided an opportune moment to reinforce the Services' bond with their intellectual institutions.
The Chair will be open to Veterans of three Services and civilians having expertise in the field of National Security.
General Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 12 armed personnel were killed in a chopper crash on December 8, 2021.
As per the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Court of Inquiry in its preliminary findings after analysing Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder has ruled out mechanical failure, sabotage or negligence as a cause of the accident.
The report claimed that the 'Accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions. This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain.'
Based on the findings of the report, the Court of Inquiry has made certain recommendations that are being reviewed.
CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other defence personnel lost their lives in the military helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8. One of the 14 on board, Group Captain Varun Singh succumbed to his injuries a week later while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The tragic incident happened on December 8, 2021, when a military helicopter crashed near Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, costing 14 lives including Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and other military personnel.
Air Chief Marshal Chaudhary went to the official residence of the Defence Minister and made the presentation. A tri-service inquiry was ordered after the crash to probe the reasons of this accident.
It is believed that the MI-17v5 pilot may have been left disoriented by inclement weather and accidentally flown into terrains. This is referred to as CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain.
Sources said the inquiry ruled out any possibility of technical errors or mechanical defects. The chopper was a Russian made Mi-17V5 helicopter, considered extremely reliable and safe. The crew was led by group captain Varun Singh, a very experienced pilot of the Indian Air Force.
The tri-service inquiry was led by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, known as India's top chopper pilot. He served as the director-general of inspection and flight safety before. The tri-services probe report has given its findings on the reasons behind the crash & made recommendations for future chopper operations for flying VIPs.
Omkar told OTV that he got the needed encouragement from many people but the real inspiration came after he joined the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) (a military school for boys and girls situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun) which helped him achieve the feat.
"Only after going to RIMC, I came to know about the three wings of the armed force. I had the opportunity of interacting with very high ranking defence officials of all three wings, including the then General Bipin Rawat and Lieutenant General C P Mohanty. From them I got to know a lot of things, " he said.
He further said that his father kept inspiring him to walk the extra mile. “The uniform and the lifestyle of the armed forces instilled the interest in me to join the armed forces and lead a disciplined life,” said an elated Omkar.
Omkar’s father Colonel Arun Ray, who is a retired Army officer (Engineers), said that when his son got selected for admission into RIMC, the family was quite sure that his chances of joining the Indian armed forces were quite bright.
"Him (Omkar) topping the NDA exam was a pleasant surprise to all of us. We are happy for his achievement at this young age. It is a proud moment for all of us- not only for my family but for all friends and well-wishers as well," said Ray.
The old system was in practice before creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff two years ago.
The practice was that the senior-most Chief would take over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and would be responsible for synergy between the Army, Navy and Air Force. He would look after the better coordination and co-operative practices among the three services.
Old system was brought in following the death of General Bipin Rawat. He along with wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 armed personnel were killed in a military chopper crash on December 8 at Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. Lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday (December 15).
The chopper crashed when General Rawat was on his way to Wellington for a lecture.
The post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts headed by Lt. General D.B. Shekatkar.
The government after creating the post had stated that the CDS will head the Department of Military Affairs within the Ministry of Defence.
It had also stated that the CDS will also be the permanent chairman of the existing Chiefs of Staff Committee and a member of the Defence Acquisition Council and the Defence Planning Committee.
The CDS has a responsibility for coordination among the three services in equipment and arms procurement, training and staffing.
This should help bring about better synergy between the forces and to prioritise requirements and optimise the use of resources, especially at a time the military budget is shrinking. The CDS functions as the single point of military advice to the government.
In Karnataka, home minister Araga Jnanendra directed police to track down the "anti-national" persons who posted objectionable comments about the late Chief of Defence Staff, and "punish them befitting their distorted minds."
In Bharuch district of Gujarat, one Firoz Diwan was arrested on Friday for allegedly using objectionable words about Gen Rawat in his comment on a Facebook post by another user who paid tributes to Rawat.
Diwan was booked for "hurting the feelings of people and Armed Forces" under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections including 153 (giving provocation with intention to cause riot), 153 (B) (imputations prejudicial to national integration) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).
India's first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Rawat and his wife Madhulika were killed along with 11 others in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8.
In Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, one Durgesh Vaskele was arrested on Saturday for an objectionable post on Facebook under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 153(B).
In his post, Vaskele, said to be a member of an outfit called Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti, allegedly wrote, "You have killed our 14 people, in return nature swallowed your 13 soldiers," apparently referring to the death of 14 civilians in Nagaland in firing by the security forces.
Local BJP MLA from Pandhana, Ram Dangore, had earlier demanded action against Vaskele, while opposition Congress alleged that a local head of "BJP IT cell" had endorsed Vaskele's Facebook post and asked why he was being spared.
Elsewhere, Malayalam film director and Sangh Parivar fellow traveler Ali Akbar announced that he and his wife were giving up Islam in protest against a section of social media users who allegedly indulged in jubilation over Rawat and others' death.
"I am not a Muslim from today onwards. I am an Indian," the film maker said, slamming those who put smiley emoticons below news reports related to the death of General Rawat. He could not stand with the "anti-nationals" anymore, Akbar said in a video posted on social media on Friday.
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra asked the state Director General of Police to identify and punish those who post derogatory remarks on social media against Rawat and other victims of the helicopter crash.
"Find out the residential addresses of those criminals who post such remarks on social media celebrating the death of the proud son of India, as they are anti-nationals, and punish them befitting their distorted minds," the minister said.
The prime minister, who was addressing a rally in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur after inaugurating the Saryu Canal National Project, began his speech by paying tributes to Rawat and all other security personnel who lost their lives in the December 8 helicopter crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu and said the nation is standing with their families.
Modi said the passing away of Gen Rawat is a great loss to the nation.
"It is a huge loss for every patriot of the country. The entire country witnessed General Rawat's bravery and his efforts in making the forces atmanirbhar (self-reliant)," he said.
"Wherever Gen Rawat is, he will see his Bharat moving forward with a new resolve in coming days," he said.
Whether increasing the security on borders, strengthening border infrastructure, making the armed forces self-reliant, or increasing tri-services co-ordination, many such works will continue to progress rapidly, Modi said.
"India is in pain, but despite the pain, we never let it stop our progress. India will not stop. India will not pause. Indians will together work harder, face every challenge both inside and outside the country and make India more powerful and prosperous," the prime minister said.
Prime Minister Modi prayed for the early recovery of lone survivor of the IAF helicopter crash Varun Singh, who is from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.
Describing General Rawat as an extraordinary military leader, the president said the void created by his untimely demise can never be filled.
He said the nation is yet to come out of the shock of his untimely death. "...But for the tragedy he would have been here with us looking at the passing out parade with happiness and pride," the president said addressing the passing out parade of the academy's autumn course as the reviewing officer.
India's first CDS Gen Rawat was an alumnus of the IMA and had graduated from here with a Sword of Honour, the most coveted award given to the best gentleman cadet by the academy for overall performance.
Gen Rawat was also scheduled to attend Saturday's event held on a much lower scale as it came just a day after his mortal remains were consigned to flames in New Delhi on Friday.
President Kovind advised the gentlemen cadets commissioned as officers to develop a strategic mindset, adaptive temperament and resilience to take on the challenges they could face as military leaders.
Noting that the security environment at the regional and global level is complex, the president said, "Physical and mental toughness is not enough. As military leaders you must develop a strategic mindset, adaptive temperament and resilience to take on the challenges ahead."
"Your training equips you for the challenges," he said.
A total of 319 gentlemen cadets from India and 68 from friendly foreign countries graduated from the academy and got commissioned into the armies of their respective countries as officers.
Despite being a small state, Uttarakhand has the second highest number of 43 cadets commissioned as army officers after Uttar Pradesh with 45.
Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen (retired) Gurmit Singh and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were also present at the event which decided to do away with the usual celebrations held on the occasion in view of Gen Rawat's tragic demise.
General Rawat, his wife, and 11 other defence personnel were killed when an Mi17V5 helicopter carrying them crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
The general will be laid to rest at the Brar Square cremation ground. A ceremonial Battery of the 2233 Field Regiment provided the gun carriage.
About 800 service personnel are expected to be in attendance for the military funeral.
The final journey of General Rawat and his wife began amid chants of 'Jab tak suraj chand rahega, Rawat ji ka naam rahega', 'Indian Army Zindabad' and bharat mata ki jai', and people showered flower petals as the convoy passed.
The mortal remains of General Rawat and his wife were kept at their official residence before cremation, and Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tributes and laid wreaths.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country's top military brass paid homage to the victims of the crash after their bodies were brought to Delhi in a military aircraft on Thursday.
Around 10 a.m., the mortal remains of Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat arrived at his official residence at Kamraj Road from the Base Hospital here.
A large number of people also gathered at the residence to pay their last respects. Last rites of General Rawat and his wife will take place later in the day at Brar Square at Delhi Cantt.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah paid tribute to Brig L.S. Lidder at Brar Square at Delhi Cantt, before cremation. Haryana Chief Minister M.L. Khattar also paid tribute to Brig Lidder at Brar Square.
On Thursday evening, the mortal remains of General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 other armed forces personnel were brought to the Palam airport. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari brought the mortal remains of all the deceased. Earlier in the day, the mortal remains were moved in a convoy from Wellington to Sulur. From Sulur, the mortal remains were flown to Delhi in an Indian Air Force aircraft.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his homage to General Rawat, his wife and 11 other armed forces personnel at the Palam airport. He also met the bereaved families.
Before the Prime Minister, Defence Minister Singh also reached the airport and met the family members of all the deceased and expressed his condolences to them.
The ill-fated IAF helicopter with the Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 12 other military personnel on board crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Group Captain Varun Singh (Shaurya Chakra) is the only lucky survivor among the 14 persons.
Among the deceased, Odia Jawan Rana, hailing from Krushnachandrapur village under Kandala panchayat in Angul district , was serving as a Junior Warrant Officer in IAF.
Son of Sribatsha Das and Sushama, Rana had joined the IAF in 2005 and was deployed in Bihar. He was the younger son of his elderly parents and is survived by his wife Sibangi, a dentist by profession, and, a one-year-old son.
The last rites of CDS Bipin Rawat, his wife and Brig LS Lidder is being held in Delhi today, however since the bodies of the remaining 10 others are yet to be identified, the mortal remains of Rana Pratap has been kept in Army Base Hospital in Delhi.
As per sources, after visual identification and DNA matching of his body with his family members, Rana's mortal remains will be handed over for the last rites believed to be held in his ancestral village likely on Monday.
Among the 13 deceased, the military doctors have able to identify the mortal remains General Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig L.S. Lidder, while they are carrying out DNA tests to identify the others.
IANS takes a look at the bravehearts whose lives were cut short by the tragic accident:
Brig L.S. Lidder
Commissioned to Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in December 1990. Was DA to CDS since Jan 2021. Approved for promotion as Major General, he was due to take over a Division. Commanded Brigade in the Northern Borders. Was instructor at NDA and Director at Military Operations Directorate.
Lt Col Harjinder Singh
2/11 Gorkha Rifles; Commissioned in September 2001 from OTA, Chennai. He was an instructor at IMA, Dehradun. Served in the Northeast and J&K. Also, in Sikkim Scouts. Was a Staff Officer in a Corps HQ.
Lance Naik B Sai Teja
11 Para (SF). Enrolled in June 2013, he served in super high altitudes in Arunachal Pradesh along the border with China. Part of counter-terrorist operations in Manipur and Nagaland. Mixed martial arts, unarmed combat, and communications and electronic warfare expert.
Lance Naik Vivek Kumar
1 Para (SF). Enrolled in December 2012, he served in South and North Kashmir, and also near the India-China border ahead of Spiti. Specialist in combat freefall, communications expert and excellent in unarmed combat.
Lance Naik Jitender Kumar
3 Para (SF). Enrolled in March 2011, he served in the Desert Sector along the Indo-Pak border, on the India-China border near Pithoragarh, and in J&K. Expert sniper and specialist in communications.
Naik Gursevak Singh
9 Para (SF). Enrolled in March 2004, he served in Ladakh, Poonch-Rajouri, South and North Kashmir. A demolition specialist, he was an expert in unarmed combat and close-quarter battle.
Havildar Satpal Rai
5/11 Gorkha Rifles. Enrolled in March 2002, he served in Siachen, Naushera, Nagaland and Manipur. His son is serving in the same unit as his father since last one year.
Wg Cdr P.S. Chauhan
Commissioned in the IAF in June 2002 as a helicopter pilot. Belonged to Agra.
Sqn Ldr Kuldeep
Commissioned in the IAF in June 2015 as a helicopter pilot. Belonged to Ghardana Khurd, Rajasthan.
JWO R.P. Das
Enrolled in the IAF in June 2006, he was a flight engineer who belonged to Angul, Odisha.
JWO A. Pradeep
Enrolled in Jan 2004, he was a flight gunner who belonged to Thrissur, Kerala.
At 7:46 pm, the mortal remains of the crash victims were brought to the Palam airport from the Sulur air base near Coimbatore. Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari brought the mortal remains of all the deceased.
The force said that positive identification of only three mortal remains -- Gen Rawat, Madhulika Rawat and Brig L.S. Lidder -- has been possible as of now, and their mortal remains will be released to the next of kin for final rites as desired by the respective families.
All possible measures are being taken for positive identification of the mortal remains. The remaining mortal remains will be kept at the mortuary of Army Base Hospital till completion of positive identification formalities, the force said.
Close family members of all the deceased personnel have arrived at Delhi. All necessary assistance and support are being provided by Indian Army.
Appropriate military funerals of all the deceased are being planned and coordinated in close consultation with the close family members.
Talking to media persons at Coonoor, Sivakumar said: "We reached the spot immediately after the crash and found three people alive and of them, one was asking for water. We didn't have water but we immediately put the three of them on separate blankets and took them to the Wellington Army hospital."
He, however said that he did not know that it was General Rawat and could only identify him when the photographs of the late officer came out.
Sivakumar, Krishna Moorthy, and M. Ravikumar were the first people to reach the spot on hearing the crash, only to find the copter burning.
Tamil Nadu police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the MI17 helicopter crash that resulted in the death of 13 armed forces personnel, including Chief Of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, and 11 others.
The Nilgiris district police registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPc (Criminal Procedure Code). Sources in the Nilgiris district police said that DSP Muthumanickam was appointed as the investigating officer.
Police, according to the sources, have commenced investigation and is deploying drone over the accident site near Kateri park area where the chopper crashed on December 8 killing country's first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, and others.
Shops, hotels, and business establishments will remain shut on Friday in Ooty, the tourist destination of Tamil Nadu as a mark of respect to the departed soldiers and wife of General Rawat, Madhulika Rawat.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of the departed soldiers were flown to New Delhi in an Air Force special craft AN 32. President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and armed forces personnel will pay their last respects at the Air Force airport at Palam. The mortal remains are expected to reach New Delhi by 7.50 p.m.
The remains of only four people have been identified so far which include General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat, Brigadier S.S. Lidder and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar.
Along with Rawat, his wife and 11 others, including Odia Jawan Rana Pratap Das, were declared dead in the unfortunate accident. Group Captain Varun Singh (Shaurya Chakra) is the only lucky survivor among the 14 persons on board the ill-fated Indian Air Force helicopter. The entire nation was left shocked after the IAF confirmed the deaths.
Condolences and prayers for the bereaved families poured in from several quarters as the nation grieved the irreparable loss.
But, it is not known to many that Gen Rawat was a staunch devotee of Lord Jagannath.
Gen Rawat had visited Puri's Srimandir on November 25 in 2017 with his wife Madhulika. Ramchandra Purana Panda, who was in charge of escorting Defence personnel in Srimandir, had guided Rawat and his wife. Panda had described the history and importance of all facts related to Srimandir and Lord Jagannath to the top Army family.
The former Army Chief had earlier visited Srimandir to seek blessings of the Supreme Lord in 2015.
Panda was left stunned and shocked after learning about the tragic incident. He was more shaken as a few days back he had interacted with Gen Rawat and had invited him to Srimandir. Even Rawat had promised to seek blessings from Lord Jagannath soon.
But, his wish of visiting Srimandir couldn't be fulfilled.
"During his (Gen Rawat’s) visit to Puri, I had escorted him into the temple. While offering prayers at the feet of Lord Jagannath, he didn't seek anything for himself. Rather, he had asked wellness of Indian jawans and their families. He also prayed for the martyred soldiers and their families," said Panda.
Panda further said that Gen Rawat looked quite contended while visiting several other temples in the premises of Srimandir.
"I have escorted several Defence personnel till date, but after interacting and spending some time with him (Rawat), I realised that no other officials were so happy and cheerful like him," added Panda.
Panda went on to say that Gen Rawat had a unique personality and stature which was more than impressive. "I am out of words describing him," he said.
"It is more heartbreaking for me as about 10 days back I had interacted with him over the phone and he had promised to visit Srimandir very soon," said Panda while offering his condolences to the great son of India.
Women from nearby villages who reached the Sulur Air Force station premises to pay their last respects to the departed soldiers, cried and then raised 'Jai Hind' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans. Some of the men present were also raised slogans of 'Vande Mataram' when the bodies reached Sulur Air Force station.
Purushothaman Pillai, a Keralite living in Sulur and working in a private firm said, "It was a really tragic moment. General Bipin Rawat was an officer who was the face of the Indian Army and had strong opinion against our enemy nations. You can see people in large numbers paying their last respects to the departed soldiers".
Armed forces personnel also paid tributes to the departed souls at the Sulur air station. Nine bodies, according to armed forces, are beyond recognition and DNA tests would be conducted at New Delhi before the bodies will be handed over to their relatives.
All the dead bodies will be brought to New Delhi and after DNA tests and identification, they will be handed over to their kin.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other ministers, bureaucrats, and armed forces personnel will receive the bodies at the technical area of Palam air station in New Delhi on Thursday evening.
The bodies of General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat will be kept at their official residence at Kamaraj Marg, New Delhi from 12 noon to 2 p.m. on Friday for the general public to pay their last respects. The funeral will be held at the Lodhi crematorium on Friday evening.
The Deputy Chairman leading the house said, Rawat was an exemplary soldier and served the country with utmost honesty and dedication.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, making a statement in the house said, "Rawat was travelling by helicopter but ATC lost the contact after taking off from the air base as he was supposed to give a lecture in Wellington."
Thirteen people on board lost their lives in the air crash. The dead bodies will be brought to Delhi on Thursday and Air Marshal Manvendra Singh will head the tri-services enquiry panel.
Leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said that this is a day of national mourning and all the floor leaders should also be allowed to express grief, but they were not allowed.
The General passed away in a chopper crash on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu along with others in a chopper crash.
The opposition too decided to suspend their protest for the day in honour of the departed souls. Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We have decided not to protest today in honour of CDS Bipin Rawat and the soldiers who died in the chopper crash."
"CDS General Bipin Rawat will always be remembered for his patriotism and his service to the nation. In this hour of grief, the entire House offers deep condolences to the bereaved families."
He also prayed for the speedy recovery of lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh who is under treatment at Wellington hospital.
The House observed a two-minute silence as mark of respect to the departed souls.
"With profound grief and heavy heart, I stand to convey the unfortunate news of the crash of the military helicopter in the noon of December 8, 2021, with India's first Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat onboard," he said.
He also said that General Rawat was on a scheduled visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington to interact with the student Officers. The Air Force Mi-17V5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11.48 a.m. on Wednesday and was expected to land at Wellington by 12.15 p.m. Air Traffic Control at Sulur Air Base lost contact with the helicopter at approximately 12.08 p.m.
Singh further said that a few locals spotted a fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they observed the wreckage of military helicopter engulfed in flames.
"Rescue teams from the local administration in the vicinity reached the site and attempted to recover the survivors from the crash site".
All those recovered from the wreckage were rushed to the Military Hospital, Wellington. Latest reports have confirmed that of the total 14 persons onboard the ill-fated helicopter, 13 have succumbed to their injuries. The dead include the spouse of the CDS Madhulika Rawat, his Defence Adviser Brigadier ALakhbinder Singh Lidder, Staff Officer Lt Col Harjinder Singh and nine other Armed Forces personnel including the Air Force helicopter crew.
The others were Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das, Junior Warrant Officer Arakkal Pradeep, Havildar Satpal Rai, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitendra Kumar, Lance Naik Vivek Kumar, Lance Naik B Sai Teja while Group Captain Varun Singh is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington and all efforts are being made to save his life, the Minister added.
The mortal remains of all military personnel will be brought by the IAF plane by this evening.
Singh also informed that a "tri Service enquiry" into the incident has been ordered by Indian Air Force, headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Training Command.
General Rawat would be cremated with full military honours in the national capital, while the rest of the defence personnel will also be cremated with military honours according to their ranks, Singh said.
"I, on behalf of the august House, pay homage to the deceased and express condolences to the bereaved families." the Defence Minister said in the Lower House.
Moving an obituary reference in the Assembly, Chief Minister and leader of the House Naveen Patnaik said: "He (Gen Rawat) had an extremely distinguished career of over four decades of selfless service marked by exceptional gallantry. He was conferred with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, and many prestigious awards. He expired on December 8, 2021 at the age of 63."
Terming the sad demise of General Rawat and all 11 other armed personnel an "irreparable" loss to the nation, Patnaik said: "Their outstanding service to our nation will always be remembered."
He requested Speaker SN Patro to kindly let the House pay sincere condolences to the members of the bereaved families.
BJP chief whip Mohan Charan Majhi, Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra and CPI (M) member Laxman Munda too joined the leader of the House in mourning.
"Demise of Defence Chief General Bipin Rawat is a great loss to the country. His untimely death by crashing of an IAF chopper indicates the serious failure somewhere or a part of conspiracy. If this could happen to the chief of the defence force, naturally the question arises how safe we are," said Mishra in the House.
The Assembly observed a minute of silence as a mark of respect to the departed souls and then adjourned till 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed grief at the death of Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Rana Pratap Das, who was from Odisha, in the incident.
"While the country is yet to come to terms with the unfortunate IAF chopper crash yesterday, I also mourn the demise of JWO Rana Pratap Das who lost his life along with CDS Gen Rawat, his wife and other defence personnel. Shri Das was from my hometown in Talcher, Odisha," Pradhan said in a tweet.
As an exceptional gentleman, Das served the nation with courage, commitment and diligence. With his passing away, the country has lost a fine IAF officer and Odisha a brave son, he said. Pradhan offered his deepest condolences to family & friends of Das.
The Defence Minister said that the probe will be headed by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh.
He added that the IAF inquiry team had reached Wellington on Wednesday and already started investigations.
General Rawat's last rites will be performed with full military honours, Rajnath told Parliament, adding that the last rites of other military personnel will be performed with appropriate honour.
The Lok Sabha also observed a two-minute silence on the demise of the 13 people in Wednesday's crash of the M 17 helicopter.
A 25 special team of the Air force officers led by Wing Commander R. Bhardwaj has recovered the black box and more details are awaited. The team has been conducting search operations since morning as the priority on Wednesday was to recover the bodies safely to Wellington Army hospital.
Meanwhile, a six-member special medical team from Coimbatore is attending the treatment of the lone survivor in the Coonoor helicopter crash, Group captain Varun Singh who is struggling for his life at the Wellington Army hospital.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, who is at Nilgiris, has already communicated to the Army team that the Tamil Nadu government would support the medical treatment of Group captain Varun Singh.
Sources at Wellington said that Group captain Varun Singh, who is a Shaurya Chakra awardee, suffered 60 per cent burns during the copter crash.
Ravikumar, who was the first person to reach the accident spot, had told IANS that except for two people the bodies of all the other soldiers were burnt.
The black box can reveal the data about the helicopter's final flight situation and other aspects.
Though called black box, the flight data recorder is painted in a bright orange colour and it records the flight data and cockpit conversations.
Further forensic examination of the remains of the chopper can also reveal if there were external causes for the accident.
In addition, Group Captain Varun Singh, the Directing Staff at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, and the lone survivor of the ill-fated chopper, can also provide first hand information on the flight.
On Wednesday, the IAF helicopter with 14 persons on board, including General Rawat and his wife, took off from Sulur air base and crashed minutes before it was supposed to land at Coonoor.
"General Rawat left an indelible mark on the course of the US-India defense partnership and was at the center of the Indian Armed Forces' transformation into a more jointly integrated warfighting organisation," Austin said in a condolence message on Wednesday.
"I and the [Defense] Department extend our deepest condolences to the Rawat family, the Indian military, and the people of India after the tragic passing of Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash," he said.
Rawat, his wife and 11 others were killed when their helicopter crashed in the Nilgris on Wednesday.
"I had the privilege of meeting with him earlier this year and viewed him as a valued partner and friend of the United States," Austin said.
Rawat had visited the US in September and met with Austin, Chairman of Chiefs of Defence Staff General Mark Milley and other officials and visted Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State.
After their meeting, Austin tweeted, "We reaffirmed our enduring commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and discussed ways to drive greater interoperability between the US and Indian armed forces."
The US Embassy in New Delhi said that "Rawat spearheaded a historic period of transformation in the Indian military."
"He was a strong friend and partner of the United States, overseeing a major expansion of India's defense cooperation with the US military," it said.
According to data presented in Lok Sabha in 2019, one incident of transport aircraft crash was reported till June 2019. In 2018, there were 11 incidents of aircraft crashes. In 2017, there were five incidents reported. While in 2016, a total 10 incidents of aircraft crashes were reported.
The government in the parliament stated that every aircraft accident in the IAF is investigated by the Court of Inquiry (CoI) to ascertain the cause of accident and the recommendations of the completed CoI are implemented.
In this case also, IAF has ordered a CoI to ascertain the cause of the incident.
In the history of military aviation, two similar kind of high-profile air crashes occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, wherein the aircraft carrying General rank officers crashed. However, in the 1950s crash, there were no casualties and all passengers 'miraculously' survived.
One such incident happened 58 years ago on November 22, 1963 in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, in which Lieutenant General Daulat Singh and Lieutenant General Bikram Singh were victims. All six officers on-board were lost in that crash.
In that crash the officers who were on board were Lt Gen Daulat Singh, the general officer commanding-in-chief, western command, Air Vice-Marshal EW Pinto, air officer commanding, western command, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, general officer commanding, 15 Corps, Major General K.N.D. Nanavati, Military Cross, general officer commanding, 25 Infantry Division, Brig S.R. Oberoi, Military Cross, Commander, 93 Infantry Brigade, and Flight Lieutenant S.S. Sodhi.
Similarly, way back in February 1952, an IAF de Havilland Devon transport aircraft crashed near Lucknow. However, the miraculous survival of all passengers of was a godsend to the Indian Army.
Among those on-board were future Army chiefs - Lt Gen S.M. Shrinagesh and Major Gen K.S. Thimayya -- as well as Major Gen S.P.P. Thorat, later Eastern Command chief, Maj Gen Sardanand Singh, Major Gen Mohinder Singh Chopra and Brig Ajaib Singh.
A recipient of Shaurya Chakra gallantry award, Singh, who is undergoing treatment at the Military Hospital in Wellington, was one of the 14 passengers on board the chopper which also carried Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat.
While the helicopter's black box and forensic examination of the remains of the chopper and other aspects would reveal the details about the accident, Singh can give a first-hand account of the last minutes of the flight.
It is learnt that Singh was recently promoted from Wing Commander to Group Captain and was a recent joinee at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC).
A pilot in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Squadron, Singh on October 12, 2020 was flying a system check sortie in LCA, away from its parent base, after major rectification of Flight Control System (FCS) and pressurisation system (life support environment control system).
According to an official statement, during the sortie, the cockpit pressurisation failed at high altitude. However, Singh correctly identified the failure and initiated a descent to lower altitude for landing.
While descending, the Flight Control System failed and led to total loss of control of the aircraft. It was an unprecedented catastrophic failure that had never occurred.
There was a rapid loss of altitude, with the aircraft pitching up and down viciously, going to the extremities of G limits.
Despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in an extremely life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and regained control of the aircraft, thereby exhibiting exceptional flying skill.
Soon after, at about 10,000 feet, the aircraft again experienced total loss of control with vicious manoeuvring and uncontrollable pitching. Under such a scenario, the pilot was at liberty to abandon the aircraft.
Faced with a potential hazard to his own life, he displayed extraordinary courage and skill to safely land the fighter aircraft.
This allowed an accurate analysis of the fault on the indigenously designed fighter and further institution of preventive measures against recurrence.
Singh was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his high order of professionalism, composure and quick decision making. Even at the peril to his life, he not only averted the loss of an LCA, but also safeguarded civilian property and population on ground.
IAF on its Twitter handle confirmed the death of Gen Rawat.
"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 post read.
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.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 8, 2021
As reported by national media earlier, the identities of the bodies will be confirmed through DNA tests.
The IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident involving a Mi-17VH chopper that took off from the Sulur IAF Station in nearby Coimbatore.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the sudden demise of Rawat and other officials on-board.
"Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country," he Tweeted.
Deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2021
His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country.
Expressing his anguish, he further said, "General Rawat had served the country with exceptional courage and diligence. As the first Chief of Defence Staff he had prepared plans for jointness of our Armed Forces."
"My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their loved ones in this accident. Praying for the speedy recovery of Gp Capt Varun Singh, who is currently under treatment at the Military Hospital, Wellington," he said in another post.
TV visuals showed the badly damaged chopper in flames, possibly under the impact of the crash. Apparently, a major tragedy was averted as the helicopter fell at some distance away from a human habitation, averting possible mass casualties.
The accident site was a scene of despair with trees being reduced to broken pieces under the impact of the crash, flames from the chopper engulfing the wooden logs resulting in billowing smoke and personnel scurrying to douse the fire, including using buckets and water hose. What seemed to be some charred bodies were also seen lying around.
The mangled and burnt remains of the ill-fated IAF chopper were strewn along the site, even as rescue services personnel were seen carrying bodies in stretchers to be transported through waiting ambulances.
The accident site remained out of bounds for civilians. Local eyewitnesses told a Tamil TV channel they could heard a loud noise, apparently of the crash, and later saw the chopper on fire, with some of the occupants suffering serious burn injuries.
Official sources in New Delhi said all the injured people on board the helicopter had been evacuated from the spot of the accident.
Rawat was on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington.
The helicopter, carrying a few senior officials, was on its way from Sulur in Coimbatore to DSC in Wellington where Rawat, along with Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane, was slated to participate in an event later, the sources added.
The chopper crashed in the forest area, reportedly due to poor visibility following heavy fog, they added.
Rescue personnel, along with Army men, were seen involved in clearing the area.
President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a visit to Maharashtra, was scheduled to inaugurate the Darbar Hall at the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday, but the event was put off.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari himself announced that the event was put off .
It is the wish of the Honourable President and ours that this programme be put off this opportunity (of inaugurating the hall) will come again in the future, Koshyari said.
The announcement, however, came after an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and several other officers on board met with an accident near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu earlier in the day.
(With PTI Inputs)
"Comprehensive checks of the helicopter would have been done. There would have been a standby helicopter as well. The weather condition would have been checked. In this case, if the weather at Wellington was marginal, they may have decided to make an attempt and then call it off," said a former official of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The official said, technical snag or weather could have been the factor due to which crash happened.
According to him, if all things were normal, the one possibility is that, as the chopper was close to Coonoor, it would have been flying low and or may be flew into the hill, to duck beneath the clouds.
The chopper will have a black box and a study of that could throw more light on the cause of the accident.
At least four senior military officials were feared dead in an Indian Air Force helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday afternoon.
Locals who saw the chopper crash helped in rescue operations. An eyewitness said, it was misty, may be due to which the chopper hit a tree and went down. He said he reached the spot and saw the chopper was upside down and immediately caught fire.
Confirming about General Rawat's presence, Indian Air Force tweeted, "An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu."
Two passengers were severely injured. Drones are being used to locate the survivors.
The force said that an inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
The chopper took off from the Sulur air base and was proceeding to Wellington when it crashed.
Others who were in the chopper were Brigadier L.S. Lidder, Lieutenant Colonel Harjinder Singh, Naik Gursewak Singh, Naik Jitender Kumar, Naik Vivek Kumar, Naik B. Sai Teja, Havaldar Satpal and pilots.
The rescued suffered serious injuries and have been taken to the Military Hospital in Wellington cantonment.
The hospital is surrounded by a strong contingent of police personnel.
According to reports, four bodies were recovered from the accident site.
A former Wing Commander of the IAF told IANS that 'based on the visuals on the news channels, the helicopter must have crashed with a strong impact and exploded'.
According to Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr J. Radhakrishnan a special medical team has been sent to Coonoor to provide treatment to the injured.
TN Chief Minister may visit the injured in the hospital, sources said.
However, there was no immediate information on the condition of Gen Rawat, even as the IAF said a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident, involving a Mi-17VH choppper that took from the Sulur IAF Station in nearby Coimbatore.
Official sources in Delhi said all the injured people on board the helicopter have been evacuated from the spot of the accident.
The Chief of Defence Staff was on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington.
Meanwhile, official sources in Coimbatore said four bodies have been retrieved and three persons rescued from under the debris of the helicopter which crashed in Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area near Coonoor in the hilly Nilgiris district. There was no concrete information immediately on the number of persons travelling in the ill-fated chopper though official sources had earlier said 3-4 senior offcials were among its occupants.
The helicopter, carrying a few senior officials, was on its way from Sulur in Coimbatore to DSC in Wellington where Rawat, along with Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane, was slated to participate in an event later.
The chopper crashed in a forest area, reportedly due to poor visibility following heavy fog, official sources said.
TV visuals showed the chopper in flames, apparently under the impact of the crash.
Rescue personnel, along with Army personnel, were seen involved in clearing the area.
An IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter, with CDS Gen Bipin Rawat on board, met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 8, 2021
An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Noting that China is making "huge" inroads in South Asia, he said that in the Indian Ocean Region also, the country reinforced its position as a rising global power.
"Recently, geo-strategic competition and large investment by China in the region is being observed to create a posture to provide sufficient security to its interests," the CDS said while delivering the first Ravi Kant Singh Memorial lecture series titled "Assam at Crossroads: Geopolitical events in its neighbourhood impacting Northeast India".
He said that Myanmar and Bangladesh were the main recipients of Chinese military aid in the recent past, while significant investments were made in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to expand its strategic foothold.
"Such attempt and adventure in the neighbouring countries would go against India's national interest and these are potential threats to India's territorial integrity and strategic importance."
Gen Rawat also said that Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism, coupled with non-state actors' role, against India is a stumbling block to the peace process between the two neighbours.
Partnership between China and Pakistan on a wide range of issues, including providing military hardware to Islamabad and supporting the country in international forums, is an anti-India nexus, he said.
Talking to the media after the seminar, the CDS said that India-China border issues have to be seen in its totality, and not as issues about the Ladakh sector or northeastern states.
He said that last year like earlier years, there was "some problem" and talks are going on occasionally at different levels, including the political, to resolve these issues.
"Issues were taking a long time to resolve, but they are getting resolved much faster than in the 1980s."
With China's have a habit of utilising money power to gain popularity in a country, he said that "our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has already clarified that India believes in security and growth for all".
"We have to apprise our neighbours that India is a permanent friend and engage with them on equal terms and mutual development," he said, emphasising strengthening cultural ties with the neighbours.
Regarding the recent violent incident against the security forces and the civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, he, without naming Pakistan, said that India's western adversary is indulging in a proxy war.
"Killings in Jammu & Kashmir are a part of an attempt of the neighbouring country to spread fear and panic among the people. People should not be feared or fall prey to such designs. The intelligence network is also being strengthened," the CDS said, adding that exodus from the Valley should not be allowed at all.
He said that Home Minister Amit Shah visited Kashmir to give confidence to the people that the security forces and the local administration would bring the situation under control.
Reviewing earlier casualty figures, Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devendra Anand said three terrorists had been killed in the fighting that broke out before dawn on Saturday at the Sunjuwan Army station in Jammu city.
Earlier reports said four terrorists were killed, but the spokesman said he could confirm the killing of only three attackers. According to him, all the attackers were in Army fatigues.
"Five soldiers have been martyred in this operation. The father of a soldier also lost his life. So far, we have killed three terrorists," Col Anand told the media. All the five soldiers killed belonged to Jammu and Kashmir.
"Search and sanitization operation is still on inside the camp. AK-56 rifles, a grenade launcher, ammunition and grenades have been seized from the dead terrorists," Col Anand said.
Ten other persons, including six women and children, were injured in the attack.
The spokesperson said Army doctors worked through the night to save the life of a severely injured pregnant lady who delivered a baby girl through Caesarian surgery.
A 14-year-old boy with a gunshot wound in the head remains critical, he said.
Asked if more terrorists could still be holed up inside the camp, the official neither denied nor confirmed the possibility. The fighting has lasted more than 30 hours.
The audacious attack was blamed on the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad militants who sneaked into the Army base station around 4.45 a.m. on Saturday.
The terrorists -- whose nationalisty is not known -- entered the Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) quarters while everyone was asleep.
Para-commandos from the Army's Udhampur-headquartered Northern Command were flown to flush out the militants. The Air Force provided aerial surveillance.
He also said that there was a major reduction in the number of Chinese troops in the Doklam area.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event here, the Army Chief said the "Tuting incident has been resolved".
General Rawat said a Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) took place "two days back" on the issue.
Talking about the situation along the India-China border in Sikkim sector, where the two countries were involved in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam, he said there was a major reduction in the number of troops on the Chinese side.
A Chinese road construction party entered India on December 26, 2017, and were constructing a track, around two kilometres away from the nearest Indo-Tibetan Border Police post.
An almost 600-metre-long and 12-feet wide track was constructed on the Indian territory when the Chinese party was stopped.
The Chinese labourers had entered the area inadvertently, according to a government report on the incident. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops were not involved in the incident.
Indian troops pushed back the labourers and seized their equipment.
The incident came nearly four months after the end of the Dokalam standoff that went on from June 16 to August 28, 2017.
Earlier, speaking at the Army Technology Summit here, the Army Chief pitched for modernisation of the force and said India needed to be ready for "future wars".
"There is a huge requirement of modernisation of our armed forces, in every field," he said.
"Future wars will be fought in difficult terrains and circumstances and we have to be prepared for them.
"We would like to gradually move away from imports (in defence technology) because for a nation like ours, the time has come to ensure that we fight the next war with home-made solutions," he said.
"You are asking for a future plan. The Army never gives out future plan. It is said only after it is executed," he told reporters on the sidelines of an Army function here.
He was asked what the Army planned to do after the Pakistan Army mutilated the bodies of Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh and BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar on Monday along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Such responses keep happening. We also take retaliatory action. There is nothing new in it," Gen Rawat said.
He said the Army was taking steps to check cross-border infiltration of militants from Pakistan as summer had begun and snow had started melting.
"Terrorists are going to attempt infiltration. Summer months have started and snow is melting. Infiltration will commence. We are taking measures. We have beefed up our counter infiltration (steps) to take care of the situation."
On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of his supreme sacrifice, Gen. Rawat and his wife Madhulika met Rasoolan Bibi, wife of Company Quartermaster Havildar Hamid, and several other war widows and felicitated them.
The Army chief also bowed down and touched the feet of the 80-year-old widow of the Param Vir Chakra recipient.
Unveiling a memorial in Hamid's honour in his ancestral village, he exhorted the youth to join the armed forces.
Lauding the contribution made by the people of the district to the armed forces, Gen. Rawat said a recruitment drive will be held soon in Ghazipur to encourage the youth to join the Army and contribute to the country's security.
Hamid had destroyed several tanks of the Pakistan Army during the 1965 war in the Lahore sector.
"Jahan Hindustan ki sena khadi hai, wahan khatra kisi aur se nahi hai (where the Indian Army is present, there is no threat from anyone)," the Army Chief said.
"Hamid is an inspiration for the youth and his extraordinary bravery made the country proud," he said.
On the Dokalam issue, Gen. Rawat said India and China have held talks and the situation there is under control.
Rawat was speaking at a seminar on cutting edge technology infusion into defence at the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers here.
"The relations of the armed forces with the general public of Kashmir used to be very cordial in the 70s and 80s. We will keep good relations with the general public. It would be great if that kind of camaraderie between the Army and general public begins again. We used to meet the general public without guns at that time," said Rawat.
The Kashmir Valley is under the grip of unprecedented security deployment at present to foil protests following the withdrawal of special category status to the state.
Rawat said the country had nothing to fear irrespective of statements like the one issued by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that a Pulwama like incident might take place again in Kashmir following the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution.
"We are always prepared for any kind of eventuality and we are always on the alert. There is nothing to worry from statements like these," said Rawat.
A suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF personnal at Pulwama in February. The Indian Air Force then bombed a major terrorist hub in Pakistan.
Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic relations with India since Article 370 was axed by the Indian Parliament and a legislation passed to divide the state into two union territories. Bilateral trade between the two countries have also been suspended.
Imran Khan had told a joint session of the Pakistan Parliament that a Pulwama like incident might happen again as a result of the recent political developments in Kashmir.
"Attacks like Pulwama are bound to happen again. I can already predict this will happen. They will attempt to place the blame on us again. They may strike us again, and we will strike back," Khan had said.
Singh was addressing the concluding ceremony of the fifth International Army Scout Masters Competition in Jaisalmer.
Teams from Russia, China, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Sudan and Uzbekistan and India participated in the competition.
"I believe that our association will grow in coming times. With increased mutual cooperation, we will be able to face difficult challenges. At the same time, we will get more opportunities to increase mutual relations in future," Singh said.
He expressed confidence that events like the scout masters competition would help deepen the relationship between the participating countries.
We already had friendly relations with all countries participating in this competition, he added.
Singh said India had a very deep strategic relationship with Russia for a long time.
At the same time, with China, we participated in the bilateral exercise Hand-in-Hand, which helped us in understanding each other, he said, adding that country had trade and cultural relations with Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Singh also honoured the winning teams.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat was also present on the occasion.
A military spokesman said the Indian team finished first in four phases of the five-stage competition.
The Indian team finished second and Uzbekistan first in the fifth stage.
India finished first in the final while Uzbekistan stood second, Russia third, China fourth, Kazakhstan fifth, Belarus sixth, Armenia seventh and Sudan eighth.
The spokesperson said the Indian Army participated in the competition for the first time.
The Indian Army was prepared for a conventional warfare with Pakistan which would have included going inside Pakistan, the sources told PTI.
The Army chief informed the government about preparedness of his force when it was considering various options, including carrying out an aerial raid, to punish Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack.
Gen. Rawat, at a closed door interaction with a group of retiring Army officials on Monday, said the force was combat ready for any hostilities from Pakistan Army after the Balakot strikes, the sources said.
Explaining Gen. Rawat's comments, a military official said what the Army Chief meant was that Indian Army was ready to take the battle into Pakistan.
The sources said Indian Army had finalised contracts to procure ammunition worth Rs 11,000 crore after the Uri terror attack in September 2016, and it has received 95 per cent of the total order.
The Army has also finalised 33 contracts worth Rs 7,000 crore for procuring critical armaments while another set of purchases at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore is at an advanced stage.
Indian Air Force bombed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp near Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26, in response to the Pulwama attack.
Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations on Wednesday. However, the IAF thwarted their plans.
The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir that killed 40 soldiers.
Rawat's visit to Srinagar is his first-ever after abrogation of Article 370 and division of the state into two Union territories. He was accompanied by the Chinar Corps Commander, Lt Gen K.J.S. Dhillon during his inspection of the formations and units deployed along the LoC.
Rawat was briefed by local Army commanders about ceasefire violations, the ground situation in the region and security measures taken. There have been 222 instances of ceasefire violations along the LoC in Kashmir valley ever since August 5.
Defence sources said Rawat interacted with soldiers on the ground and praised them for their high levels of morale and motivation. He further reinforced upon the soldiers the need to remain prepared for meeting emerging security challenges effectively in view of the increased infiltration attempts.
"The Army chief appreciated the robust counter-infiltration grid which has neutralised multiple infiltration attempts of terrorists. He shared intelligence reports of a large number of terrorists ready to infiltrate from multiple launch pads across the LoC," said a senior defence official.
The valley had been placed on high alert ahead of prayers on Friday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also reviewed security in the valley on Thursday following his visit to Leh for inaugurating a Kisan Mela at the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research.
Rawat, who is on his first visit to the valley following withdrawal of special status to the state on August 5, visited the Line of Control along with Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh.
The top Army officers reviewed the prevailing situation in the valley and operational readiness of the units of the White Knight Corps.
The General-Officer-Commanding of White Knight Corps Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha briefed them about the situation on the ground.
An Army official said Gen Rawat reviewed mission readiness of the units, response mechanism to ceasefire violations, measures adopted to deal with Pakistan's proxies, counter-infiltration postures and preparation to deal with violent actions on the LoC.
There have been more than 222 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC since August 5.
The Army Chief was also briefed on the strategy to deal with inimical elements who are attempting to revive terrorism south of the Pir Panjal range and attempts to radicalise youths in the valley. He also interacted with soldiers deployed on the LoC.
Rawat was replying to a media query on Union Minister Jitendra Singh's statement who said that the next agenda of the government is retrieving PoK and making it a part of India.
"All actions are decided upon by the central government. Agencies working under the government have to act in accordance with its directions... the Army remains always prepared for any kind of action," Rawat told the media.
Earlier, Singh, who is Minister of State in PMO and also holds independent charge of the DONER ministry, had made the statement on PoK while talking about achievements of the Modi government after 100 days of its formation.
"Now, the next agenda is retrieving PoK and making it a part of India. It's not only me or my party's commitment, but it's a part of a resolution unanimously passed by Parliament in 1994 during Congress government headed by P.V. Narasimha Rao," Singh had said in Jammu.
General Rawat said at an event - Six Sigma Healthcare Delhi- that the Leadership is all about leading. "Therefore what is complex about leadership if it is all about leading? If you move forward everybody follows. It is not that simple. It appears simple, but it is a complex phenomenon."
During the event, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan was the guest of honour.
General Rawat said even among the crowd one would find a leader. "But leaders are those who lead people into the right directions," General Rawat said.
Indirectly hinting about violence and arson during agitation over the Citizenship Amendment Act across the country, General Rawat pointed out: "Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions, as we have witnessed in a large number of universities and college students... they are leading masses to carry out arson and violence in our cities and towns".
He stressed: "This is not leadership."
This is the first time General Rawat, who is to retire on December 31, made a statement over prevailing law and order situation in the country.
General Rawat is among the top contender for the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister on tri-services matters.
Sources said that government is considering appointing serving General Rawat as India's first CDS. The decision would be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rawat was commissioned into the 5th battalion of 11 Gorkha Rifles on December 16, 1978.
On December 16, the Central government announced that Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane will be the next Chief of Army Staff leading the 1.3 million-strong force after General Rawat retires. Lt Gen Naravane is currently serving as Vice Chief of the Army.
(IANS)
Gen Naravane served as vice chief of the Army before taking charge of the 1.3 million-strong Army.
In his 37 years of service, Gen Naravane served in numerous command and staff appointments in peace, field and highly active counter-insurgency environments in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
He also commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir and an infantry brigade on the eastern front.
Before appointed as vice chief of the Army, Gen Naravane was heading the Army's Eastern Command that takes care of India's nearly 4,000-km border with China.
(PTI)
"The military option to deal with the transgressions by the Chinese is still on but will be considered only if the talks at the diplomatic and military level fail," said General Bipin Rawat.
He however, refused to share what military options India is looking upon.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops are sitting at various disputed and friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
They have refused to disengage since mid-July and have started construction work on those disputed junctions.
Apart from that they have been raising unacceptable points before India.
To deal with the emerging situation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the top military brass to discuss the situation at the border with China.
Talks between India and China remain deadlocked.
India has to move around three additional formations to reinforce the border.
Singh held the review meeting with Doval, Rawat and the three service chiefs on the prevailing situation at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh where Chinese troops are still camping.
"The meeting happened for almost one-and-a-half-hours in South Block," said a source.
The de-escalation of troops at the LAC has stopped for now as the disengagement talks between India and China have hit a roadblock.
China has refused to move back from its present military position north of the Pangong Tso and Depsang.
The PL) has refused to pull back eastwards from the 8-km stretch it has occupied from Finger-4 to Finger-8 by building scores of new fortifications there since early May.
The mountain spurs jutting into the lake are referred to as Fingers in military parlance.
China has also increased its troop deployment at Lipulekh, the place that became a trigger for strained relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu.
Lipulekh is a tri-junction between India, Nepal and China situated atop the Kalapani Valley.
China has changed the status quo on the LAC at various places. India has objected to it and is taking up the matter with China at all levels.
Both the countries are locked in a more than three-month-long standoff at multiple points, hitherto unprecedented, along the border.
During the meeting, it was also discussed that Beijing has started troop and material build-up in depth areas across the 3,488-km LAC.
India has found that China has deployed troops, artillery and armour in three sectors of the LAC -- western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).
(IANS)
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"In the overall security calculus: border confrontations, transgressions, unprovoked tactical military actions -- spiraling into a larger conflict therefore cannot be discounted," Rawat said.
His statement came amid an ongoing military talk between India and China at Chushul of Friday. He was speaking at Diamond Jubilee Webinar, 2020 organised by National Defence College in Delhi.
However, the COAS also pointed out that India's posturing is unambiguous and she "will not accept any shift in Line of Actual Control".
He also said that China's People's Liberation Army is facing unanticipated consequences for its misadventure into Ladakh because of firm responses by Indian forces.
The military level talks underway since 9.30 a.m. were the eighth round.
India and China have been engaged in a worst seven-month-long border dispute at the LAC. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough.
Further, speaking about defence cooperation, the COAS said that India understand the importance of leveraging defence diplomacy in building mutual trust and partnerships with strategically important countries.
He also said that in the coming years, Indian defence industry will be growing exponentially and contribute to the overall defence preparedness. "The industry will deliver us state-of-art weapons and equipment fully made in India," General Rawat said.
The officer said that as India grows in stature, security challenges will rise proportionately.
"We must move out of the constant threat of sanctions or dependency on individual nations for our military requirements and invest in building long-term indigenous capability for strategic independence and application of decisive military power to squarely meet present and emerging challenges," the officer added.
(IANS)