Three colleagues, now in Bengaluru, salute Rawat

They recall their days with him with fondness and admiration

General Bipin Rawat was admired for his expertise in high-altitude warfare when he spent 10 years in counter-insurgency operations. His friends, now living in Bengaluru, share memories of their days with him.

A true Gorkha at heart

Maj Gen P S Ravindranath served in 1st Gorkha Rifles when Rawat was in 11th Gorkha Rifles. Ravindranath was two and half years senior to Rawat.

“In the initial days, his commitment, hard work and desire to excel were evident to everybody struggling to cope with the routine. He had immense memory and rightly climbed up to the top. He worked towards achieving synergy among the army, navy and the air force.” Rawat never wilted under pressure. He was a true Gorkha at heart and he loved to be with the troops, Ravindranath says.

Endearing officer

Lt Gen G M Nair, retired in 2012 as military secretary of the Indian Army, says he and Gen Rawat worked together on several occasions, and he found him ‘endearing’.

“Bipin was an outstanding officer. He had deep knowledge about India’s adversaries. He was the most decorated officer of the Indian Armed Forces,” recalls Nair.

“The way he handled the Doklam operations against the Chinese in 2017 is well known. They were stopped in their tracks when they expanded the operations into Chumbi Valley,” he says.

A champion boxer

Maj Gen K S Venugopal, VSM (retd), general officer commanding (GOC), Kerala and Karnataka Sub Area, remembers Rawat as a gentleman.

“While at the National Defence Academy, he excelled at academics and sports. He participated in all activities cheerfully and willingly. He was in a different squadron and two years my junior, and I occasionally met him during the games and sports. He was a good boxer and took pride in it,” he says.

Venugopal and Rawat were commanding the Rashtriya Rifles in north Kashmir in 2006-07. “I was in a sector close to Srinagar and he was in a sector close to Bandipur. He always kept his cool. God-fearing and well-mannered, he ensured that the men under his command were well taken care of. The jawans liked him immensely,” he says.

Venugopal had served in Kashmir and the North East. “Rawat always believed in knowing the opponent well before launching operations. To that end, he put in place a good intelligence network,” says Venugopal.

Rawat was a man of frugal habits and remained that way even after he reached the top of the defence hierarchy, he says.