Tribute to India’s CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat, his wife, Lt. Gen. Lidder & 10 other myrtrs whom we lost on 8 Dec. 2021

Tribute to India’s CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat, his wife, Lt. Gen. Lidder & 10 other myrtrs whom we lost on 8 Dec. 2021 
By: Kartikeya Semwal
My heart aches as I write this blog-post in memory of India’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife, Lt. Gen. Lidder and 10 other martyrs who we lost in the fateful chopper crash on 8/12/2021. I come from an army background family and had wanted to join Indian Army as a para commando. Due to that reason, I feel the loss of all these brave-hearts as a personal loss.

Late CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat hailed from Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand which also happens to be my state. He got commissioned in Indian Army in December 1978 and joined the 5th battalion of 11 Gorkha which also was his father’s unit. He was the first CDS who specialized in counter-insurgency warfare and had served in some of the most difficult environments of India across northern and eastern borders. 

He was the mastermind behind reducing militancy in north-east states of India and was instrumental in carrying out a cross-border operation of Indian Army in Myanmar in 2015 against NSCN-K & KYKL militant groups under the then leadership of Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag. It is said that about a 100 terrorists were eliminated in that strike. CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat also played an important role in pushing back China’s PLA troops from both Doklam and Pangong-Tso lake regions of Indian border (LOC). 

It was Gen. Rawat who had planned the successful Uri surgical strike in 2016 when Indian Army crossed LOC and entered POK to destroy multiple terrorist camps and kill many terrorists. Indian Army had zero casualties in both the operations which shows how well-planned both the strikes were. He was working on modernizing the Indian Armed Forces in a phased manner and converting them into a modern-day fighting force second to none in the world.

CDS Gen. Rawat was also working on setting up joint-theatre commands in which army, navy, and airforce would work together in tandem to defeat our external enemies in minimum time and inflict heavy damage to them. He was 1 man whom China feared the most. He was a precious gemstone of India that is now lost forever.

Mrs. Madhulika Rawat, wife of late CDS Gen. Rawat was a great woman. She was working for wives and widows of army personnel through an organization to provide them all kinds of assistance along with their children. She will be missed too. 

Brig. LS Lidder was another great man who we lost in that fateful chopper crash. He was a top defense analyst, defense assistant & advisor to CDS Rawat. He had been recently cleared to be promoted to the rank of Maj. Gen. He was a top commander who had worked in J&K and the Eastern sector of India. 

The other 10 Bravehearts whom we also lost were Lt. Col. H Singh, Wng. Cmdr. PS Chauhan, Sqn. Ldr. K Singh, JWO Das, JWO Pradeep A, Hav. Satpal Raj, Nk. Gursewak Singh, Nk. Jitender, L/Nk. Vivek & L/Nk S Teja. The last 5 were special commandos who formed an important part of late CDS Gen. Bipin Rawat’s team.

I bow down my head and offer a heartfelt tribute to all 13 brave souls whom we lost in the fateful Mi-17 V5 chopper crash (considered as the latest & most advanced chopper of Mi series) that took place on 8 December 2021 in Nilgiri hills, Tamil Nadu. May their souls rest in peace. Jai Hind. 


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