Lt General Bipin Rawat is new Indian Army chief; here are 5 facts about him and why his appointment is being called ‘unusual’

Lt General Bipin Rawat has been appointed the new Indian Army chief and he will take over from current Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh Suhag on January 1, 2017. The Narendra Modi government announced Rawat’s appointment ending weeks of speculation. Rawat’s appointment has taken many by surprise because it is unusual for the government to overlook two senior Lt Generals. While some are expecting that Lt General Praveen Bakshi will be appointed India’s first Chief Of Defence Staff, the fact remains that even then Lt General PM Hariz has been superceded. However, this is not the first time that a government has done this. The last time this happened in 1983, when the then PM Indira Gandhi appointed AS Vaidya as the Indian Army chief, instead of his senior SK Sinha.

Lt General Bipin Rawat is currently the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOS). Prior to taking over as the VCOAS, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat tenanted the appointment of the GOC-in-C, Southern Command. We take a look at five interesting facts about India’s new Army chief:

1) Lt General Bipin Rawat is said to have “vast experience” in counter insurgency operations and high altitude warfare. He commanded an Infantry battalion, along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Sector; a Rashtriya Rifles Sector and an Infantry Division in the Kashmir Valley.

2) Lt General Bipin Rawat has also been the Major General General Staff at HQ Eastern Command. Rawat has tenanted instructional appointments at Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and at Army War College, Mhow.

You may also like to watch this

3) He has held important staff appointments at Directorate General of Military Operations and Military Secretary’s Branch at Army HQ. He commanded a Multinational Brigade, in a Chapter VII mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).

4) Lt General Bipin Rawat was commissioned in the Fifth Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles in the December of 1978, from IMA, Dehradun. He was awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ there.

5) Lt Gen Bipin Rawat is an alumni of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the Higher Command & National Defence College Courses, the General Officer. He has been awarded for gallantry and distinguished service with the UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, COAS Commendation on two occasions and the Army Commander’s Commendation. While serving with the United Nations, he was twice awarded the Force Commander’s Commendation.