News Analysis India

Tag: Coonoor chopper mishap

  • ‘Fate brought, took them together’: CoDS General Bipin Rawat’s brother-in-law on sister’s marriage

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: As the nation bid the final farewell to armed forces power couple — Gen Bipin Rawat and Madhulika Rawat — her brother on Friday emotionally recalled the events that led to their matrimonial alliance 35 years ago.

    Yash Vardhan Singh, brother-in-law of Gen Rawat, said that fate had brought them together and fate took them away both at the same time. “It was actually his father (Laxman Singh Rawat), who was also an army officer, who had sought the hand of my sister for his son (Bipin Rawat). He wrote to my father late Mrigendra Singh and that’s how the marriage talks began,” he said.

    Yash Vardhan Singh’s ancestral family hails from Sohagpur in Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh. “Our ‘nanaji’ lived in Lucknow and that is where my sister was born in 1960s. Incidentally, the address of her place of birth was ’25, Ashoka Marg’ and she got married in Delhi at ’25 Ashoka Road’. Isn’t it a pleasant coincidence,” he told PTI.

    Singh, born in 1966, along with his daughter, Bandhvi Singh, a national-level shooting player, were present at the official residence of the Chief of Defence Staff in Delhi where mortal remains of Gen Rawat and Madhulika Rawat were kept for people to pay their respects.

    ALSO READ| Process underway for identification of bodies of 10 deceased armed forces personnel

    Their cremation took place took place at Brar Square crematorium in Delhi Cantonment, two days after they were killed with 11 others, all from the armed forces, in a helicopter crash in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.

    Madhulika Rawat’s younger brother recalled the marriage that had taken place 35 years ago. “The year was 1986. And, Gen Rawat then held the rank of a Captain, and was posted in Dehradun. Such fond memories, and now cruel fate has snatched my sister, and my brother-in-law from us,” Yash Vardhan Singh said.

    Bandhvi, a history graduate from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, said she reached Delhi late last night to be with the family. “I somehow completed my rifle shooting competition in Bhopal. Images of ‘phua-phupha’ (Gen Rawat and Madhulika Rawat) were flashing in my head. But, my ‘phuphaji’ (Gen Rawat) had always inspired me to be a fighter,” she told PTI.

    Bandhvi, who will turn 21 on December 18, recalled the time she had spent with him a few months ago at Gen Rawat’s official bungalow. “I had returned from Peru after taking part in world shooting championship. And, it was Dussehra time. And, ‘phuphaji’ (Gen Rawat) took me to the Dusshera festivities as observed by Gorkha Regiment soldiers. And, as I shoot rifle as a sport, he wanted me to get blessings of the Goddess. All of these memoies, I will cherish now,” she recalled.

    ALSO READ| Tribute posters put in streets near CoDS General Bipin Rawat’s residence

    An alumnus of St Edward School, Shimla, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, he was commissioned into the 11th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in December 1978.

    Recalling, Gen Rawat’s personality, Bandhvi said, “He spoke, not much, among us, but through his gestures taught us a lot”. Gen. Rawat assumed charge as Chief of Army Staff in December 2016. And, was appointed the first CDS on December 31, 2019.

  • It’s ok to be mediocre’: Sulur mishap survivor Captain Varun Singh to students of his school

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: “It’s ok to be mediocre,” this is what Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the IAF chopper crash, had conveyed to the students of his school in a letter to its principal in September. Group Captain Singh is now battling for life at a military hospital in Bengaluru.

    He was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra in August for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft suffered a major technical glitch last year.

    “It is ok to be mediocre. Not everyone will excel at school and not everyone will be able to score in the 90s. If you do, it’s an amazing achievement and must be applauded,” Group Captain Singh wrote in the letter to the principal of the Army Public School in Chandimandir in Haryana.

    ALSO READ| Lone survivor Group Captain Varun Singh shifted to Bengaluru for advanced treatment

    “However, if you don’t, do not think that you are meant to be mediocre. You may be mediocre in school but it is by no means a measure of things to come in life. Find your calling, it could be art, music, graphic design. literature etc. Whatever you work towards, be dedicated, do your best.Never go to bed thinking I could have put in more effort,” he said.

    The air warrior said he was an average student and barely scored first division in 12th standard, but had a passion for airplanes and aviation. “I write to you filled with a sense of pride and humility. On August 15 this year, I have been awarded Shaurya Chakra by the President of India in recognition of an act of gallantry on October 12, 2020,” he said.

    “I credit this prestigious award to all those I have been associated with over the years in school, NDA and thereafter the Air Force, as I firmly believe that my actions that day were a result of the grooming and mentoring by my teachers, instructors and peers over the years,” Group Captain Singh wrote in the letter dated September 18.

    The Group Captain said he was not trying to blow his own trumpet or writing with a desire to seek a pat on the back, and that he wanted to let the children know a few of his life’s experiences that may help them in future.

    “I was a very average student who barely scored first division in 12 class. Even though I was made the Discipline Prefect in 12th I was equally average even in sports and other co-curricular activities. But I had a passion for airplanes and aviation,” he wrote.

    Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra for displaying exemplary composure and skill when his Tejas aircraft developed the technical snag during a sortie last year.

    “Despite being in extreme physical and mental stress in an extreme life-threatening situation, he maintained exemplary composure and recovered the aircraft, thereby exhibiting exceptional flying skill,” the award citation said.

    Group Captain Singh was on board the Russian-made chopper as the liaison officer for the visit of CDS Gen Bipin Rawat to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington.