Gen Rawat: A fitting farewell
The State must now investigate the crash and find a successor to carry forward his work
Tragic as the death of General BS Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and 12 others in a helicopter accident last week was, it was heartwarming and touching to see the spontaneous response to it across the country — universal grief and respect. While cynics may argue that much of this was orchestrated, the fact is that the reaction spanned geographies and constituencies. In Tamil Nadu, ruled by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which does not see eye to eye with the Union government on most issues, chief minister MK Stalin was quick to visit Wellington in the Nilgiris to pay homage to the victims; and as the bodies were transported to Sulur in Karnataka, vast crowds lined the route. Women sobbed openly; flowers were thrown on the passing vehicles; and cries of Veera Vanakkam (salutations to the brave) rent the air. In Delhi, leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, meeting to discuss a proposal by the Union government on the resolution of the farm protests, first took time to condole the crash and the passing of Rawat and the others, and then got down to business. And finally, as the funeral cortège wound its way through the streets of Delhi, people came out in numbers to pay their respects to General Rawat. India has seen such reactions before — but usually at the death of a politician or matinee idol.
The government has two immediate tasks at hand. The first is to ensure the completion of the investigation into the possible cause of the helicopter crash. Already, conspiracy theories are beginning to do the rounds, and the easiest way to scotch them is to complete an investigation and make public its findings. The second is to find a successor to General Rawat and push ahead with the much-needed and already-late agenda of theaterisation or jointsmanship in the military. Many major powers have already moved to such commands; and the current geopolitical construct in which India finds itself — there are clear threats to the North and the North-west, and the IndoPacific has emerged an important theatre of operations — makes it imperative that the country do too.
General Rawat made significant progress in his efforts to bring about jointsmanship, and despite some concerns expressed by the Air Force, India does appear to be on track to meet the January 2023 deadline for the creation of theatre commands. With a little more than a year left for that, though, the government and the new CDS have to get down to it with the same zeal that the first CDS exhibited.