Southern Command hosts seminar on first death anniversary of General Bipin Rawat
The memorial event was conducted in the form of a seminar on the theme 'Transformation Imperatives for Indian Armed Forces' conceptualised to dwell upon the issues that were close to General Bipin Rawat.
Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh, former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, former defence secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and veteran service speakers were present at the seminar. (Express Photo)
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PUNE-headquartered Southern Command of the Army Thursday hosted a memorial event commemorating the first death anniversary of General Bipin Rawat, the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces, who died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.
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The memorial event was conducted in the form of a seminar in hybrid mode on the theme ‘Transformation Imperatives for Indian Armed Forces’ conceptualised to dwell upon the issues that were close to General Bipin Rawat and on which he focused relentlessly as Chief of the Defence Staff.
The seminar was jointly organised by Headquarters Southern Command and Pune International Centre. “The event was memorialised by the benign presence of Kritika Rawat, daughter of the Late Gen Bipin Rawat.” said a press statement from the Southern Command.
Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh, in his opening address, paid tributes to General Rawat. The Army Commander spoke about the roadmap laid by General Rawat for seamless integration between traditional ethos and modern technologies to strengthen the nation. He brought out the challenges faced by India and the Armed Forces while highlighting the increasing influence of India in the present geopolitical order.
Speakers including former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and former defence secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and veteran service speakers such as Lt Gen Subrata Saha, Lt Gen Sanjeev Langer, Lt Gen PS Rajeshwar, Lt Gen SS Hasabnis, Lt Gen AK Singh, Air Marshal S S Soman and Rear Admiral Praveen Nair expressed their views on the transformation imperatives for the Armed Forces.
The seminar saw the participation of officers from National Defence Academy, INS Shivaji, Western Naval Command and Air Force Station, Lohegaon. It was telecast live for all the outstation formations of the Headquarters Southern Command.
“Gen Rawat’s monumental effort at the transformation of the military leaves us with a strong framework and clear path and hence there is no better tribute to his legacy than to walk upon this path and take it to its desired conclusion, that of a secure nation built over a futuristic and self-reliant military.” said the Southern Command in a statement.
General Rawat was killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on December 8 last year along with his wife Madhulika and 12 armed forces personnel.
