General Bipin Rawat: The scandalous past of Indian Army Chief
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NEW DELHI - *Far away from the glitter of the modern world, in the barren deserts of Central Africa, in an unfortunate and accursed country called “The Democratic Republic of Congo”, crawl some toddlers who call themselves the “**Children of The Peacekeepers* link *.”*
These kids whose parentage is a fact folded in mystery and ambivalence, are the only remaining memories of a UN Contingent which once administered a reign of terror in these godforsaken marshlands. The said contingent not only transgressed the limits prescribed in the UN Charter but also receded to a level which at the least was an insult to the very concept of international peacekeeping.
Rape of innocent women, abuse of authority became an every day routine in the country which already had seen more than 3 decades of civil war.
Woes and Miseries, of these ‘Lesser Children Of God’ who by virtue of their fate came at the receiving end of the “services” rendered by this contingent, piled up rapidly.
Horrendous stories of misdeeds became such a regular narration that they attained the status of folklores which still continue to draw tears in many eyes.
UN, for the first time in its history had to reprimand a serving contingent and demanded adequate and stern action against the “culprits.”The demand in its very self was a sick and inconsiderate joke as the referred-to “culprit”was the entire fabric of the then incumbent contingent which included ranks and files alike.
Any meaningful and deserving action against the top brass of the contingent was neither intended nor desired, all that was required of the reprimand exercise was an eyewash aimed at the international donors.
A farce link was thus conducted and several junior officers and soldiers were sacrificed at the altar of redemption. The senior lot and the persona- designata in command was not only let off but later decorated for this “Praise Worthy Performance.”
We talk of this 2008 deformed chapter of history today because the “contingent” we refer to was the “Indian Army” contingent of MONUSCO and the man in-charge of this mission was the one who most recently got promoted to the four star rank of the Chief of The Army Staff of India “General Bipin Rawat.”
Bipin Rawat in addition to this assignment has many other feathers in his hat which played a vital role in the Super session of two senior Generals of the Indian Army (In Terms Of Practicality Only 1 General Officer i.e. Lt. Gen. Parveen Bakhshi Was Superseded, The Other Gentleman Lt. Gen. P. M. Hariz Was Deemed To Loose The Battle In Any Case Owing To His Muslim Faith).
In the midst of 2015, a recently crowned “Modi Sarkar” proclaimed before the national / international press that, in response to an attack on the 6th Dogra Regimentat Manipur which resulted in the death of 18 soldiers, a cross-border operation has been conducted inside the sovereign territory of Myanmar. The operation which was very affectionately code-named “Golden Bird II” was publicized and flaunted with utmost zeal and valor. Foul mouthed Indian ministers and MPs brought to use all the oxygen in their lungs to boast that this operation is tectonic shift in the geo-strategic realms of the region.
The tectonic shift but proved to be a mechatronic drift when the Government of Myanmar within 48 Hours not only Rebutted the claims but also called the same as Absurd. Very few know that man who in his capacity as a Commander of the Southern Commandexhibited the audacity to publically lie in uniform and supplemented the concocted version of the political government was none other than Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat. It is most probably this selfless or rather shameless service which brought General Rawat in the eyes of the incumbent political masters.
General Rawat has also held the dishonor of serving at length in the resistive valley of Indian Occupied Kashmir. At different occasion and in different capacities Rawat commanded Infantry battalion, brigade and division. His last stint as the General Officer Commanding of the Baramulla based 19th Division is saturated with the most abhorrent negations of Human Rights.
A bird’s eye view, on the reports issued by various reputable organizations such as the H.R.W &the AmnestyInternational on the situation of Human Rights in the valley during the command of then Maj. General Rawat, will reveal that his was a tenure of tyranny and ferocity in which the masses suffered to their maxima.
General Rawat used his office and the men under his command to instill fear in the hearts of the locals and strengthen the grip of occupation forces by enhancementof existent oppression.
General Rawat also over saw the distribution of monetary bribes to politicians in the valley, a fact later revealed by his then Chief and the incumbent state minister General V K Singh. Anyone with acute knowledge of the affairs prevailing in Indian Armyknows that the commanders who oversee such fiscal distributions guarantee themselves with a luxurious post-retirement life. General Rawat was obviously No Exception.
Strategic Stability in South-Asia, which was once referred to by the erstwhile U.S PresidentBill Clinton as the “Most Dangerous Place On The Face Of Mother Earth”, is to a large extent dependent on the situation& developments in India. With the advent of General Bipin Rawat India in general and its military in particular must now embrace for an era filled with malice, abuse, rapes and fictitious but daunting lies. BY: Anika Sheikh
