He will now hand over charge to his successor, General Bipin Rawat.
“After 43 years of service to the nation I superannuate today. I salute the martyrs who made supreme sacrifices,” Dalbir Singh said after inspecting a Guard of Honour at the South Block lawns.
“The day I took over I had said that our response to any action will be more than adequate, immediate and intense. Indian Army is fully prepared and well trained to tackle any challenges be it external or internal,” he said.
(With inputs from IANS and ANI)
Why Lt General Bipin Rawat, man who led surgical strikes in Myanmar, is best suited to be Army chief
and even led the surgical strikes in Myanmar.
With over ten years experience in counter-insurgency operations along the Line of Control, including leading the surgical strikes in Myanmar, the government chose Lt General Bipin Rawat to be the next Army chief and succeed General Dalbir Singh Suhag.
The Centre said Rawat was chosen as he was the best suited man to counter India’s main security challenge in form of terrorism.
“Rawat has 10 years of experience in counter-insurgency operations and was also posted on the Line of Control. He was involved in 1986 operations in Eastern Sector facing China and was also posted in Pulhama in the 19 Division,” senior government sources told India Today.
“In the current situation, we need a person with experience in the relevant area, that is operational experience,” the sources said.
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THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LT GENERAL RAWAT
In his career spanning over 38 years, Lt General Rawat has had “tremendous hands-on experience of serving in the combat areas, and at various functional levels in the Army”.
LT General Rawat has handled various operational responsibilities in many areas, including along the LoC with Pakistan, the LAC with China, and in the north-east.
According to Army officials known to him, Rawat is considered to have a balanced approach towards soldiering, and has compassion and connect with the civil society.
His experience as General Officer Commandng (GOC-in-C) Southern Army Command in Mechanised Warfare has focused towards the western borders, in coordination with the other two services.
“He was found the best suited among the Lt Generals to deal with the emerging challenges, including a reorganised and restructured military force in the north, continuing terrorism and proxy war from the west, and the situation in the north-east,” the sources said.
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Government may assign post at par with Army chief to superseded Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to speak to Bakshi and the other superseded officer, Southern Army Commander Lt Gen PM Hariz, to examine issues of seniority in the force days after Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat’s elevation as Army chief. The appointment of Rawat, a counterinsurgency specialist, raised eyebrows among opposition parties because he was given the job ahead of two more senior candidates.
The ruling BJP has retaliated by accusing rivals of “politicising” defence matters. The last time the senior-most officer of the army was superseded for the appointment was in 1983, when Gen AS Vaidya took over instead of Lt Gen SK SinhA
Also read: Political slugfest breaks out over Army chief’s appointment
Parrikar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi by January for a presentation on creation of the post of permanent chairman of the chiefs of staffs committee (COSC) who would be responsible for tri-services issues such as procurement, training and futuristic planning for the military.
“Bakshi is a sound officer and is of very high intellect and capability. We would want to use his experience and intellect for the forces’ betterment” senior defence ministry sources said.
“He is a capable officer and still has seven-eight months left in service. He will be considered for the post along with other officers.” However, the sources clarified that Eastern Army Commander Bakshi, who met Parrikar on December 20, has not been given any assurance or promise as “lollypop” that he would be given the post for abiding by the government’s decision on Army chief.
Experience
Sources said during the meeting with the minister, Bakshi raised the issues related to adverse situation for officers from the armoured and artillery divisions in getting experience in counterinsurgency operations compared to those from infantry battalions.
On the matter of sorting out seniority issues between Rawat, Bakshi and Hariz, sources said Parrikar is likely to take up the subject with the Southern Army Commander on December 30. “The minister has already had a word with Bakshi and the indications are that he is not going to quit from the Army in wake of the decision,” the sources said.
In a major shakeup, the government announced on December 17 Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next Army chief, considering his experience in dealing with the country’s “biggest threat”- terrorism in Kashmir and the Northeast.
Sources said it was felt that Rawat was best suited for the job under the circumstances. On the government choosing Rawat over Bakshi, the sources said, “On a spinning wicket, a spinner would be chosen over a fast bowler and a seamer, but it doesn’t mean that those left out were bad bowlers in any way.” Rawat is from infantry while Bakshi and Hariz are from armoured regiments and the two have comparatively little experience in dealing with terrorism.
Rawat will take over as the Army chief on December 31, replacing General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Lt Gen Bakshi went on leave on Tuesday for the next few days, to Bhubaneswar, and is likely to join office after the New Year weekend.
Reform
Top ministry sources said the government’s decision to appoint Rawat ignoring the seniority criteria in the services will prove to be a reform as this will do away with factionalism. Earlier, based on date of birth and seniority, officers could figure out the next service chiefs five to six years in advance and coteries would start forming those in line of succession.
“Now nobody would be sure of their future and everybody would be giving their best in their commands for bagging the top job,” they said. Meanwhile, Western Air Commander air marshal SB Deo would be appointed as the next Vice Chief of Air Staff as the incumbent, Air Marshal BS Dhanoa, was named the next Air Force Chief.