General Bipin Rawat could take decisions with clarity of mind, says NSA Ajit Doval
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said that former chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat could take decisions “with clarity of thought” and was never “in two minds”.
Speaking at the Bipin Rawat Memorial Lecture held on the occasion of birth anniversary of the former CDS on Saturday, the National Security Advisor said, “General Rawat could take decisions, carry out decisions and was never in two minds.”
He said that General Rawat made an immense contribution to the country, and it was important to “keep his memories alive as heroes like him help in building up the national will”.
Talking about the launch of the GBR Memorial Foundation of India, Ajit Doval said that the foundation must look into collaborating with psychologists to produce something on the issue of decision-making.
Dwelling on the issue of wars, he said that wars are about breaking the enemy country’s will and establishing peace at own terms and conditions.
Talking about his visit to Israel, where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the national security advisor, Doval said that he asked their top officials about whether India could learn any lessons from their ongoing conflict and the reply he got was: “Be prepared for a surprise.”
“The Russians thought it would be a cakewalk. The Ukrainians thought sanctions would work. We have to have the mindset for surprises. We have to have the instinct,” Ajit Doval added.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, said that the three services, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, should have a “joint culture”.
“The three services have separate cultures. Unless we create a joint culture, operations will be difficult. Without it, there’s no way out,” he said.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, former chief of air staff, called the late CDS Rawat “a thinker who had worked towards restructuring and integration of the armed forces”.
“His death was a loss for the armed forces and the country,” the force chief of air staff said.