Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A tragic loss: On the death of Gen Bipin Rawat

A tragic loss: On the death of Gen Bipin Rawat

India must realise Gen. Rawat’s plans for genuine tri-service (relating to three services, especially an army, navy, and air force) operational capabilities

India has lost a capable (क़ाबिल, कुशल, निपुण) and experienced military leader in the tragic (दुःखद, दर्दनाक) death of the country’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in the Nilgiris on Wednesday. His wife, Madhulika, and 11 others also perished (मर जाना, नष्ट हो जाना, समाप्त होना) when the Indian Air Force’s Mi-17V5 helicopter (Mi-17V-5 (domestic designation Mi-8MTV-5) is a military transport variant in the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. It is produced by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. Mi-17V5 is a 13 tonne-class helicopter. With this whopping 2700hp engine, it can quickly climb to an altitude of 18,000 feet and perform its task. It can transport 36 armed soldiers or 4,500kg of load on a sling. This is probably the only helicopter in the IAF’s inventory with full-authority digital control system (FADEC). The Mi-17V5 has a maximum speed of 250km/h. With two auxiliary fuel tanks, it has a range of 1000+ kms and without it nearly 600 kms) came down ((of an aircraft/helicopter/chopper) crash, fall, plummet, plunge (suddenly & uncontrollably)) in a heavily wooded (जंगली, वनाच्छादित) area. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced in Parliament that a tri-service inquiry (जाँच, पूछताछ, जांच), headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, of the IAF, will take place into the incident. The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, has already visited the crash site; the cockpit voice and flight data recorders (a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters. The purpose of an FDR is to collect and record data from a variety of aircraft sensors onto a medium designed to survive an accident) have been recovered, which would give investigators insights (निरीक्षण, समझ, बोध) into how the crash occurred. It is imperative (अनिवार्यता, अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण) that the inquiry be done both thoroughly (पूर्ण रूप से, विस्तार से, बारीकी से) and speedily (जल्दी से, शीघ्रता से). Without speculating (कल्पना करना, अनुमान लगाना) on the cause, it needs to be stressed (तनाव, जोर देना, ध्यान केंद्रित करना) that speedy course corrections (पाठ्यक्रम सुधार) in training or hardware are imperative given that these Mi-17VF choppers (हेलिकप्टर) are being used to ferry (transport) top military leaders across the length and breadth of (every part of a large place/area; all over, throughout, everywhere) the country.

Gen. Rawat had not even completed two years as CDS when the Coonoor tragedy happened. After completing his tenure (कार्यकाल, अवधि, समय) as Army Chief on December 31, 2019, he slipped into his new role as CDS the very next day. Many of his plans to give India genuine tri-service operational capabilities are still to be realised. In such a situation, the Government should not lose time in appointing his successor (inheritor, next-in-line, descendant) to ensure that the plans on the drawing board ((of an idea, plan, or proposal) being thought about and not yet ready to execute/carry out) do not suffer. An aggressive (hostile, belligerent, bellicose, hawkish, combative) China and a still belligerent Pakistan define India’s security challenges. The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) (the de-facto (effective) border between India and China. The LAC is a 4,057-km border running through three areas-Western (Ladakh, Ladakh (Kashmir)), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal), and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal)) continues to be tense with Indian and Chinese troops staring down each other. Gen. Rawat, known to have been proximate (nearest, near, closest (in relationship)) to the ruling establishment, had never minced words while speaking about the challenges facing the country and had waded into political controversies. Though the concept of having a CDS was recommended by a Group of Ministers in 2000 after the Kargil war, it took another 20 years for one to be appointed. The CDS, who functions as Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister, is expected to work in tandem (alongside each other) with the three service chiefs who continue to operate in their respective domains (a particular field, area, sphere (of activity)) — a role and function that is still in the making (developing, burgeoning, up and coming). To ensure that the new CDS and the service chiefs function as a team, the Government would do well to keep in mind the principle of seniority (the state of being higher in rank) while choosing Gen. Rawat’s successor.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.tragic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - दुःखद, दर्दनाक
English Meaning - sad, painful, sorrowful, heart-rending.

2.capable (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - क़ाबिल, कुशल, निपुण
English Meaning - talented, skilful, accomplished, adept, competent.

3.perish (verb)

Hindi Meaning - मर जाना, नष्ट हो जाना, समाप्त होना
English Meaning - die, be killed violently/suddenly.

4.wooded (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जंगली, वनाच्छादित
English Meaning - covered with many trees; forested, afforested, tree-covered.

5.inquiry (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाँच, पूछताछ, जांच
English Meaning - enquiry, investigation.

6.insight (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निरीक्षण, समझ, बोध
English Meaning - understanding, realization, recognition, experience (of a thing).

7.imperative (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्यता, अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण
English Meaning - vitally important, crucial, critical, essential, necessary.

8.thoroughly (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - पूर्ण रूप से, विस्तार से, बारीकी से
English Meaning - in detail, meticulously, scrupulously, assiduously, completely, comprehensively, fully, intensively.

9.speedily (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - जल्दी से, शीघ्रता से
English Meaning - rapidly, swiftly, promptly, quickly.

10.speculate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कल्पना करना, अनुमान लगाना
English Meaning - guess.

11.stress (verb)

Hindi Meaning - तनाव, जोर देना, ध्यान केंद्रित करना
English Meaning - give emphasis to, emphasize, focus attention on.

12.course correction (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पाठ्यक्रम सुधार
English Meaning - modifying, improving, rectifying (the plan of action).

13.chopper (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हेलिकप्टर
English Meaning - helicopter.

14.tenure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यकाल, अवधि, समय
English Meaning - term, time, period, stint (in office); incumbency.

15.lose no time (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - समय गँवाए बिना
English Meaning - be quick, hurry up, move quickly, go fast, speed up.

16.tri-service (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to three services, especially an army, navy, and air force.

17.operational (adjective)

English Meaning - working, functioning, operative.

18.Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) (noun)

English Meaning - Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is a single-point military advisor to the government, and to coordinate long-term planning, procurements, training and logistics of the three services. The CDS is a four star General and functions as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister and also as the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) which has the three service chiefs as members. India being a nuclear weapons state, the CDS will also act as the military advisor to the Prime Minister on nuclear issues. General Bipin Rawat was appointed as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on 31 December 2019.

19.Mi-17V5 helicopter (noun)

English Meaning - Mi-17V-5 (domestic designation Mi-8MTV-5) is a military transport variant in the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. It is produced by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters. Mi-17V5 is a 13 tonne-class helicopter. With this whopping 2700hp engine, it can quickly climb to an altitude of 18,000 feet and perform its task. It can transport 36 armed soldiers or 4,500kg of load on a sling. This is probably the only helicopter in the IAF’s inventory with full-authority digital control system (FADEC). The Mi-17V5 has a maximum speed of 250km/h. With two auxiliary fuel tanks, it has a range of 1000+ kms and without it nearly 600 kms.

20.came down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - (of an aircraft/helicopter/chopper) crash, fall, plummet, plunge (suddenly & uncontrollably).

21.cockpit (noun)

English Meaning - the pilot’s compartment in an aircraft.

22.Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) (noun)

English Meaning - a device used to record the audio environment in the flight deck for accidents and incident investigation purposes. The CVR records and stores the audio signals of the microphones and earphones of the pilots’ headsets and of an area microphone installed in the cockpit.

23.Flight Data Recorder (FDR) (noun)

English Meaning - a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters. The purpose of an FDR is to collect and record data from a variety of aircraft sensors onto a medium designed to survive an accident.

24.black box (noun)

English Meaning - The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) popularly known as ‘black box’.

25.ferry (verb)

English Meaning - transport.

26.the length and breadth of (phrase)

English Meaning - every part of a large place/area; all over, throughout, everywhere.

27.slip into (verb)

English Meaning - get into, change into.

28.successor (noun)

English Meaning - inheritor, next-in-line, descendant.

29.on the drawing board (phrase)

English Meaning - (of an idea, plan, or proposal) being thought about and not yet ready to execute/carry out.

30.aggressive (adjective)

English Meaning - hostile, belligerent, bellicose, hawkish, combative.

31.Line of Actual Control (LAC) (noun)

English Meaning - the de-facto (effective) border between India and China. The LAC is a 4,057-km border running through three areas-Western (Ladakh, Ladakh (Kashmir)), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal), and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).

32.stare down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - look fixedly at someone (in a threatening way).

33.proximate (adjective)

English Meaning - nearest, near, closest (in relationship).

34.the establishment (noun)

English Meaning - the powers that be, the authorities, the system, the ruling class, the regime.

35.not/never mince words (phrase)

English Meaning - to say something directly and openly despite the fact that it will hurt someone; talk frankly, call a spade a spade.

36.wade into (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to get involved in a difficult situation (argument, debate, fight & etc) without thinking about the possible consequences.

37.in tandem (phrase)

English Meaning - alongside each other.