Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat onboard IAF Mi-17VH helicopter with 11 other top Army officers died in an air crash in an unfortunate incident near the upper Coonoor region at around noon on Wednesday. CDS General Bipin Rawat was on his way to attend a cadet interaction program today afternoon at the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
CDS General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat held each other's hands throughout their lives, in the same way, they embraced death by holding each other's hands. The power couple got married in 1985 and is survived by two daughters.
From then till the last day Madhulika Rawat remained with her husband General Bipin Rawat like a shield. She stood behind General Rawat as a pillar of strength of her husband and also contributed in a big way through the Army Wives Welfare Association as President of AWWA.
Madhulika Rawat was also involved with NGOs like Veer Naris which helps widows of military personnel, differently-abled children and cancer patients. She has been empowering the Army wives by encouraging them to take up courses in tailoring, knitting, bag making, beautician courses and 'Cakes and Chocolates' making for their financial independence.
Who is Madhulika Rawat ?
The soft, well-read, socially active Madhulika Rawat is the daughter of late politician Mrigendra Singh who was a native of Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh.
General Rawat's better half Madhulika Rawat hailed from the erstwhile royal family of Sohagpur Riyasat in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.
Her father Kunwar Mrigendra Singh was Riyasatdar of Sohagpur Riyasat in Shadol district who went on to become Congress MLA in 1967 and 1972.
General Bipin Rawat's brother-in-law and Madhulika Rawat's brother is Yashvardhan Singh and his daughter is a national-level shooter.
Madhulika Rawat was an alumnus of Gwalior's prestigious Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya. She had last visited Sohagpur Riyasat in Shadol in 2012.
General Bipin Rawat's wife Madhulika completed her studies in Delhi and did her graduation in psychology from Delhi University.
Madhulika Rawat's family currently lives in the ancestral residence 'Rajabagh' in the Shahdol district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh.
Madhulika Rawat got married to CDS General Bipin Rawat in 1985 when he was posted as a Captain in the Indian Army.
Chhattisgarh Minister TS Singhdeo said that Madhulika Rawat was a close family associate and used to visit them often in Bhopal.
As a key functionary of the Army Wives Welfare Association, Madhulika Rawat was instrumental in several welfare programmes for Army widows.
Apart from Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), she continued to do many types of social work, especially for cancer patients.
