'Matchbox': How one answer changed the course of Bipin Rawat's life

• Image Credit: Internet

• Dec 9, 2021 | moderator

New Delhi: Candidates appearing for tough government exams such as the UPSC, Banking exams, NDA etc always swear by the stage where they have to face the interview panel, answering some tough questions posed on them during the interview. General Bipin Rawat’s tragic end shattered the entire nation. The abrupt end of a brilliant military man with an outstanding career, shocked all of us.

Bipin Rawat cracked the National Defence Academy(NDA) exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to begin his military career. Many years ago, he had shared an anecdote from the interview where he faced the interview panel with some toughest questions.

Also read: CDS chief Bipin Rawat was alive and uttered his name before the team: Rescue Team

After successfully qualifying for the NDA exam, a young Bipin Rawat appeared before the Services Selection Board in Allahabad.

“After four to five days of rigorous training and testing, it was finally time for the interview. There was a Brigadier-rank officer who was about to interview me and I was a bit in awe of everything,” he said.

At first, Bipin Rawat was asked a couple of straightforward questions, which put him at ease. Then the interviewer asked him about his hobbies.

“I had quite a few hobbies back then but I was crazy about trekking,” said Bipin Rawat.

“When I told him this, the interviewer put up a question which seemed very simple at face value. He asked me ‘if I was going on a five-day-long trek, what is the most important item that I would carry with me’.”

In response to this question, Bipin Rawat said that in such a situation, he would like to keep a matchbox with him. Immediately, the focus of the interview shifted to the matchbox.

To justify his answer, he explained, “If I have a matchbox with me, I could do many things with this one thing and do many activities while trekking. Fire was the most important discovery of primitive man which fuelled his evolution. Man considered this discovery as his success. So, I realized that the matchbox might be the most important piece of my trekking gear.”

Even after presenting his argument, Bipin Rawat told the students that the Brigadier tried to pressurise him to change his answer. But he did not budge.

“I listened closely to what he had to say but based on what I was told about different circumstances in trekking, I politely stood by my answer that matches are the most important thing to take with you.”

Days later, he got to know that he had cleared the interview and was on his way to the NDA. General Bipin Rawat said that the decision to stand firm by his answer in the face of pressure had played an important role in his selection.