Dehra Dun, December 10
Amid classic army tunes in the backdrop and glitters that sprinkled from the skies by a trio of choppers, the historic Chetwode stadium of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) saw a batch of 440 gentleman cadets pass out to find their respective roles in the Army.

In true army tradition, the passing-out parade unfolded the ceremonial turn-out of the outgoing cadets, reviewed by the Chief of Army Staff, Gen N.C. Vij, among other well-decorated defence personnel.

Addressing the cadets after reviewing the parade, Gen N.C. Vij said the catchline for them was to lead from the front. As young officers, they must transcend all ethnic and religious parochialism, be apolitical and uphold duty, honour and the country, he said to the cadets. General Vij also congratulated the cadets from the friendly countries who also formally passed out of the academy.

Vintage buggies from the academy memorabilia were lined up neatly for the officers to review the parade where shimmering swords gleamed in the proud hands of the cadets. Amid speculations of will-they-or-will-they-not toss their caps in the air, the young officers gave the shutterbugs their favourite photo op at the pipping ceremony carried out by the parents.

Pinning up the stars on the shoulder flaps of his newly commissioned officer son, Yogesh Bharadwaj said he was so proud that it was difficult to contain it. Hundreds of parents did the houours for their sons at the pipping ceremony.

Eighteen cadets from friendly countries, including the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius and Malaysia, passed out of the academy on the occasion.

The newly appointed IMA Commandant, Lt-Gen Kamal Krishan Khanna, reviewed the passing-out parade in this capacity for the first time.

The ceremony that lasted well over three hours was attended by the who’s who of the Indian Army, families of the passing-out cadets and retired defence officials.

Even as efforts of infiltration across the border are on, the success rate has gone down substantially as compared to last year, said General Vij after reviewing the passing-out parade. The success rate is now one eighth to one tenth of what it was last year in November, he said.