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Valour and Wisdom:
History of the Indian Military Academy
Indian leaders were of the firm conviction believed that political freedom from the British was possible only in a system where men of Indian origin were able to officer their own Army. With the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885, where Indians could express their political views, leaders began demanding the setting up of an "Indian Sandhurst", where officers of Indian origin could be trained. Luminaries like Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Moti Lal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, G K Gokhale, Giri Aiyyar and Jawahar Lal Nehru were among those who consistently demanded Indianisation of the armed forces which they considered an inseparable part of the freedom movement. Though the British had begun inducting Indians into the ICS at the beginning of the 20th century, it was only after the experience of World War I that the military opened its doors to officers of Indian origin. Even then, Indians were sent to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Britain, for training as there was no institution in India to train officers. It is interesting to know how it took a huge amount of effort on the part of the then political leaders to make the British to set up an academy in the country to train Indian officers. Related events are comprehensively documented. The book, brought out to coincide with the Platinum Jubilee of the IMA, is a absorbing narrative of the events that led to the establishment of the academy in 1932 following the recommendations of a sub-committee on defence chaired by the then C-in-C, General Sir Philip Chetwood, and its subsequent evolution and progress down the years. In its eight chapters, the social and administrative events that led to the changes in the constitution of the IMA, such as the Partition in 1947, Kashmir operations in 1947-48, Sino-India conflict in 1962, the two Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971 and the 1999 Kargil war are exhaustively covered along with their impact on training the system. The author, a former colonel commandant of the Army Education Corps, is from the 27th Batch of the IMA and served as an instructor there on two occasions. Being head of the IMA’s academic department, he had an access to a lot of documents and information on the IMA’s history. Starting off from officer training in India during the Raj, the book then covers the academy’s formative years till World War II. It was during this period that the IMA got its famed credo – "The safety, honour and welfare of your country comes first, always and every time`85.." and the King’s Colours. The author terms the period 1946—1950 as the most eventful years of the IMA, being marked with events like attainment of Independence, the Partition, splitting of the course with some cadets moving to Pakistan, the war in Kashmir. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the academy and the King’s Colours were also laid to rest during this period. The book is not just a plain narrative, but also carries quotes from persons at the helm of affairs, extracts of speeches of visiting dignitaries and senior officers besides personal experiences and anecdotes of several officers during their time as either cadets or instructors. Besides keeping a constant track of administrative developments associated with the IMA, the author retains his focus on the training methodology and revisions in curriculum from time to time to meet the ever-changing requirements. Sports and extra-curricular activities undertaken by the cadets are also described. The book also caries several historic photographs recording significant events in its history The author claims that this is the first-ever book to comprehensively document the IMA’s history as such provides a very expansive and lucid insight into the history of the Amy’s premier training institution for raw officers. In its appendices, all 36 commandants of the IMA, from Brig L.P. Collins in 1932 to the present incumbent, Lt Gen P.K. Rampal find a mention. Academy orders detailing the first batch of officers to be posted at the IMA, the names of the first batch of gentleman cadets, the speeches of the commandant and the C-in-C at the inaugural function and the addresses of dignitaries like Viceroy Willingdon, and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on historic occasions are also carried. So is a list of all gallantry award winners who had passed out from its portals. The book contains a foreword by former Chief of the Army Staff and now Governor of Punjab, Gen S F Rodrigues, who is an alumunus of the First Joint Services Wing Course and the 10th IMA Direct Entry Course.
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The genesis and
establishment of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) is closely associated
with the freedom struggle. The IMA came into being in October 1932, 15
years before the Tricolour was first unfurled atop the Red Fort.