The Indian Military Academy (IMA), the cradle of the Indian Army, completes 82 years of its existence on Tuesday. This grand institution, the pride of the nation and the Doon valley, has been teaching lessons of “Veerta aur Vivek” (Valour and Wisdom) to the young men for the past eight decades, turning them into brave officers of the Indian Army which is one of the best armies in the world.
The story of the IMA began in the month of September 1932 and has moved through several dramatic twists and turns, touching many landmarks over the last nine decades and is being carried forward proudly by bright young Gentlemen Cadets (GCs ) who enter the hallowed portals of the Academy every year and pass out as officers. The first batch (Pioneers) of Gentlemen Cadets, Sam Manekshaw among them, reported for duty on September 30, 1932. The senior-most cadet was G S Isaac whose number was 1 and the last was Shingar Singh, No. 40.
In May 1931, the Chetwode Committee was appointed. The committee recommended three places, namely Satara, Mhow and Dehradun for the Academy. The Government selected Dehradun as the location. And perhaps, the most important consideration in favour of Doon was the availability of very suitable buildings for the purpose.
The Railway Staff College was opened in Dehradun in 1930, next to the Forest Research Institute, but it had to be closed down owing to the financial crisis caused by the Great Depression. The college had been set up at an approximate cost of Rs 2,063,500. It had an imposing central building (now the Chetwode building), a number of staff quarters and a block of building for the trainees to reside, the present Collins block of the Academy. The Army Department acquired the buildings and the campus of the Railway Staff College, spread over an area of 155.53 acres of land.
It is really interesting that according to legend, Dehradun was the site of the academy of the great warrior Dronacharya where the Pandavas, Kauravas and other princes were trained. And the IMA, very aptly, has a “Drona Dwar.”
The Academy became functional from October 1, 1932 with a course strength of 40 Gentlemen Cadets. Brigadier l P Collins was the first Commandant. The first course had on its rolls Sam Manekshaw, Smith Dun and Mohd Musa. All of them later became the chiefs of the armies of their respective countries; namely India, Burma and Pakistan. The course was christened “PIONEERS'.
However, the IMA was inaugurated formally by Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode on December 10, 1932 after whom is named the “Chetwode Building” of the IMA, which is the Academy’s heart and soul. It houses the Chetwode Hall which has a museum of the Indian Army.
The inaugural address by Chetwode was stirring and acquired immortality as a passage from his address has been adopted as the Credo of the Academy -"The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time." These historic words, inscribed in letters of gold inside the Chetwode Hall, echo in the heart of every officer of the Indian Army all his life after leaving the IMA.
The history of the IMA from 1932 to 1947 is common to India and Pakistan. The crucial link between the founding of a military academy and the attainment of Independence was acutely realised by a section of Indian leadership in the days of struggle for Independence.
Their concerted efforts resulted in the initiation of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms which enabled ten Indians to be sent to Sandhurst for training, setting up of the Skeen Committee in 1925, and later holding of Round Table Conference in london in 1930 which recommended the establishment of the Indian Sandhurst without any delay.
As a follow- up action, the Government of India set up a committee to work out the details under the Chairmanship of Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, who was then Commander-in-Chief, India.
The committee submitted its report in July 1931, recommending an establishment for training forty entrants in each term. Uttarakhand feels a special pride in housing this “alma mater” of the hundreds of officers who are commissioned into the army every year, once in June and once in December after they cross the “Antim Pag”, at the end of the passing out parade and walk into the hallowed Chetwode building.
