The formidable Indian Army has got a fillip on Saturday when living up to its reputation of being a production line of officers, the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun provided 347 young officers to it after a spectacular Passing out Parade (PoP). Apart from them, 80 Foreign Gentlemen Cadets (FGC) belonging to some friendly countries also passed out from the portals of the esteemed academy. These officers were part of 143 Regular and 126 Technical Graduate Courses of IMA.
Against the backdrop of the rising sun, the parade led by the Gurvir Singh Talwar marched to the drill square of the historic Chetwode Hall.
The parade marched in perfect harmony to the tunes of ‘Col Bogey’ and ‘Sare Jahan Se Acha.’ The synergy and enthusiasm of the cadets during the parade was regularly applauded by the audience which consisted of military officers, their families, Government officers and the family members of the newly commissioned officers.
A ceremonial Guard of Honour was presented to the Chief Guest and Reviewing Officer (RO), the Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General, D Anbu, the IMA Commandant Lt Gen S K Jha and the Deputy Commandant IMA, Major General J S Nehra.
In a departure from norms, retired officers like Col Rakesh Nayar, Major Gen Rajendra Singh, Lt General K K Khanna and Lt Gen G S Negi were also provided ceremonial welcome in recognition for their services to the academy.
After the parade, the RO presented awards to the GCs. The prestigious Sword of Honour and Gold medal for standing first in the order of merit in Regular Course were presented to Arjun Thakur who also commanded the parade.
The Silver medal for clinching the second slot in the overall merit in Regular Course was handed over to Gurvir Singh Talwar while the Bronze medal for GC standing second in order of merit from the Regular Course was presented to Guruvansh Singh Gosal.
In Technical Graduate Course, Harsh Bansiwal was presented with the Silver medal for emerging first in the overall merit.
Bishal Chandra Wajee of Bhutan was bestowed with the Silver medal for being the best Foreign Gentlemen Cadet (FGC) of the PoP. The Chief of Army Staff banner was handed over to the Sangro Company for standing first among 16 companies of academy in the autumn term-2018.
Audience were thrilled when three Cheetah helicopters flew past the drill square, throwing petals over the marching contingent when it entered the Chetwode building for the ceremonial Antim Pag (last step). This step marks their metamorphosis into officers of the Indian Army from the cadet of the academy.
After the PoP, the contingent headed to sprawling Somnath stadium for pipping ceremony where proud parents put epaulets of officers on the shoulders of the young officers. After this ceremony was over, the young officers took oath to serve the nation while the stadium erupted in celebration as the young officers celebrated their new status as officers of the India Army following an arduous training.