lieutenant General Sanjay Kumar Jha took over as the 48th Commandant of the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on Monday. He took over the reins of the Academy from lt Gen SK Upadhya.
lt Gen Jha, a highly decorated soldier, is an alumni of National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academ. He was commissioned into the 17th Battalion the Sikh Regiment on December 13, 1980.
In an illustrious career spanning a period of more than 36 years, the officer has held various Staff, Instructional and Command appointments. He has commanded a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, an Assam Rifle Sector and a Mountain Division in the North East. He has held positions like Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade, General Staff Officer 1 (Operations) of a Mountain Division, Director Military Operations, Brigadier General Staff (Operations) of a Command, Deputy Additional Chief of Integrated Defence Staff at Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, Additional Director General of Perspective Planning and Director General of Perspective Planning at Integrated Head Quarters of Ministry of Defence (MoD).
lt General Jha has also held instructional appointments at Indian Military Academy, Indian Military Training Team (Bhutan) and Army War College. He has served as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of an Infantry Brigade in the United Nation Mission at Congo.
The General officer has excelled in various professional courses during his service and has many achievements to his credit. The new IMA Commandant is a Graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Higher Command Course and National Defence College.
He has been accorded with the GOC-in-C Commendation Card (twice), VCOAS Commendation Card, Sena Medal, Yudh Seva Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM).
The General officer is also the Colonel of the Sikh Regiment. He was General Officer Commanding in Chief of a Corps in the North East, before assuming the present appointment.
lt Gen Jha takes over the reins of IMA at a time when death of two cadets has rocked the institute.
IMA is the premier military academy of the country which has a rich tradition of supplying fine young officers to the Indian Army and the armies of friendly nations. In one of the most rigorous training regime the Gentlemen Cadets (GCs) are exposed to multifarious activities such as weapon training, service and academic subjects, drill, physical training, sports, outdoor camps and extracurricular activities.
These are aimed at making them battle ready and teach them necessary skills to execute various responsibilities and operational tasks with utmost professionalism during their service career.