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 GS 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.”