Best of Indian Military Institutions

[anathema]

Friends i happened to see movie Lakshya again -- The movie has been on my top 10 list ever since it came about. It tugs everytime i watch it . The production, photography is out of this world !!!!!


I thought to create this thread, to showcase the premiere Indian Military Institutions.

Note :- if you are posting then i request you not to post para military, police institutions. This is for all the three defence services.

So here it goes !!

The first one --

Indian Military Academy - Dehra Dun


Indian Military Academy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History
[edit] Genesis

In 1922, the Indian Military College was established outside Dehradun by the Prince of Wales as a feeder school for Indians headed to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England.

The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms enabled ten Indians to be sent to Sandhurst for training. Later the Round Table Conference in London in 1930 recommended the establishment of an Indian version of Sandhurst. The government of British India set up a committee to work out the details under the chairmanship of Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, then Commander-in-Chief, India. In July 1931, the committee recommended the setting up an academy for training forty entrants a term (a term being for six months). The breakdown of the entrants was 15 direct entrants, 15 from the ranks through Kitchener College, Nowgaon, and 10 from the Princely States.
[edit] Inauguration

The academy became functional from 1 October 1932 with a course strength of 40 Gentlemen Cadets. Brigadier L P Collins, DSO, OBE was the first Commandant. The first course had on its rolls Sam Manekshaw, Smith Dun and Musa Khan. All of them later became the chiefs of the armies of their respective countries: namely India, Burma and Pakistan. The course was christened 'PIONEERS'. The government acquired the estate of the erstwhile Railway College at Dehradun, which had the appropriate buildings and a fairly extensive campus to meet the requirements of the Academy at its birth.

Formal inauguration of the academy was done at the end of the first term on 10 December 1932. Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, Baronet GCB, OM, GCSI, KCMG, DSO, then Commander-in-Chief of India, after whom the main building and its central hall are named, inaugurated the Academy. The highlight was the inaugural address by Sir Philip Chetwode, which was delivered in the hall now named after him. 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."

This is known as the Chetwode Motto and is the motto of the officers passing out from the IMA.
[edit] 1932 to independence

In 1934, before the first course had passed out, Lord Willingdon, the Viceroy of India, presented the Colours to the Academy on behalf of the Monarch. The parade was commanded by Under-Officer GC Smith Dun. After the start of the World War, there was an increase in the number of entrants and in their categories. Between December 1934 and May 1941, 16 regular courses had passed out and only 524 Gentlemen Cadets were commissioned, against 3,887 cadets between August 1941 and January 1946.

In order to grow additional land was brought into use and a large number of temporary structures were built, which continue to be used to this day. The two earliest residential blocks were named after the first two Commandants, Brigadiers Collins and Kingsley.

The first regular postwar course commenced on 25 February 1946. After Independence Brigadier Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO, was the first Indian Commandant. In May 1947, the Academy was visited by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. At the time of Independence the movable property of the Academy were divided between India and Pakistan. The Gentlemen Cadets who opted to go to Pakistan, left the Academy on the night of 14 October 1947. The first two generations of the officers of the Pakistan Army are products of the Indian Military Academy.
[edit] 1947 To Silver Jubilee (1957)

On 9 October 1948, the Academy received the first Indian Governor-General, His Excellency C. Rajagopalachari, and on 9 December Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister reviewed the Passing Out Parade of the first University Graduates Course.
[edit] Armed Forces Academy

During the Second World War, the inter-dependence between the three services had been realised. The Government of India, therefore, approved the creation of an Inter-Services Wing for training cadets for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force together. Thus, in January 1949, the Academy was redesignated the Armed Forces Academy, with the military wing remaining on the present campus at Prem Nagar and the Inter-Services Wing established at Clement Town. The rank of the Commandant was upgraded from that of Brigadier to Major General.
[edit] National Defence Academy

In consonance with national aspirations, the Indian Military Academy was redesignated the National Defence Academy in January 1950. The Inter-Services Wing became Joint Services Wing (JSW). The first JSW Course passed out in December 1950.
[edit] Existence as Military College

In December 1954, the Joint Services Wing moved to an entirely new campus at Khadakwasla, and along with it went its name, formation sign and the Commandant. The Indian Military Academy (then renamed the Military College) recovered its original identity and role. Brigadier Apji Randhir Singh took over as Commandant. At the end of 1956, the command of the Indian Military Academy passed from Sandhurst-trained officers to IMA-trained officers, when Brigadier M M Khanna, MVC, took over from Brigadier Apji Randhir Singh. On 10 December 1957, the Military College celebrated its Silver Jubilee which was attended by a large number of veterans.
[edit] Silver Jubilee to Golden Jubilee (1982) and name change to IMA

In 1960, the Military College was renamed the Indian Military Academy. On 10 December 1962, the second President of the Republic of India, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, presented new colours to the Indian Military Academy.

In 1963, the rank of the Commandant was again upgraded to Major General and Major General S C Pandit, VrC, took over. In 1963, due to Chinese aggression, the duration of training for regular courses was cut short and emergency courses were introduced. New accommodation was built in the Rangharwala area and on the bank of the River Tons. In August 1964, emergency courses were discontinued and regular courses reintroduced. The last emergency course passed out on 1 November 1964.

In 1974, the qualification requirement for entry to IMA for Regular Courses was raised to University degree level and the duration of training was reduced from two years to one and a half years for Direct Entry Gentleman Cadets. The four battalions of IMA were named Cariappa Battalion, Thimayya Battalion, Manekshaw Battalion and Bhagat Battalion respectively with two companies each.
[edit] Presentation of colours by Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, President of India

The fifth President of India, Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, presented new colours to IMA as a mark of appreciation. He Placed the colours into the sash of Gentlemen Cadet Senior Under Officer D S Hooda. The Sword of Honour and the Gold medal were both awarded to GC Rumel Dahiya.

In 1977, the Army Cadet College (ACC), the progeny of Kitchner College, Nowgaon, which took candidates from Other Ranks and NCO's of the Indian Army who cleared base exams to qualify for the officer course, was shifted from Pune to the IMA, Dehradun. In 1980, the rank of the Commandant was upgraded to Lieutenant General and Lieutenant General M Thomas, AVSM, VSM took over as the Commandant in December 1980. The appointment of Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor was also upgraded to the rank of Major General in July 1982 when Major General Sameer Singh Pannu was appointed with this rank. Later, other upgrades included the appointments of Commander ACC Wing and the Head of the Academic Department as Brigadiers.
[edit] Golden Jubilee celebrations

From Brigadier L P Collins, CB, DSO, OBE, ADC, to Lieutenant General Mathew Thomas, AVSM, VSM, was a journey of 50 years for the Indian Military Academy. Some of those who were reviewed as GCs by Sir Philip Chetwode, the then Commander-in-Chief India, came for the Golden Jubilee celebrations. They witnessed the Golden Jubilee Parade of 500 Gentlemen Cadets reviewed by the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. 1982 was also the year when the IMA expedition to Mounts Kamet (25,447 ft) and Abi Gamin (24,130 ft) was successfully accomplished. The team was led by Brigadier Jagjit Singh, AVSM (Bar), VSM, ably supported by Captains Bhupinder Singh and D B Thapa.

A part of the celebration was the presentation of the pistol of Lieutenant General A A K Niazi (Commander, erstwhile East Pakistan Forces, Dhaka) by Lieutenant General J S Aurora, PVSM (Retd). The pistol was presented to the Commandant to be kept in the IMA Museum.
[edit] Diamond Jubilee (1992) and thereafter

The President of India, Shri R. Venkataraman, reviewed the Passing Out Parade of the 90th Regular and 73rd Technical Graduates Courses of the IMA in the Diamond Jubilee year.

The scale of the academy's operations can be gauged from the fact that over 50,000 cadets have received commissions. This is a figure much higher than that of older academies like Duntroon, Australia.

Historically speaking, the Indian Military Academy is the archetypal military institution of the Indian subcontinent, being the first training institute of its kind in the region.

IMA completed 75 years on 01.10.2007.


A very old but very nice video on IMA -----

Note the song kadam , kadam , badaye jaa , kushi ke geet gaye jaa...... excellent rendition !!!

Another video -- a very good quality. Looks like they were trying to make a big video -- but somehow it doesnt seem incomplete.

Look at the glory of Chetwode building in this Building !!!!!!!!
Heart swells with Pride -- when i see IMA passing parade ...

Another video from NDTV good times - Rocky and Mayur -- Note i really dont like these two guys...they just dont know how to present Defence videos -- plus they are focussed more on food. However it does present some interesting tid bits --- The dinning room is a treat to watch, chetwode hall , etc.

Full video below --->

Tubaah: Rocky, Mayur at Indian Military Academy

There is one more video --- And this is the crown jewel.

A video from Lakshya movie -- They actually the oath ceremony. And to be honest i dont know of any other oath ceremony which is more beautiful.

And the best part is --- There is no mention of any religion!. this is due to the fact i am really tired of everything that is going on in the name of religion.

Another one from Lakshya -- Its a beautiful song --- They show the parade of IMA in this video --- beautiful !! Even Pakistani members can appreciate this song -- this is a armed forces song.

I will be posting more on IMA , Air force , Navy institutions.

Jai Hind !!

 

[back me up]

Counterinsurgency and Jungle Warfare School,Vairengte, Mizoram, India


The idea to set up the jungle warfare school was conceived by former Indian Army chief Field Marshal S.H.F.J. "Sam" Manekshaw some time in 1967 when the army soldiers suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the northeastern rebels who were adept at hit-and-run guerrilla strikes and ambushes, and were experts at using the thick jungle terrain to their advantage.

The Army then was only trained in conventional warfare and this type of unconventional warfare by northeast rebels was unique in its kind. Therefore, a need was felt to establish an institution, which could train the Indian soldiers in this unconventional warfare. Accordingly, in 1967, Lt Col (later Lt Gen) Mathew Thomas, established an ad-hoc Jungle Training School at Mynkre near Jowai (Shillong). The school was shifted to its present location, Vairengte and was redesignated as CIJW School on 01 May 1970.The institute finally came into being in May 1970 with Brigadier Mathew Thomas at the helm of affairs.

The crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh (then East Bengal) however prompted a temporary rethink as the academy trained the Mukti Bahini guerrillas to attack Pakistan Army strongholds. Operation Jackpot was one such operation undertaken by the rebels largely aided and planned by Indians that drove home the strength of this school. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, it returned to its primary focus of imparting serious counter-insurgency (COIN) lessons to Indian soldiers

Training methods

The training focuses on physical fitness, reflex firing techniques and tactical lessons. The module for training is practical oriented with number of lectures, discussions, case studies, sand model exercises & outdoor exercises. Live situations are painted during the outdoor exercises to judge the reaction of the soldiers at the spur of the moment. The troops are taught to live in difficult and hostile terrain, eat and sleep like the guerrillas and strike as silently as the guerrillas. The school boasts of excellent training areas, training facilities, with thirteen innovative firing ranges and an outstanding training staff who have first hand experience in fighting the insurgents and the terrorists within India.

Today, the ultra is educated, uses the Internet for gathering information, disseminating propaganda, negotiating arms deal and is familiar with hi-tech explosives.

At the same time the trainee is trained with native skills like using easily available materials in forest which can be used to devise deadly traps that can kill an elephant with nothing more than bamboos and vines. The inherent characteristic of insurgency in northeast India is its small scale, low profile activities, with the main insurgent bases located across the border. The main ideology is terrorist use hit and run tactic that are meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed by small units, which force a large deployment of armed forces to counter them. But simply deploying large force is useless as it never produces any result. Learning to operate in small teams, studying the pattern of the militants, establishing an intelligence network, knowing their traditional sanctuaries, maintaining the element of surprise, selecting the site for counter ambush, observing the discipline of when exactly to open fire, knowing field craft and jungle craft well enough to remain undetected, and improvising within a given situation, is the kind of stuff that breaks an ambush. And it’s this which is taught nowhere else better than at CIJW School.

The normal schedule is about six weeks, during which a soldier undergoes strenuous drills that make him conversant with guerrilla warfare and low-intensity conflicts.The training module is non-conventional and once a soldier undergoes training here, he can face deadly situations anywhere in the world in all-weather terrain, eat and sleep like a guerrilla and strike as silently as a guerrilla. The training module includes lectures, seminars and mock operations in the rugged jungles in Mizoram.The trainees are also exposed to media interaction, civic actions plus fraternisation, human rights and collection of intelligence and their analysis.

Soldiers undergoing a course here not only go through rigorous physical training, but also tough mental training through lectures and problems posed by the capable instructors of this school. An importance placed in the top list of this school is how to avoid collateral damage as much as possible. With precision shooting, the soldiers engage in exercises where live rounds are used to shoot down plywood terrorists inside homes and stores without hitting the civilian population.

The training imparted in this school is of such high quality that many countries all over the world have recognized this school as the only place available where their troops can receive training to combat insurgency and terrorism.

International Participation

Taking in to account the successes in combating militancy to a great extent, New Delhi in 2001 threw the school at Vairengte open for soldiers from other countries with three US army officers being the first overseas batch to be trained. After the 9/11 terror strikes in the US, the jungle warfare school at Vairengte began attracting military cadets from across the world.In 2003, a group of about 100 elite US commandos completed a three-week anti-insurgency combat training at the institute.[1] The exercise, codenamed Balance Iroquois, saw personnel of the US Special Forces undergo an intensive exercise along with soldiers from the Indian Special Forces battalion at Vairengte. Troops were trained to feed on venomous vipers, dogs and monkeys as part of military exercises to sharpen their skills in jungle survival and combat.[

Indian Army soldiers, U.S. Army Special Forces and National Security Guards soldiers trained together in Operation Yudh Abhyas[3] the forces focused on reflexive firing, ambush, jungle patrolling, survival in the jungle and "unconventional" low-intensity conflict operations (LICO).[4]

France, UK, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uganda, Vietnam[5] and Uzbekistan[6] are the latest of those who have sought India's help to train their soldiers in counter-insurgency operations at this elite facility.

 

[anathema]

Another nice video !! A very nice video from Field Marshal Manekshaw

PM review of IMA