The 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun passed by relatively unnoticed and unfeted earlier this month. A positive step towards the Indianisation of the Indian Army officer corps at the time, the recent developments on the replacement of colonial heritage of the Army seems to have a dampening effect on the event.
It is pertinent at this juncture to share the findings of a research into the archives dealing with IMA. It revealed a letter dated January 18, 1932, issued by the General Staff Branch of the Army Headquarters addressed to the HQs Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western Commands and Burma (Independent) District. The letter informs that the title of the Indian Military College shall be ‘Indian Military Academy’ and that it shall be opened on October 1, 1932.
The initial intake had 15 cadets from open competition (including two nominations of Commander-in-Chief) and 15 from the ranks in the Army. The civilian cadets were Agha Abdul Hamid Khan, Mohammad Hussein, Dewan Ranjit Rai, Kumar Bhagwati Singh, Mirza Hamid Hussein, Sam Manekshaw, Kanhayya Lal Atal, Nripendra Singh Bhagat, Ehsan Qadir, Mohammad Afzal Khan, Harbhajan Singh Dhindsa, George Shabaz Issac, Mohammad Habibullah Khatak, Amar Nath Kashyap and Melville De Mello.
Sam Manekshaw went on to become the Chief of Army Staff and Field Marshal while Melville De Mello, who was commissioned in the Punjab Regiment, left Army early in career to become a very successful announcer on the All India Radio. Habibullah Khatak rose to the rank of Lt Gen in Pakistan Army and, when in India, he chose the Lions of Sarnath as the regimental crest for the Bihar Regiment. His son, Ali Kuli Khan Khattak also rose to become a Lt Gen in Pakistan Army. Bhagwati Singh passed first in seniority of the course and was given the commission number IC-1. His son Admiral Madhvendra Singh was the Chief of Naval Staff of Indian Navy.
Kanhayya Lal Atal rose to Brigadier and earned a Maha Vir Chakra while commanding a brigade in J&K in the 1948 war and would have risen further had he not met an untimely death in 1949. His elder brother Hira Lal Atal had passed out from Sandhurst and rose to be a Maj Gen. Nripendra Singh Bhagat was the elder brother of Lt Gen Premendra Singh Bhagat and was also a Sapper. A third brother, Brijendra, also elder to PS Bhagat, too had joined the Army and had been commissioned in Signals. He later joined the Indian National Army (INA) and was among the officers who were out to trial by the British following their capture.
Among the Indian Army personnel below officers rank who were selected as cadets for the first course at IMA were Dafadar Shingar Singh (PAVO Cavalry), Dafadar Ranbir Singh (16th Light Cavalry), Dafadar Mohammad Zamurrad Khan (Central India Horse), Naik Makhan Singh (Signals), Naik Mohammad Musa (Hazara Pioneers), Havildar Kuldip Singh (1/2 Punjab Regiment), Lance Naik Inder Singh (5/2 Punjab Regiment), Jemadar Dharampal Sen (1/7 Rajput Regiment), Jemadar Omrao Bahadur (1/4 Bombay Grenadiers), Lance Naik Gulzar Ahmad (1/10 Baluch Regiment), Lance Naik Mohan Singh (2/14 Punjab Regiment), Lance Naik Pritam Singh (5/14 Punjab Regiment), Jemadar Smith Dun (2/20 Burma Rifles) and Naik Ali Ashraf Khan (11/1 Punjab Regiment).
Out of these, Mohammad Musa rose to become Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army while Smith Dun was the Chief of Burmese Army. The service cadets were understandably in higher age bracket as compared to the civilian cadets because of the military service already rendered. Mohan Singh went on to become famous as the man who raised the INA.
There was considerable brainstorming in the Army Headquarters and the Secretary Military Department, India Office, London on the issue of antedate seniority to the IMA cadets upon their passing out so as to maintain parity with the cadets who passed out of military colleges in UK.
The questions under considerations were whether the commissions of Indian Commissioned Officers should be antedated to compensate them for the difference between the duration of the courses at the IMA and those at colleges in UK. The course at RMC Sandhurst was of duration of one and half years while that of IMA was two and a half years at the time. Also, whether Indian Army cadets who pass out of IMA should be allowed to count previous service for promotion, service and pension. It was also debated whether the Indian Army cadets while at the IMA should count as continuous service, following service before admission to the academy, for the purpose of reckoning seniority.
