Bhartesh Singh Thakur

“The victory in World War II was a triumph for the concept of the complete integration of the three dimensions of war — ground, sea and air… The great lesson for the future is that success in the art of war depends upon a complete integration of the Services.”

General Douglas MacArthur,

Commander of Allied forces in

Southwest Pacific Theatre

IT was a chilly morning on January 6, 1949. At 6.30 am, DS Sabhiki was the first cadet to report at the makeshift Joint Services Wing (JSW) academy in Clement Town, Dehradun. The barracks which housed Italian prisoners of war during World War II were spruced up for the first batch of JSW. Over four days, close to 190 cadets reported — 144 for the Army, 25 for the Navy and 21 for the Air Force. Among them were SF Rodrigues, NC Suri and L Ramdas, who later became chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy, respectively. Their batchmates RM Vohra, Hanut Singh and KS Pannu won the Maha Vir Chakra in the 1971 war. Sabhiki rose to the rank of Air Marshal and returned as Commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA), his alma mater, in 1988.

Setting up a joint training academy to bring about synergy among the three arms of military was a significant lesson World War II taught the strategists. On May 2, 1945, a committee was formed under the chairmanship of the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Claude J Auchinleck, to examine the viability of training officers of the Army, Air Force and Navy together. There was no such institution across the world at the time.

Events lined up till January next year

• NDA has initiated a year-long series of events under ‘75 Glorious Year Celebrations (GYC)’ from January 16, 2023. Some of the events include ‘Open Sailing Regatta’, ‘Superdimona Ferry’, drawing, painting and poetry competitions, and the inter-school competition ‘WIZQUIZ’.
• The celebrations will culminate in a grand finale on January 15 and 16, 2024, where alumni are also invited. Activities on both days would include a leadership seminar, ceremonial events, sporting activities involving alumni and cadets, and cultural evenings.

The committee worked on the idea for 16 months. After Auchinleck left India following Partition, the idea was put on the back burner. The report was finally referred to the Chiefs of Staff Committee in 1947. An interim JSW at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, was given the go-ahead while a plan for a permanent war academy at Khadakwasla in Pune was envisioned. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone of the NDA on October 6, 1949.

Three eminent educationists and a representative from each of the three Services visited military training institutions in the UK, USA and Canada. The Indian Military Academy was modelled along the lines of Sandhurst (UK) but the NDA was largely influenced by the US Military Academy at West Point.

Gift from Sudan

The Sudanese government had gifted £1,00,000 to Lord Linlithgow, then Viceroy of India (1936-1944), for a war memorial to commemorate the sacrifices of the Indian troops for the liberation of Sudan during World War II. The corpus was utilised to build the Sudan block at the NDA. The Sudan block resembles a field gun of the Army. On one side of it is the Vyas Library that appears like an anchor, and on the other, Habibullah Hall that is shaped like an aircraft.

On January 16, 1955, the NDA was formally inaugurated. The book ‘National Defence Academy: The Cradle of Military Leadership’ mentions that Khadakwasla was chosen for its “salubrious climatic conditions, suitability of terrain for military training, proximity to the Arabian Sea, the existence of an operational airfield at Lohegaon, vicinity of military establishments and the presence of a lake nearby”. Spread over 6,720 acres, NDA is situated with Sinhgad Fort (Lion’s Fort) in the backdrop.

More than 38,000 cadets have been trained into scholar-warriors at the NDA so far, along with over 1,000 cadets from friendly foreign countries.

Milestones

October 6, 1949: PM Jawaharlal Nehru lays the foundation stone of NDA

January 16, 1955: NDA is formally inaugurated

June 5, 1955: First Passing-Out Parade takes place at Khadakwasla, attended by PM Nehru

May 30, 1959: Sudan block unveiled

December 16, 1978: President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy presents colours to NDA in recognition of 30 years of service

September 22, 2021: Supreme Court orders Centre to admit women cadets from the current session

Unique jointmanship

Air Marshal KS Gill (retd), who served as the Commandant of NDA from 2013-14, describes it as a unique academy premised on the solid foundation of academic and service training. “The education branch caters to 70 per cent of the training and offers graduation courses, along with a degree in BTech. The adaptability trait and constantly-evolving patterns of academics define NDA’s vision towards jointmanship.”

Air Marshal Jasjit Singh Kler (retd), who served as the Commandant of NDA from 2016-2018, agrees that only the physical regimen has not been diluted since it directly impacts the mental strength of the cadets. “In my heyday, we were not tech-savvy but now we produce scholar-warriors — the tip of the spear.”

On what makes NDA passouts stand out as officers, Air Marshal Gill says the proof of the pudding is in the way the young officers fought from the front in 1971 and in Kargil. “Our brave soldiers have demonstrated the academy motto ‘service before self’ during the testing times — each time, every time.”

Gallantry awards for NDA alumni
Param Vir Chakra	3
Ashok Chakra	12
Maha Vir Chakra	32
Kirti Chakra	45
Shaurya Chakra	152
Vir Chakra	163

On comparisons with foreign armies, Air Marshal Kler says, “Our ability to lead from the front in any battle scenario makes us stand out. Officers of the Indian armed forces tower head and shoulders above the rest with their traits of ethos, commitment, courage, the ‘izzat’ of the regiment, and the adulation of the men they command.”

The inclusion of women cadets does not surprise the veterans. “As of today, 38 are being trained. They were able to make a smooth entry due to the embracing approach and adaptability trait of NDA,” says Gill. It was inevitable, adds Kler. “Despite the hullabaloo, the girls will only add to the essence of our armed forces and give us strength. Of course, their exposure in combat will be a graded response.”

Lt Gen KJ Singh (retd), former Army Commander, Western Command, recalls the Passing-Out Parade (POP), or the lack of it, of his 50th course (1973). “It was a larger course, 300-plus. We had the dubious record of graduating without the POP, as there was a storm. Our Commandant, Rear Admiral MP Awati, in his usual cool style, remarked, ‘When you have an Admiral at the helm, water and sea will come to you.’ POP or no POP, that day is etched in our memory.”

Gruelling training

A typical day for a cadet starts at 4.30 am and by 10.30 pm, he or she has to go to sleep. Retired Junior Warrant Officer Pradip Mallick was the Physical Training Instructor at NDA from 2003 to 2008. “If a cadet is not physically fit, he can’t be mentally fit. There is no shortcut for moulding young cadets from various backgrounds into fighting-fit officers strong in every field. Instructors have to work equally hard and give extra time to weak cadets.”

He recalls how Ground Training Instructors from the Air Force had to undergo a three-month course at the Army School of Physical Training in Pune before imparting training at NDA. “Only the best instructors are posted at training centres.”

On moulding 18-year-olds, Maj Gen Raj Mehta (retd), who served as an instructor at NDA from 1981-1984 as a Captain/Major, says, “You need to become a child to teach a child. How would you teach a cadet to face life’s challenges? You have to emphasise taking challenges as serious fun. In the end, it’s mental strength which makes you succeed. For that, you need patience and you only learn from mistakes.”

Citing an example, he says, “You are facing bullets. A task has to be completed with minimum loss and maximum gain. Your bullet has to hit the enemy, and you have to dodge his bullet. There may be other ways to make him surrender. Now, it is a mental thing and not a physical one. A soldier in the end will say that his best friend was the failures he experienced.”

On reporting to the NDA, a cadet is allotted one of the 18 squadrons which then becomes his/her home for the next three years. Admiral Sunil Lanba (retd), former Chief of Naval Staff, is from the 51st course of NDA. “My favourite memory,” he says, “was being part of the Golf Squadron. There were 15 of us who joined together. If any of us made a mistake, all 15 used to be punished. Such was the bonding.”