India’s oldest military school celebrates its centenary!

Known as the cradle of warriors, the Dehradun-based Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) turns 100 years old today. There are six service chiefs from the institution – General KS Thimayya, Gen GG Bewoor, Gen VN Sharma, Air Chief Marshal NC Suri, Gen S Padmanabhan, and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, along with 41 Army Commanders and equivalent, and 163 Lt. Generals.

RIMC graduates were instrumental in the Balakot Operations after World War II, and their contributions have been lauded. The British Indian Army’s officer cadre began being Indianized in 1922 when the then Prince of Wales, now King Edward VIII, inaugurated the military training institution for Indian youth.

Afterwards, the Prince of Wales told the 37 cadets, ‘It is the first few blows on the anvil of life that make a human weapon strong and temperate. This will enable him to overcome the trials of life’. Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) in 1922. The Prince also referred to the old Indian tradition of Guru and Chela.

The governor of Uttarakhand will be the chief guest at a grand ceremony commemorating the intuition’s centennial year on Sunday morning. A stamp will be released as part of the celebrations. A book titled ‘Bal- Vivek’ authored by cadets will also be done along with it. A historical compendium will also be released, which will put the college’s history into perspective. The alumni, known as Rimcollians, will be in full force. RIMC is the premier feeder institute for the prestigious National Defence Academy and Naval Academy, Ezhimala.

The college has students ranging in age from 11½ to 18 years, and they are selected through an All India Competitive Examination. The RIMC selects 250 students per state, strictly on merit through a written examination, an interview, and a medical examination. Not only in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh, many high-ranking officers have graduated from the institution. In Pakistan, General Gul Hassankhan, the last commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, and two Pak Air chiefs, Air Marshal Asghar Khan and Air Marshal Nur Khan, have graduated from the institute.