427 cadets pass out from IMA
51 cadets are from Haryana, 15 from Himachal Pradesh, 14 from Punjab and 12 from J&K
DEHRADUN: Four hundred and twenty seven gentleman cadets (GC) including 347 Indians and 80 from seven friendly countries passed out from Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Chetwode Drill Square on Saturday.
The parade was reviewed by vice chief of army staff (VCOAS), Lt Gen Devraj Anbu.
Among the Indian GCS, 306 were from 143rd Regular Course while remaining 41 were from 126th Technical Graduate Course. One hundred and thirty nine GCS of the 306 had come to IMA for training from National Defence Academy, Pune.
This year 53 cadets were from Uttar Pradesh followed by 51 from Haryana, 36 from Bihar, 26 from Uttarakhand, 25 from Delhi, 20 from Maharashtra , 15 from Himachal Pradesh, 14 from Punjab, 12 from Jammu and Kashmir, 10 from Madhya Pradesh and eight from West Bengal.
The sword of honour and gold medal were conferred to GC Arjun Thakur from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh.the 80 foreign gentlemen cadets who passed out of the academy represented seven nations -- Afghan stan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Vietnam with maximum from Afghanistan (49), followed by 15 from Bhutan and five each from Maldives and Tajikistan.
After reviewing the parade, Lt Gen Anbu congratulated the GCS on successful completion of the course.addressing the GCS who got commissioned in the Army, he asked them to “serve the men and women under them with dedication and leadership qualities imbibed during their training at IMA.” Speaking on the question of putting the army’s women officers in combat role, he said, “The army is taking gradual steps in that regard. Several aspects are to be considered before deploying the women officers at the difficult terrains.”
Quizzed on the politicising of the surgical strikes, he said, “The army is always ready to give a befitting reply to any misadventure.” After conclusion of the parade, a pipping ceremony was held at Somnath stadium of the IMA.