Dehradun: A total of 401 gentleman passed out of Indian Military Academy (IMA) here in a colourful Passing Out Parade, as rose petals were showered from a chopper, carpeting the institutes’s tarmac drill square.
Addressing the gentlemen cadets after reviewing a colourful Passing Out Parade performed by them, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Narinder Pal Singh Hira said they were privileged to have trained at the IMA considered the best in the field and asked them to make optimum use of the skills learnt here in serving the country.
Reminding them that the IMA alumni had served the country in various wars including the 1971 conflict with Pakistan and the Kargil war, he asked the gentlemen cadets to draw inspiration from them and be ready to sacrifice everything for the country.
“You walk into the footsteps of officers who served the country with great courage in 1962 war and the subsequent wars fought in 1965, 1971 and the Kargil war.You should draw inspiration from them. IMA instills the best qualities in its cadets and you should try to make optimum use of them in serving your country,” he said.
Noting that infiltration bids from across the country s western borders continue, he said India has always given a “befitting reply to such attempts and will continue to do so.”
He said some countries may be better than India in terms of military equipment but no army in the world can match the Indian troops in bravery, discipline and military skills.
“The Indian troops enjoy a qualitative edge over their counterparts anywhere in the world because of their capabilities,” he said.
The Sword of Honour went to Academy Under Officer Pratyush Mohanty and the Gold medal to Academy Cadet Adjutant Malla Rajagopal Naidu.
Out of the 401 gentlemen cadets the maximum 77 are from Uttar Pradesh, 46 from Haryana, 29 from Uttarakhand, 28 from Bihar and 26 from Rajasthan.
PTI
