Rashtriya Indian Military College

Infobox School
name = RIMC


imagesize = 200px
caption =
motto = "Bal Vivek"
("Strength and Conscience")
motto_pl =
founder = Prince of Wales Edward VIII
established = 1922
type = Public School
Run by the Government of India
affiliation =
grades = Class 8 - 12
president =
principal =
head_label = Commandant
head of school =
dean =
faculty =
staff =
enrollment = 250
gender = Boys
lower_age = 12
upper_age = 18
free_label_2 = Sections
free_2 = Chandragupta, Pratap, Ranjit and Shivaji
colours = Light Blue & Dark Blue
campus type =
campus size = convert|138|acre|km2|sing=on
location = Dehradun
country = IND
free_label_1 = Former pupils
free_1 = Rimcollians
information =
website = http://www.rimc.org

The Rashtriya Indian Military College or the RIMC is a prestigious public school for boys situated in the beautiful Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The original name of the school was Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College but it was re-named after 1947. The RIMC enjoys a great tradition as a feeder institution for the National Defence Academy and subsequently the Indian Armed Forces. Rimcollians, the name by which alumni of the RIMC are usually denoted, have gone on to hold the highest ranks in the Army, Navy and the Air Force of India and Pakistan.

History

The RIMC was established in 1922 by the British Empire for training native Indian cadets for an entry into the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst to then be trained as officers of the British Indian Army. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales Edward VIII inaugurated the school on the 13th of March, 1922 and the school was called the "Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College". ["The Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun, was established in 1922....", Page 223, Defence Organisation in India, By A. L. Venkateswaran, Published 1967, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting]

It was then located on the premises of the erstwhile Imperial Cadet Corps (also called Rajwada Camp), set amidst convert|138|acre|km2 of lush green countryside adjacent to the Garhi Village in Dehradun Cantonment. The purpose of the school was to provide boys with suitable education and training to ensure a high success rate for the Indians being sent to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst as part of the Empire's policy to make the officer cadre of the Indian Army more indigenous. RIMC was thus conceptualized as a feeder institution to Sandhurst along the lines of an English public school. ["RIMC, whether it was to prepare the boys for the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the Joint Services Wing or the National Defence Academy, has always stood as the premier feeder institution", Page 3, Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College, By Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra, Contributor Rashtriya Indian Military College, Published 1997 by Allied Publishers, ISBN 8170236495] The British believed that public school education was particularly necessary for Indian boys to make them suitable for the rigors and discipline of Army life.

For the RIMC, the original government order had appointed a military commandant of the rank of Lt Colonel, a civilian headmaster, senior or junior British Masters and Indian Masters. The first commandant was Lt Col H.L. Houghton of the Sikh Regiment, who took charge of the college on February 22, 1922. JGC Scott was appointed headmaster and the first group of British masters were JM Allen, CA Phillips and Kitter-master. The first mess contractors were MS Hazir and Co and the mess staff consisted mostly of Goans. Later the mess was taken over by the Army Service Corps. Hira Lal Atal was the first Cadet Captain and later as Adjutant General of the Indian Union, Major General Hira Lal Atal designed India’s highest award for bravery in combat, the Param Vir Chakra. Among the early cadets were K.S. Thimayya, Asghar Khan and others, who had illustrious military careers. [Pages 22 and 23, Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College, By Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra, Contributor Rashtriya Indian Military College, Published 1997 by Allied Publishers, ISBN 8170236495]

After India gained independence in 1947, the school continued to serve its purpose of nurturing talented young men to become a part of the Indian Armed Forces. The major difference is that instead of serving as a feeder institution to the RMA, RIMC now serves the NDA, which is in turn the feeder institution for the Indian Military Academy.

The School

The school is spread over some convert|134|acre|km2 and educates about 250 cadets at any point of time. Candidates for the school are selected from all over India through a national level competitive exam, the RIMC Entrance Exam [http://www.rimc.org/admission.as] , which is held twice a year in each state. Successful candidates in the entrance exam have to go through a medical fitness test to be admitted to the school. Every year about 50 students are selected in two intakes from all over India and admitted into Standard VIII at the RIMC.

The RIMC in 1922 was planned and run on the lines of English public school - Wellock College, a feeder to Sandhurst. The 37 cadets forming the first batch were divided into three Houses, called Sections at the RIMC, known as Rawlinson, Roberts and Kitchener after the three Commander-in-Chiefs of India. Hira Lal Atal was appointed the first College Cadet Captain with Ali Asghar Khan, Tara Singh and Sheikh Hussain the first Section Commanders, or House Captains, of the three Sections. In 1948, the names of the three sections were changed to Pratap, Ranjit and Shivaji from Rawlinson, Roberts and Kitchener respectively. The new names represented the three great Indian warriors Maharana Pratap, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Chhatrapati Shivaji. Strength of the College increased significantly to lead to a situation in 1960 as a result of which it was decided to keep the new entrants in a Holding Section to give them a chance to settle down. However in 1965, the strength of the College rose to 200 and it became necessary to turn the Holding Section into a new House, which was called the Chandragupta Section after the great Indian Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. [Page 30, Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College, By Bikram Singh, Sidharth Mishra, Contributor Rashtriya Indian Military College, Published 1997 by Allied Publishers, ISBN 8170236495]

Cadets at the RIMC follow the Indian Central Board of School Education curriculum over the next 5 years and take part in a wide range of extracurricular activities that bring out the traits of honesty, integrity, good character, truthfulness, camaraderie and leadership in them. A cadet, during his stay at the RIMC, gets a full glimpse of the life of an Indian Army Officer. Popular games that students participate in during their stay at the RIMC are hockey, football, cricket, basketball, squash, boxing, swimming, athletics and gymnastics. Horse riding and Rifle shooting are other activities that are very popular among the cadets. After the cadets complete the 12th grade, they graduate from the RIMC and most of them go on to join the Indian Armed Forces by entering the National Defence Academy, Pune. The cadets then spend 3 years at the NDA with other selected students from the rest of the country and eventually get commissioned as officers in the Indian Armed Forces.

Alumni

Alumni of the RIMC are known as "Rimcollians". Rimcollians have held very high positions in the Armed Forces, many becoming the Chiefs of Staff in the Indian and Pakistani Armed Forces. The cadets currently enrolled at RIMC are known as "Rimcos" to distinguish them from the alumni. A rare distinction of the RIMC is that some of its alumni have also headed the Armed Forces of Pakistan, a feat made possible by Rimcollians of the pre-partition Subcontinent era.

General K.S.Thimayya, General GG Bewoor, General Vishwa Nath Sharma, Maj General M. Anwar Khan (Pakistan Army Engineers), Lt. General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (Pakistan Army), Air Marshal Asghar Khan (Pakistan Air Force), Air Chief Marshal N.C. Suri, Air Marshal Nur Khan (Pakistan Air Force), General S. Padmanabhan are some of the highest ranked officers produced by the RIMC. Various gallantry awards have been awarded to Rimcollians over the years including the Victoria Cross to Lt Gen PS Bhagat, Distinguished Service Order to Gen KS Thimayya and the Param Vir Chakra to Major Som Nath Sharma.

Many cadets have earned the "Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card" for extraordinary achievements like mountaineering during their tenure at the school itself. The school has an excellent alumni network by means of the Rimcollian Old Boys Association (ROBA). The alumni also have a few mailing groups on the internet through which they regularly interact. The bonding and camaraderie among the Rimcollians is legendary and they are known to look out for chances to help each other out through thick and thin.

External links

* [http://www.rimc.org/ Official website ]
* [http://www.rimc.org/admission.as Admissions]
* [http://www.rimcollians.org/ Alumni]

ee also

*Rimcollians
*National Defence Academy (India)

References