Commandant of the Indian Military Academy


The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general or above. There is no minimum, nor maximum term of service in this position, though in practice commandants have served anywhere from a few months to 4 years in the position.

History

General Philip Chetwode chose Brig LP Collins as the first commandant. Brig LP Collins had the task of first acquiring the campus from the railways in Dehradun, and then converting it into an army training institution, taking ten months to do so. On 1 October 2019, the raising day, Brig LP Collins issued a Special Order of the Day "The Indian Military Academy opens with effect from today ."
There were a total of 5 British commandants including Brig LP Collins, after which Brig Thakur Mahadeo Singh was appointed as the first Commandant of Indian descent post-independence in 1947. Brig Thakur Mahadeo Singh was followed by Maj Gen KS Thimayya who became the first IMA Commandant to go on to become the Chief of Army Staff in India. Brigadier M.M. Khanna was the first alumni of IMA alumni to be appointed Commandant.
Following a recommendation in 1983 by the Ministry of Defence the need was felt that cadets needed to know about application of science in weaponry. Lt Gen Mathew Thomas and all following commandants took note of these changes and implemented them. Lt Gen M Thomas also suggested a change in syllabus, proposing new computer focused teaching methods as well as further emphasis on advanced training. This included sending cadets to the High Altitude Warfare School and the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School among other things. Commandant Lt Gen Himmeth Singh appreciated the difficulties of modern warfare, but emphasized the human factor. His outline of teaching is as follows:

Commandants

There have been a total of 48 Commandants so far:
#StartEndRank/NameReferences
119321936Brig Lionel Peter Collins
219361939Brig Harold Kingsley
319391942Brig KD EL Young
419421944Brig JK Jones
519441947Brig AB Barltrop
619471950Maj Gen Thakur Mahadeo
719501951Maj Gen KS Thimayya
819511953Maj Gen MS Wadalia
919531954Maj Gen E Habibullah
1019541956Brig Apji Randhir Singh
1119561958Brig MM Khanna
1219581959Brig Gobinder Singh
1319601962Brig ND Nanavati
1419621963Brig PS Bhagat
1519631964Maj Gen SC Pandit
1619641966Maj Gen K Zorawar Singh
1719661967Maj Gen JT Sataravala
1819671969Maj Gen D K Palit
1919691972Maj Gen Rajindra Prasad
2019721974Maj Gen IC Katoch
2119741975Maj Gen BR Prabhu
2219751976Maj Gen SC Sinha
2319761979Maj Gen GS Rawat
2419791980Maj Gen Rajendra Nath
2519801983Lt Gen M Thomas
2619831984Lt Gen Himmeth Singh
2719841986Lt Gen BB Sehgal
2819861986Lt Gen SS Brar
2919861988Lt Gen VP Gupta
3019881990Lt Gen NPS Bal
3119901991Lt Gen YS Tomar
3219911991Lt Gen MA Zaki
3319911994Lt Gen JC Pant
3419941996Lt Gen Inder Verma
3519961998Lt Gen AS Sandhu
3619981999Lt Gen MA Gurbaxani Sahi
3719992001Lt Gen Yuvraj Mehta
3820012003Lt Gen TS Shergill
3920032004Lt Gen GS Negi
4020042006Lt Gen KK Khanna
4120062008Lt Gen PK Rampal
4220082011Lt Gen R. Singh Sujlana
4320112015Lt Gen Manvender Singh
4420152015Lt Gen BS Negi
4520162016Lt Gen SK Saini
4620162017Lt Gen SK Upadhya
4720182018Lt Gen S K Saini
482018IncumbentLt. Gen Sanjay Kumar Jha