Rashtriya Indian Military College

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RIMC
Bal Vivek (Strength and Conscience)
Location
Dehradun IND
Information
Founder	Prince of Wales Edward VIII
Enrollment	250
Gender	Boys
Age	12 to 18
Type	Public School Run by the Government of India
Grades	Class 8 - 12
Campus size	138-acre (0.56 km²)
Colour(s)	Light Blue & Dark Blue
Established	1922
Former pupils	Rimcollians
Sections	Chandragupta, Pratap, Ranjit and Shivaji
Homepage	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. 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.

Contents 1 History 2 The School 3 Alumni 4 External links 5 See also 6 References

[edit] 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.^[1]

It was then located on the premises of the erstwhile Imperial Cadet Corps (also called Rajwada Camp), set amidst 138 acres (0.56 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.

[edit] The School

The school is spread over some 134 acres (0.54 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 [1], 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.^[4]

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.

[edit] 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 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 era India.

General K.S.Thimayya, General GG Bewoor, General Vishwa Nath Sharma, Air Marshal Asghar Khan (Pakistan Air Force), Air Chief Marshal NC 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.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Admissions
• Alumni

[edit] See also

• Rimcollians
• National Defence Academy (India)

[edit] References