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 (three star equivalent) 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 Brigadier L. P. Collins of the 4th Gurkhas as the first commandant. 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 1932, the raising day, 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 Collins, after which Brigadier Thakur Mahadeo Singh was appointed as the first Indian Commandant of IMA in 1947. Thakur Mahadeo Singh was followed by Major General K. S. Thimayya who became the first IMA Commandant to go on to become the Chief of Army Staff in India. Brigadier M. M. Khanna, who was appointed in 1956, was the first alumnus of IMA 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. Lieutenant General Mathew Thomas and all following commandants took note of these changes and implemented them. 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 Lieutenant General 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 49 Commandants so far: #StartEndRank/NameReferences119321936Brig Lionel Peter Collins219361939Brig Harold Kingsley319391942Brig KD EL Young419421944Brig JK Jones519441947Brig Adrian B. Barltrop619471950Maj Gen Thakur Mahadeo Singh719501951Maj Gen KS Thimayya819511953Maj Gen MS Wadalia919531954Maj Gen Enaith Habibullah1019541956Brig Apji Randhir Singh1119561958Brig MM Khanna1219581959Brig Gobinder Singh1319601962Brig ND Nanavati1419621963Brig PS Bhagat1519631964Maj Gen SC Pandit1619641966Maj Gen K Zorawar Singh1719661967Maj Gen JT Sataravala1819671969Maj Gen D K Palit1919691972Maj Gen Rajindra Prasad2019721974Maj Gen IC Katoch2119741975Maj Gen BR Prabhu2219751976Maj Gen SC Sinha2319761979Maj Gen GS Rawat2419791980Maj Gen Rajendra Nath2519801983Lt Gen M Thomas2619831984Lt Gen Himmeth Singh2719841986Lt Gen BB Sehgal2819861986Lt Gen SS Brar2919861988Lt Gen VP Gupta3019881990Lt Gen NPS Bal3119901991Lt Gen YS Tomar3219911991Lt Gen MA Zaki3319911994Lt Gen JC Pant3419941996Lt Gen Inder Verma3519961998Lt Gen AS Sandhu3619981999Lt Gen MA Gurbaxani Sahi3719992001Lt Gen Yuvraj Mehta3820012003Lt Gen TS Shergill3920032004Lt Gen GS Negi4020042006Lt Gen KK Khanna4120062008Lt Gen PK Rampal4220082011Lt Gen R. Singh Sujlana4320112015Lt Gen Manvender Singh4420152015Lt Gen Balwant Singh Negi4520162016Lt Gen Satinder Kumar Saini4620162017Lt Gen Santosh Kumar Upadhya4720182018Lt Gen Satinder Kumar Saini4820182020Lt Gen Sanjay Kumar Jha49August 2020Sept 2020Lt Gen Jaiveer Singh Negi50October 2020August 2022Lt Gen Harinder Singh51September 2022January 2024Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Mishra 52February 2024May 2025Lt Gen Sandeep Jain53June 2025Till dateLt Gen Nagendra Singh
See also Commandant of the National Defence College Commandant of the National Defence Academy Commandant of Indian Naval Academy Commandant of the Air Force Academy
References
Bibliography