NDA’s Diamond Jubilee: 75 Years Of Unmatched Military Glory

On Tuesday, the National Defense Academy (NDA) marked its 75th anniversary. The NDA has trained world-class military leaders for the Indian Armed Forces. Since it opened in 1954, the school has been a place where military leaders have been trained together to fight the complicated, technology-driven wars that the country has been fighting with its neighbors since it became independent.

General Anil Chauhan, the chief of defense staff (CDS) from the 58th course of the NDA, gave his farewell speech at Habibullah Hall. He said, “I joined the NDA 46 years ago as a 16-year-old boy straight from school who had no military background.” That’s when we saw the movie “Cradle of Leadership.” I think the NDA is more than just a “cradle of leadership” now that it’s been 46 years. There is more to it than just a school for military soldiers.

It was like a classroom where boys grew up to be men and now women too, he said.

“It’s a furnace where we make steel.” It is a place where rough stone is turned into a diamond. It’s a place where aimless teens can learn how to become focused leaders. That’s where we turn young people into trained troops. It’s where we turn cadets into gentlemen, and now it’s girls. It is a seminary where we teach religion and support for our country. This is also a place where we learn to value differences. “The bonds we made will last forever,” General Chauhan said.

A lot of active and retired soldiers agreed with them.

Major General VK Madhok (retd), who is 92 years old and was in the first course of the former Joint Services Wing (JSW), was the most senior soldier in the group.

The packed hall erupted with cheers when the nonagenarian got up to announce himself.

“It is a special feeling being the proud cadet of the first course of the NDA,” he shared.

The first course is very important to the past of the academy. For the first time in Indian military history, three chiefs of army, navy, and air force were in the same class. General SF Rodrigues, who died in 2022, Air Chief Marshal (retd) NC Suri, and Admiral L Ramdas (retd) were all from the first course.

It just so happens that the present chiefs are also classmates and will be celebrating 75 years of the academy.

“This achievement is proof that the NDA is the cradle of military leadership,” said Air Chief Marshal NC Suri (retd), who was head of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1991 to 1993.

Cadets feel like they belong, bond, and are one with their alma school during their three years of formative years at the academy.

Sharing meals and training together builds friendship, which will be the foundation of future cooperation between services.

The student gets the comfort of a crowd, the strength of a team, and the bargaining power of a group when he merges his identity with those of others. “This trait of loyalty helps him a lot when things get tough,” a top officer said.

One thing that makes the NDA stand out is that it was the first school in the world to teach future officers from all three services how to work together, which was very important on the battlefield during World War II.

The founding fathers of the NDA were told to create a National War Academy similar to USMA and West Point. The Amarnath Jha Committee, which was set up in 1945, was in charge of making this plan a reality.