459 Gentleman Cadets pass out of IMA

As many as 459 Gentleman Cadets (GC) passed out of India Military Academy in Dehradun on Saturday. Among them, 382 were Indian while 77 from friendly foreign countries. Among the Indians, 72 were from Uttar Pradesh while among the foreign GCs, maximum 45 were from Afghanistan.

The passing out parade was reviewed by General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Command, Lt Gen Cherish Mathson. Addressing the GCs at IMA’s Chetwode drill square, he urged them “To be always ready to protect the nation and its constitution from the threats, including insurgents and terrorists.”

Among the GCs, there were two identical twin brothers and two childhood friends who redefined brethren and camaraderie by passing out together from IMA as newly commissioned officers of Indian army.

Childhood friends Sudarshan and Varun were a little upset that now they would have to part their ways after 11-year long journey together.

Sudarshan who hails from Karnataka’s Bijapur district met his friend Varun, a resident of Karnataka’s Raichur district when they got enrolled in Sainik School, Bijapur.

“We both met in class 6 and became friends. Then eventually we became bench-mates from class 6 to class 12. After that we prepared for National Defence Academy (NDA) together and got enrolled there in 2015,” said Sudarshan.

Varun, who claimed that he is the first army officer from his district in the last 17 years, said, “As we were together during schooling, both of us were motivated to join the army. However, now that the training is over, we have to part due to postings in separate regiments.”

He, however, remained hopeful that they would meet again and said, “We are hopeful that we will get a posting in the same area in future.”

First Published: Jun 09, 2019 12:26 IST