Then General and later Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw with the award-winning cadets of the 39th course of the NDA on December 12, 1970. Veteran alumni of the 39th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, a batch that had the privilege of getting baptised into the 1971 war immediately upon commissioning, will be meeting at their alma mater on December 15 and 16 for the golden jubilee celebrations of their passing out, which were postponed due to the pandemic.
The cadets of the 39th course of the NDA had passed out of the premier tri-services academy on December 12, 1970, when legendary General later Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw was the reviewing officer for the Passing Out Parade (POP) marking the culmination of the three-year training.
The passing out 39th course comprised 242 cadets – 155 Army, 37 Navy, and 50 Air Force. A note issued by the coursemates ahead of their gathering in Pune says that during the interaction with Field Marshal Manekshaw on the sidelines of their passing out parade, the cadets had the privilege to hear from him his operational exploits during the Burma Campaign in the 1940s, where he, as a captain and serving with the 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross on the spot, for his exceptional courage and bravery in face of the enemy.
The note states that thanks to General Manekshaw’s vision, the Army cadets of this course were commissioned at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on November 14, 1971, about five weeks before the scheduled date of the passing out parade in December 1971, so as to be with their respective units in time to join the war.
With the war having commenced on December 3, 1971, a large number of officers from the course, still in their late teens, actively participated in the operations in Eastern Theatre, then East Pakistan, taking part in operationally significant battles such as the battles along Akhaura-Ashuganj-Dhaka axis, Bandar-Narayanganj axis, the famous airborne operations by the parachute battalion, and the fall of Dhaka, besides operations in the Western Theatre.
“With the deepest respect, the course remembers and salutes its dear course mates, MPS Chaudhary and RM Naresh who made the supreme sacrifice defending the honour of their motherland. They were not the only ones who the course lost along the way. Brigadier Balwinder Shergill, a daredevil and courageous officer, was killed in action while commanding a Rashtriya Rifles formation in Kashmir Valley in 2000, during the peak period of Pakistan-sponsored insurgency and terrorism,” the note reads.
As a mark of respect and to honour the sacrifices and services of those of coursemates no longer with them, all veterans of the course and their wives would pay homage to them at the famous Hut of Remembrance at the NDA.
The course members have risen to prestigious higher ranks like the Chief of Air Staff, one Vice-Chief of Air Staff, two Army Commanders, three Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief, seven Lt Generals and equivalent ranks, and several Major Generals and equivalent ranks. While a few of their officers served on United Nations peacekeeping missions and as defence advisors abroad, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, on superannuation, served as the ambassador to Norway. Lt Gen V K Ahluwalia, an Army Commander, later served as administrative member of an Armed Forces Tribunal.