The Indian Military Academy stands on ground formerly occupied by the Railway Staff College. It was chosen as the site for the IMA and the academy was inaugurated on 01 Oct 1932, with the First Course of 40 Gentlemen Cadets. Brigadier L P Collins, DSO, OBE was the first Commandant. The first course had on its rolls Sam Manekshaw, Smith Dun and Musa Khan. All of them later became the chiefs of the armies of their respective countries; namely India, Burma and Pakistan. The course was christened’PIONEERS’.
Today, The cadets are divided into 4 training battalions, and each battalion has 3 or 4 companies each, taking the number of companies to 15 in total.
The names of the Battalions are based on Generals and Commandants of the Indian Army, the Company names are based upon the battles that the Indian army has been a part of.Some of the battles(Kohima, Imphal, Cassino and Alamein) are from the British Indian Army days. Singarh is an exception as it refers to an earlier battle.
Overall the I.M.A is headed by a Commandant, who has a Deputy Commandant to assist him and a Head of Academics Department(H.A.D) to help with the classroom training.
In 1980, the appointment of commandant was upgraded to the rank of Lieutenant General.
As on date, approx 1800 Gentlemen Cadets are undergoing training at the IMA. They will pass out as Lieutenants in the Indian Army, and go on to serve in some of the harshest conditions in the world, both in terms of terrain and tasks. Things which can only be taken on by the most professional army in the world - The Indian Army.