100-year-old Rashtriya Indian Military College to Admit Female Cadets for First Time

By: WE Staff | Monday, 14 March 2022

In its 100-year history, the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) in Dehradun will welcome female students for the first time. From Class 8 onwards, students are admitted to the elite military institute. After the Centre granted the National Defence Academy (NDA) permission to admit female students, the RIMC has decided to do the same.

Five female cadets are expected to join Rashtriya Indian Military College in July 2022, according to Uttarakhand Governor Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (retd).

Singh stated, "From July, 5 girl cadets will join Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and I am hopeful that it will lead to a big change. RIMC has done preparations on all levels. Women will create history in the Armed Forces leadership,"

In a statement, the Army said, “On the occasion of Centennial Founder's Day of RIMC, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Mukund Naravane complimented and acknowledged the stellar contribution of RIMC and the alumni in the service of the nation for the last one hundred years.”

General Naravane voiced confidence in the RIMC's preparations to welcome and integrate female cadets into the institution's folds, remarking that "girls joining the college would be its centennial moment.”

The prominent military college, which is nestled in sylvan surroundings in Dehradun, was founded four years after World War I ended and was officially opened on March 13, 1922, by the Prince of Wales on his royal trip to India.

Originally known as the Prince of Wales' Royal Indian Military College, it was renamed the Rashtriya Indian Military College, or RIMC, after Independence.

 As per the RIMC website, “Over the years the college has produced many leaders of the society, both military as well as civil. These include four Chiefs of Army Staff and two Chiefs of the Air staff in India; one Commander-in-Chief of the Army and two Chiefs of the Air Staff in Pakistan; scores of officers of General/Flag/Air rank, Commanding Operational Commands, Fleets, Corps, Wings and Divisions and other distinguished appointments on both the sides of the border.”