National Defence Day – March 3

national-defence-day-march-3

We are celebrating National Defence Day on March 3. Let us see feature of this event and reasons.

National Defence Day is formed by the combination of cadets of the three services, the Army, Navy and the Air Force. The National Defence Academy is a Joint Services academy of the Indian Armed Forces. The cadets of these 3 services are trained together before they go on to pre-commissioning training to their respective service academies. The head office is located in Khadakwasla near Pune, Maharashtra. Khadakwasla is the 1st tri-service academy in the world. It is been rated as the best academy all over the world.

Khadakwasla is the 1st tri-service academy of NDA who has won 3 Param Vir Chakra recipients and 9 Ashoka Chakra.

History of National Defence Day

Sudanese Government in 1941, gave hundred thousand pounds to Lord Linlithgow, and then to Governor-General of India for building a war memorial in recognition of the sacrifices of Indian troops in the liberation of Sudan in the East African Campaign during World War II. Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck and Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army submitted a report to the Government of India in December 1946. Joint Services Military Academy was establishment on the recommendation of a committee

Auchinleck report was taken into consideration after the independence of India in August,1947 by the Chiefs of Staff Committee in India and its implementation was immediately performed. An action plan in late 1947 was initiated by the committee and the search for a site to build the defence academy began.

Joint Services Wing (JSW), an interim training academy was commissioned on 1 January 1949 at the Armed Forces Academy (now known as the Indian Military Academy) in Dehradun. Initially, after two years of training at the JSW, Army cadets were sent to the Military wing of the AFA for a further two-year pre-commission training, while the Navy and Air Force cadets were sent to Dartmouth and Cranwell in the United Kingdom for further training.

After the partition of India and Pakistan, India’s share of the monetary gift received from Sudan, was amounted to $70,000 (the remaining $30,000 of the gift went to Pakistan). The Indian Army used these funds to partly cover the cost of construction of the NDA. Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru on 6 October 1949 laid the foundation stone for the academy. The National Defence Academy was formally commissioned on 7 December 1954, with an inauguration ceremony held on 16 January 1955.

Mission Of National Defence Academy

• The Mission at the National Defence Academy is to provide the requisite educational standard and acquire mental and physical qualities, essential to their progressive and continued development as officers of the fighting services.
• Provide basic service training as will assist in developing their character, initiative, self-confidence and, above all, qualities of leadership.
• Development ability to appreciate the inter-services aspect of the Armed Forces.
• Develop an interest in extracurricular activities of the outdoor type.
• Inculcate the spirit of the Honour Code as well as ethical and moral values.

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