In a first, 100-year-old Rashtriya Indian Military College to open its doors for girls

DEHRADUN: For the first time in its 100-year history, Dehradun's Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), which takes students from class VIII onwards and is regarded as a premier preparing ground for those aspiring to join the armed forces, will admit girls. "After the government opened the doors of National Defence Academy (NDA) to women, RIMC decided to follow suit. We will be admitting five girl students in July," RIMC commandant Col Ajay Kumar announced on Sunday during the institution's Centennial Founders' Day celebration, which was attended by over 500 alumni, including veterans, serving officers of armed forces and their family members.

Established on March 13, 1922 by the then British-Indian government, RIMC was meant to impart military training to the Indian youth, who could later be inducted as military officers in the then British-Indian Army. Since its inception, RIMC has trained only boys and acts as a feeder institute for NDA and the Naval Academy.

Col Kumar said that RIMC did admit a girl as a "test case" in 1992. "Swarnima Thapliyal was the daughter of one of the faculty members at the institute. She went on to successfully serve in the Army and retired as a Major," the Colonel said.


"A total of 568 girls from across the country gave an entrance test for the five seats. Before finalising the decision (to admit girls), RIMC had formed a committee to assess both tangible and intangible factors, and all necessary changes were made in the institute to make it suitable for girl students. This is an ethos-changing development," Col Kumar added.

Uttarakhand governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd), who was the chief guest at the Founders' Day event, hailed the move, saying "bravery is a gender-neutral trait". "These five girls will walk into RIMC as the 'Panj Pyare of Guru Govind Singh ji', who established Khalsa Panth. This will be another golden chapter in the history of RIMC's achievements," the governor said.

Earlier, Col Kumar while praising RIMC, said, "Six RIMC alumni have gone on to serve as service chiefs in the three wings of Indian armed forces."