Inauguration of IMA

The Academy became functional from 1 October 1932 with a course strength 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'. The government acquired the estate of the erstwhile Railway College at Dehradun, which had the appropriate buildings and a fairly extensive campus to meet the requirements of the Academy at its birth.

Formal inauguration of the Academy was done at the end of the first term on 10 December 1932. Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, Baronet GCB, OM, GCSI, KCMG, DSO, then Commander-in-Chief of India, after whom the main building and its central hall are named, inaugurated the Academy. The highlight was the inaugural address by Sir Philip Chetwode, which was delivered in the hall now named after him. A passage from his address has been adopted as the Credo of the Academy - "The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time. The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time."

This is known as the Chetwode Motto and is the motto of the officers passing out from the IMA.