The Indian Military Academy (IMA) saw its origin on October 1, 1932, with Brig L P Collins as its first Commandant. The first course, the Pioneers, had on its roll Sam Manekshaw, Smith Dun and Mohd Musa, all of whom later became the Chiefs of the armies of their respective countries (India, Burma and Pakistan). The government acquired the estate of the erstwhile Railway Staff College at Dehra Dun which had fairly extensive campus to meet the needs of the Academy at its birth. For a variety of reasons, the formal inauguration of the Academy was postponed to December 10, 1932. Field Marshal Sir Philip Chetwode, after whom the main building and its central hall are named, inaugurated the Academy on that day when the first term of the training was about to be over. The centrepiece among the formal events was the inaugural address by Sir Philip Chetwode. His address acquired immortality as a passage from his address became 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.

The Academy, till the outbreak of World War II, did not grow in strength. Those were the days when the infrastructure of the training facilities was built up and customs and traditions of the Academy were laid down and nursed. In 1934, even before the first course had passed out, Lord Willingdon, the Viceroy of India, presented Colours to the Academy. Under Officer Smith Dun commanded the parade held on the occasion.

The German challenge forced the government to change its policy radically. There was an unprecedented increase in the number of entrants as well as a change in their categories. The permanent Indian commission and the duration of its training was shortened to six months and even less for some courses. Such were the exigencies of the new situation. Before these changes took place, 16 regular courses had passed out of the Academy. Between December 1934 and May 1941, 524 gentlemen cadets were commissioned but between August 1941 and January 1946, 3887 cadets, both Indian and British, received their commission at the Academy.

The end of World War II resulted in a corresponding change in the character and status of the IMA. The Academy was faced with the stupendous responsibility of reorganising itself for a new role. The first regular post-war course commenced on February 25, 1946. Eventually, the British officers departed and Lt Col Thakur Mahadeo Singh, in the enhanced rank of Brigadier, became its first Indian Commandant in free India. In May 1947, the Academy had the privilege of receiving Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. This historic visit imbued the officers and cadets with patriotic fervour.

The year 1948 was a proud year in the history of the Academy. On October 9, IMA received the first Indian Governor General, C Rajagopalachari and on December 9 Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister reviewed the passing-out parade of the first university graduates course. During the World War II, the importance of inter-dependence of the three services was realised. The Government of India, therefore, approved the creation of an Inter-Services Wing for training cadets for the Army, Navy and the Air Force together. Thus, in January 1949, the Academy was redesignated as Armed Forces Academy, with the military wing in the present campus and the Inter- Services Wing at Clement Town. The post of the Commandant was upgraded from that of a Brigadier to a Major General.

In consonance with national aspirations, the Indian Military Academy was redesignated as the National Defence Academy in January 1950. The Inter-Services Wing became Joint Services Wing (JSW). The first JSW course passed out in December 1950. In December 1954, the Joint Services Wing moved to Khadakvasla. The Indian Military Academy, renamed as Military College, retrieved its original identity and role and Brig Apji Randhir Singh took over as its Commandant. At the end of 1956, the command of the Academy passed from Sandhurst-trained officers to IMA- trained officers when Brig M M Khanna took over from Brig Apji Randhir Singh. On December 10, 1957, the Military College celebrated its silver jubilee which was attended by a large number of veterans.

In January 1958, a contingent of the Military College took part in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi for the first time. In 1960, the Military College was renamed the Indian Military Academy. Exactly thirty years after its birth, on December 10, 1962, the second President of India, Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan presented new Colours to the Academy to replace the ones presented by the Earl of Willingdon. Consequent to the Chinese aggression, the duration of training for the regular courses was cut short and emergency courses were introduced. In August 1964, the emergency courses were discontinued and the regular courses were re-introduced. In 1974, the qualification for entry to IMA for regular courses was raised to the level of graduation and the duration of training was reduced from two years to one-and-a- half years. The following year, parachute training was introduced during the summer break at Agra. In 1977, Army Cadet College (ACC), the progeny of Kitchner College, Nowgaon, was shifted from Pune to the Academy where it has been functioning as a feeder wing. From 1932 to 1982, it was indeed a journey of 50 years of sweat and glory for the Indian Military Academy. The year 1982 was also the year when the IMA expedition to Mounts Kamet and Abi Gamin was successfully accomplished. An important part of the golden jubilee celebrations was the presentation of the revolver of Lt Gen AAK Niazi (Commander, the erstwhile East Pakistan Forces). The revolver was presented by Lt Gen J S Arora, the then GOC-in-C, Eastern Command.

In the following years, the Academy trained a large number of officers who served the Army as also many friendly countries with distinction. During 70 years of its existence, more than 50,000 cadets have been commissioned. This is a figure much larger than that of an older academy like Duntroon, Australia.