IMA creates history: First batch of women officers passes out alongside 481 male counterparts

The Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, witnessed a historic moment on Saturday as the first-ever batch of nine women officers passed out from the Academy and was commissioned into the Indian Army alongside 481 male officers.

The women officers marched shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts during the Passing Out Parade (POP), which was reviewed by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, who attended the event as the Chief Guest and Reviewing Officer (RO) for the IMA Spring Term 2026 POP.

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The Academy’s first batch of nine women officers was part of the 158th Regular Course and the 141st Technical Graduate Course.

A total of 515 Gentleman Cadets participated in the Spring Term 2026 Passing Out Parade, presenting an impressive march past before the Reviewing Officer, their families, and other dignitaries gathered at the Academy’s iconic Chetwode Drill Square in the early morning.

President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Dehradun on Friday afternoon to attend the ceremony. She stayed overnight at the Rashtrapati Niketan, popularly known as the President’s Bodyguard Estate, located on Rajpur Road in Dehradun.

Of the 515 newly commissioned officers, 481 were Indian cadets, including the nine women officers, while the remaining 34 cadets belonged to 16 friendly foreign countries.

Notably, the Spring Term 2026 Passing Out Parade marked only the second occasion on which a woman President of India reviewed the IMA parade as Chief Guest. The first such occasion was on June 11, 2011, when former President Pratibha Patil reviewed the Passing Out Parade.

President Droupadi Murmu arrived at Dehradun Airport aboard an Indian Air Force aircraft on Friday and proceeded to Rashtrapati Niketan. According to her schedule, she departed for Delhi from Dehradun Airport at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday after the conclusion of the parade.