Page 120 - Leadership in the Indian Army

that cadets of all three services were to be trained together, which was not
being done anywhere else. Even at West Point, the academy trained only
army and air force cadets, while naval cadets had to go to Annapolis for

training. Another important decision concerned the location of the proposed
academy. Almost every important leader wanted it to be located in his own
region or state. Malik Khizr Hayat Khan, the Chief Minister of Punjab,
recommended Punjab; Dr Rajendra Prasad suggested Patna; and Sardar
Baldev Singh felt that Ranchi was the most suitable. Auchinleck personally
visited Bangalore, Bhopal, Belgaum, Deolali, Dehradun, Jabalpur,
Vishakhapatnam, Secunderabad, Karachi and Khadakvasla. Eventually, the

Committee chose Khadakvasla, which was located close to Poona, had
adequate land and also a lake, which could be used for training naval
cadets.
The committee finalised its recommendations in 1946. The name of the
proposed academy was changed from National War Academy to National
Defence Academy (NDA). The period of training was set for four years,

and the age of entry between 16 and 19. The minimum educational
qualification would be matriculation, and admission would be granted after
an entrance examination, followed by a test conducted by the selection
board and a medical check-up. Cadets would be admitted purely on merit
and there would be no reservation of any kind, including for sons of ex-
servicemen. The entire expense, including tuition, accommodation, messing
and clothing, would be borne by the government. At the end of their

training, cadets would join the respective service training institutions for
specialised training. They would pass out with a diploma, which the
universities would be persuaded to recognise as equivalent to a degree.
(This did not happen, and to enable cadets to get a degree, the educational
qualification was later revised to Class 12, and the age of entry
correspondingly raised by two years.) Though this would be the main route

of entry into commissioned ranks in the three services, it was decided that
other entry channels would also be kept open. Entry through universities
under the UOTC scheme, and through the ranks, would continue, though on
a much smaller scale.
There was a hitch when the question of transferring the 12,000 acres of
land that had been identified in Khadakvasla came up. The Chief Minister
of Bombay State (now Maharashtra), Balasaheb Kher, wanted the academy

to purchase the land, while Thorat felt that the Government of Bombay