Page 24 - Leadership in the Indian Army

Temporary School for Indian Cadets (TSIC) for the duration of World War I
at the Daly College, Indore. Candidates were to be selected from families
that had proved their loyalty to the Crown, particularly at the time when

soldiers were being recruited for the War. The age limit was fixed at 25
years, and there was to be a written test followed by an interview. The
period of training was not to exceed one year, at the end of which cadets
would be granted temporary King’s commissions. As an incentive, it was
stated that these officers would be eligible for confirmation as permanent
commissioned officers after the end of the War. The first batch was to
comprise 50 cadets, with another of the same size to follow after six

months.
Cariappa, who had always wanted to be a soldier, decided to apply. Of the
50 vacancies, only one was reserved for Coorg. Seventy candidates applied,
of whom 42 were selected and granted admission. Fortunately, Cariappa
was one of them and he joined the TSIC, also known as the Daly Cadet
College. Keenly interested in all college activities, Cariappa did well during

his time there. However his shy and reticent nature limited his interaction
with his fellow students. But this may also have been due to the fact that
most of the other cadets came from aristocratic families, and included the
sons of rulers of Indian states such as Jamnagar, Jind, Kapurthala and
Baroda. Unable to match them in wealth and lifestyle, Cariappa
nevertheless was able to hold his own in all activities concerned with
training, including hockey and cricket. When he passed out, he was placed

seventh in the overall order of merit.
It was initially planned that the training would span only six months.
However, after World War I ended, it was decided to extend the training
period by one year. Hence, instead of December 1918, Cariappa’s batch
finished on 1 December 1919 and the 39 cadets who passed out, were
granted temporary commissions. Subsequently, vide a Gazette Notification

issued on 9 September 1922, 33 were granted permanent commissions with
effect from 17 July 1920 (one died, two were found unsuitable and three
resigned). This date of commission was deliberately chosen by the War
Office to ensure that the Indore batch remained junior to a batch that had
passed out from the Sandhurst on 16 July 1920. In fact, 27 officers had been
commissioned into the Indian Army from Sandhurst on 17 December 1919;
104 from Wellington on 29 January 1920; and 57 from Sandhurst on 16

July 1920. By delaying the date of commission, the Indian officers