Firstly I would like to clear up the air about the word ‘Punishments’. The meaning of the word at defence training academies in India is not what is commonly understood as a moral rebuke or penance to make amends for a wrong doing. It’s more matter of factly like Penalties.
A punishment just means a ‘WTF’ interruption in your routine plans to chill out or do something you’ve been planning on catching up with for the past week – in my time back in 1988, it usually meant writing that letter or tidying up the billet or catching up with assignments etc. It does not mean ‘Ragging’ as made out in pop media – not by a long shot!
Disclaimer : The narrative below is from my own training at IMA in 1988. A lot may have changed since, so please don’t judge these wonderful institutions from outward appearances. If it was possible, the blood in my veins would be of Olive Green color!
UNOFFICIAL ‘PUNISHMENTS’ BY SENIORS :
- Swimming on the Rocks: Crawling on gravel with arms locked behind the back clad only in IMA swimming costume. I did plenty of that every day during the break between training hours and sports.
- Rogering Nite (Summers) : Front Rolls > Back Rolls > Side Rolls in random combination of 10 each after consuming at least two bath mugs full of water post dinner. Duration Two hours or maybe more. Venue – Billet compound which usually had grass to soak up the vomit many would throw up. Kit – Swimming Costume. Battle Cry – Cannot be printed. Too saucy! Mind you there was neither inclination nor energy to go take a shower before hitting the sack. Just stagger in wipe body with the towel and dive in forget the odour. We all smell the same. No wonder we had a dozen bed sheets and towels apiece.
- Missourie Nights (Winter) : Front Rolls > Back Rolls > Side Rolls in random combination after consuming at least two bath mugs full of water post dinner. One bath mug of water to douse the body and stand at Savdhaan (Attention Position) for a few minutes. No trembling allowed. Then the senior would one by one ask each cadet to count the total number of lights visible in Mussourie (16 KM away as the crow flies)Naturally there was no correct figure. One person would be arbitrarily picked out as the correct answer and would be told to do the honour of pouring a mug full of water over the heads of the rest of the platoon. Believe you me the guy doing the honour was anything but relieved because he would be told to drink up the rest of the water in all the buckets and then the whole platoon would be ‘dismissed’ to go and fill up another bucket full and get back into parade in double time. The straggler would be told that the whole batch would have to repeat the whole shindig because he got too late.
- Muster Bluster
Muster Call at 0430h. Since it is expected GCs would be sleepy after a long night Ragda session, the received wisdom of the senior cadets used to be that put them through their paces first thing in the morning so that they don’t get sluggish while going to the PT fall-in. Thereafter they will keep going through the day.
Patti Parade – change from sports kit to outdoor Dungaree to indoor formals and back to PT Kit. - BAJRI ORDER :
Type I : Single Pack : Rucksack ‘A’ Scale filled with gravel. Minimum 30 min of Sit (on haunches) Stand Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand… Dress Dungarees. For special occasions – swimming trunks.Type II : Two rucksacks ‘A’ Scale strapped together filled with gravel. Scores of Sit (on haunches) Stand Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand …Type III : Two rucksacks ‘A’ Scale strapped together filled with gravel and a cycle held in bare hands and raised over the head. Stand Attention or the more favorite Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand, Sit – Stand … - Endurance Run : Time after dinner. Dress dungarees and ammunition boots.
- Hackle Order : Full ceremonial cadet dress with IMA hackle clipped onto beret / turban. Done to throw the fear of the Company Commander into a persons hide. It meant, do this the next time and you get marched upto the Coy Cdr and that could mean anything from 14 restrictions onwards … (For official punishment Restrictions see below)
- Push Ups (Military Style ie. arms locked to the side of chest and not akimbo like pehalwans) anything from 100 to 500. I could reach well beyond 100 after that the ‘Shamming’ started. The seniors notice, you get yelled at but the game goes on in all seriousness. Oh well! Wish there was a rewind button in life. Would gladly return to belove IMA!
- Sit Ups : (Arms locked behind the head legs stretched out) Infinite ie. as many as can be squeezed into the night. I have personally done 650 (Helped me a lot. I am arguably the first person in the World to reach Rohtang Pass on an ordinary cycle (Hero Brand) with a three speed gear added on after cycling all the way from Dehradun 550 KM (3985 Mtrs Lat 32.371627 Lon 77.246681 Google Earth) Rohtang to Pathankot via Dharamsala 353 KM
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Must Read: 7 Military Punishments You Would Avoid During Training
IMA TRAINING VIDEO
Source: Rattanbir Singh
