_____ Assist. Prof. Pyar Singh Thakur (7 HP (I) NCC Shimla Nodal Officer for media)

The Indian Army is the pride of the nation and every Indian loves Indian Army and it’s officers and soldiers defending the nationals of India and secure borders against the foes day and night. The youths of India are the shield of the nation in each front where they can give their best to the nation and society as well if the youths are exhorted to the right direction for the service of the nation. The NCC (National Cadet Corps) is the most influential organization to shape youths physically, mentally for the nation building and maintaining discipline among youths. Two month ago, I interacted with new Commanding officer Colonel D.R. Gargey of 7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla during the Visit of NCC ADG  to meet the H.P. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur over the issues of NCC in Himachal Pradesh, and then ADG visited 7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla. Being I have additional in-charge of NCC as a Nodal officer and CTO,  Colonel D.R. Gargey assigned me and another Jwan to escort ADG to meet Chief Minister Jairam Thakur during running legislative assembly session. As per the legislative assembly protocol, armed man in uniform cannot approach any legislative assembly members, ministers within legislative assembly session if it is going on, then Colonel D.R. Gargey assigned me expeditiously to furnish this task. Colonel Gargey in no time took a quick decision to go and receive the ADG as ADG Major General Rajiv Chhibber, SM, ADG of NCC Directorate Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, was likely to reach Chaura Maidan of Shimla as his courtesy meeting with Chief Minister was scheduled at 11 a.m. that day. Now I was along with ADG in Chief Minister’s office in H.P. Legislative Assembly. However, army officers- Group Commander Manoj Khanduri, Commanding Officer Colonel D.R. Gargey and other officers of 7 HP (I) Coy NCC embolden me to complete the task as they mentored me in this context within a few minutes. From this experience, I recalled my childhood days of discipline maintained by armed parents and armed relatives to be honest, hard working and complete any task in time with courage for the progress of the nation and society. It was a turning point for me when I joined army for sometimes earlier and experienced army discipline and army quick management under any complicated condition. I perceived  a army officer in the name of Colonel D.R. Gargey and remembered childhood days of discipline maintained by elders that how a army officer can be a role model for the youths for preparing them for the service of the nation and society as well. It was first interaction with new commanding officer and had a superc experience again. Commanding Officer Colonel D.R. Gargey taking NCC seriously for the interest of the youths as Colonel Gargey usually shares personally that ours generation be successful in each front of life as a nation builders, nation defender and employed better through NCC.

“The National Cadet Corps has completed 74 glorious years” in the Service of the Nation and the people. The NCC has developed from strength to strength since its foundation in 1948. The cadets, both past and present, ANOs, defence personnel and civil staff, carry on the glorious work tirelessly and contribute heavily their energy towards the progress of the nation. Much more leverages of NCC to the cadets- Senior Wing/SW and Junior Division/JD cadets who attain C NCC certificate with A Grade or NCC B certificate as these leap such cadets towards employment, security services, defence services, nation building and more multifaceted services in private and public sectors”, says Colonel D.R. Gargey.

NCC is the biggest youth organization in the world. It consists of students/cadets, teachers/ANOs, training staff, defence officers, and civil staff. These dedicated peoples have been serving the nation and the society very gloriously since the commissioning the NCC as the reserve force of the country.

7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla Commanding Officer Colonel D.R. Gargey says “The National Cadet Corps came into existence on 16 July 1948, under the 31st NCC Act of 1948, based on the recommendation of Pandit Hirdaynath Kunzru Committee. NCC was started with strength of 38,500 Boys Cadets. Girls Cadets were added in the Army Wing in 1949, Air Wing in 1950 and Naval Wing in 1952. In the initial stages, NCC was confined mainly to the urban areas.

Today NCC has spread to every corner of the country, having more than 13 lakhs Cadets. The National Cadet Corps, which has both Boys and Girls as cadets, has the basic aim of developing the character qualities in the youth to make them good citizens of the nation and  society as well,  and worthy leaders of the future in every walk of life, and inculcate in them the spirit of unity & discipline. Furthermore,  Colonel D.R.Gargey, who joined Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), then selected in National Defence Academy, Indian  Military Academy (IMA) and commissioned into Maratha Infantry (MI as a young  Army officer in Indian Army, posted to challenges areas of China Border, Pak Bordet, LOC, Arunachal North areas, Sikkim areas, Punjab Sector with Pak Border, Kerala, and participated in many operations like ‘Operation Parakram, and now posted as a Commanding  Officer of 7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla in own district & Capital Shimla of Himachal Pradesh,  says that he is visiting different schools, colleges, varsities of upper areas of Shimla and Mandi of H.P. to perk up the NCC in the educational institutions for exhorting students, masses and institution administration to awareness and leverage of NCC to the youths in different sectors after completing their school education and higher education with NCC certificates. Colonel D.R. Gargey is adducing  as a role model for the youths of the hills of Himachal Pradesh to surge in them as the good citizenship quality, pouring human values in the  cadets and futuring them nation builders. Under 7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla, forty four schools, colleges and varsities of lower Shimla District and some upper area of District Mandi, where NCC is available for two thousand and seventy NCC cadets are enrolled still as enrollment is increasing each year and  other institutions are also applying for NCC unit in their schools”, says commanding officer Colonel D.R. Gargey. “During my visit recently, after joining as Commanding Officer of 7 H.P. (I) Coy NCC Shimla two months earlier, to some rural areas’  schools, I found and observed that rural boys and girls have a greater zeal to join NCC and India Army but they have no much exposure to the benefits of NCC neither mass awareness. I will consume a few time to provide underpinning to NCC within the educational institutions come under  my command,  I tabled this objective in the CO conference held with ANOs just a few day ago of April month of this year as I accentuated on  go better in NCC for youths’ interest with the help and support of talented teachers cum ANOs, CTOs and principles of the schools”,  says Colonel D.R. Gargey. However, there are many bottlenecks to run NCC in the rural educational institutions of Himachal Pradesh due to hard geography in spite of latest developments in every aspect of people’s life, social, cultural and economic development, higher connectivity, shaping schools, colleges, varsities into advanced facilities, still manpower or staff and conveniences in these areas mostly in rural schools are meagre for expanding NCC in better way for the interest of the school children. No doubt some colleges and varsities are  able for their eulogies and exaltation to gear up NCC in right direction. Colonel D.R. Gargey says that such wantages can be redressed to some extent if sedate policy and government’s financial captivating support is delved to embolden NCC pursuits within the country.

New dauntings  confront the nation in the 21st century. In this context, Colonel D.R. Gargey described that the biggest daunting or challenge is the problem of unemployment among youths.To face this challenge of unemployment and emerges as a strong force, NCC has to equip itself suitably and it is in this aspect that the NCC has to play a very vital and crucial role to mitigate unemployment to some extent if educational institutions also strove towards this gleefully. Colonel Gargey says- still, NCC possesses huge potential to help provide employment to the youths asit has huge potential but not been utilised fully and properly and aware public and governments.NCC is capable of providing employment not only to the cadets but defence personnel too after retirement during young age. NCC can also solve the problem of a huge shortage of manpower in defence forces, para-military forces, security forces and State police.

 Colonel D.R. Gargey says that the NCC is a distinctive organization that can offer the young boys and girl cadets, new opening in defence services, security forces, paramilitary forces and State police. This is the only youth organization, which is also concerned about helping to provide employment to its cadets.

Nowadays defence forces, para-military forces, security forces and State police have a tremendous shortage of jawans and officers. Since, NCC cadets are already adequately trained and skilled in different aspects and requirements of defence forces and security forces, including weapon training, these NCC cadets can very easily solve the problem of shortage of jawans and officers in defence forces, paramilitary forces, security forces and state police force. If some special weighted is given to NCC cadets these forces will get trained and skilled NCC cadets to their files. The skill based courses at graduation level engineering or technical education, B.Sc. nursing and medical courses are fruitful not only these even humanity courses are fruitful to switch towards different services of armed forces in Indian Army including education core as there are myriads and multiple options and different commissions to fulfill cadets’ dream to be army officer or join as soldiers in different areas of defence or in other services”, says Colonel D.R. Gargey.

Politically, in the modern context role of defence personnel is all the more important. It is a well-known fact that defence personals are highly trained, disciplined and skilled personnel. After their retirement, they can be re-employed as store in-charge, instructor, trainer and NCC officer with the NCC units of colleges and schools. These dedicated defence personals will not only be an asset to the educational institutions but they can also inculcate discipline and high moral values among the students. Apart from this fact, they will give much better training to the NCC cadets than the teachers, trained as ANOs.

There is another positive aspect of the re-employment of these defence personnel. Since all these retired defence personnel must already be getting pension due to their past services, so the government has to pay much less salaries to these personnel after adjusting their pension.

There is another arena where NCC can help cadets to get employment to cadets and retired defence personnel and that is opening of NCC academies. “The central government should encourage the State governments to open NCC schools and academies in every district on the pattern of Military schools. These NCC institutions can train the NCC cadets and youths in a much better way than the civil educational institutions. These trained and skilled cadets can get employment in defence forces, security forces, para-military forces and state police force. There is a big problem of discipline and counseling  in the civil educational institutions as many researches proved that youths in the country are being enticed towards drug abuses, smoking, if they are involved sports and NCC, it can be grappled with this problem and   NCC academies will be a role model for the other institutions. However, NCC has become a curriculum under  New National Education Policy (NEP) by issued by central government of India in educational institutions under the special concern of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who himself remained NCC cadets during school days even many great personalities of India and Army Officers come from NCC background, this is a exhorting example to the present generation”,, says commanding officer Colonel D.R. Gargey.

These NCC schools and academies can also re-employ ex-Short Service Commission Officers. Their training, skills and expertise can be utilized in nation-building properly and positively.” In these troubled time when nation and society around us get its morals eroded by corruption and anti-national activities, the NCC can guide these student cadets to be better citizens wherever they are employed”, says colonel D.R. Gargey.

Furthermore, Colonel D.R. Gargey interprets that there is another field where NCC cadets can get employment very easily and serve the nation in the new millennium.  Colonel D.R. Gargey says that NCC cadets are required now in civil services like medical services, industry services, corporate, banking, education institutions, corporations as security personnel not only it NCC provides other benefits in government jobs if the cadets have skills and proper education with NCC certificates. The NCC cadets are perfect in physical fitness. So they will be very suitable as a physical training teacher and Yoga teacher. If some special training is given to them in the field of Physical Education and Yoga, they will be an asset in the Prime Minister of India’s ‘Fit India Mission.’ There is a huge potential in this field. So the NCC can fill this vacuum and give employment to its cadets. This can also improve the standard of games in the country.

“In the fast-changing national environment, the NCC as a nursery of future makers of our nation serves to give a positive and creative exposure in varied fields with varied experiences to the cadets and defence personals which help utilize their strength and energies in the nation-building. Apart from this with the employment and involvement, the NCC inculcates much-needed discipline, morals, patriotism and hard work among the youths of the country and the citizens of the country, which they tremendously lacking”, opines Colonel D.R. Gargey.

With the defence forces, paramilitary forces, security forces and State police facing an acute shortage of manpower intake, the NCC can fill that emptiness and the largest youth organization that involves the young cadets to the life of adventurism, discipline, morals and career opportunities in available in varied fields. Now as per the present kvetch in all sectors, NCC cadets can be fit better but for this a progressive milieu, prowess in the youths and support of all required.