Chandigarh, Feb 16 (IANS) It is an academy with a difference. The sprawling 10-acre Minerva Academy campus near here has a singular focus - to train young men and women to be part of the military.
With a track record of contributing over 35,000 officers to the army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the navy, the Minerva Academy, set up in 1955 by J. Deol and her husband Lt. Col. I.S. Deol continues to be the most successful nursery for youths aspiring to become officers in the defence forces.
With legendary Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardees, Kargil War hero Captain Vikram Batra and Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, the first and only PVC awardee from the IAF, having been Minervans, the academy surely feels proud that some of the best known heroes of India have been trained here.
"Cadets from Minerva have achieved more (battle) honours than any regiment of the army," Ranjit Bajaj, the chief operating officer of the academy and a maternal grandson of founder Col. Deol, told IANS at its campus about 15 km from Chandigarh.
Former army chief and later Arunachal Pradesh Governor General J.J. Singh had also trained at Minerva. Minerva's roll of honour includes several other top-ranking officers in all three services.
Decorated Captain A.S. Cheema, who summitted Mt. Everest, has also been a student at Minerva.
"Our students have gone on to hold over 1,000 top positions in the Indian armed forces. Every fourth officer in the armed forces has been a student of Minerva. About 10 percent of our students are now girls who wish to join the armed forces," Bajaj told IANS.
The academy specialises in training youth for the Services Selection Board (SSB), the first step towards entry into the armed forces. The 10-day training, spread over 100 hours, includes group tasks, physical obstacles, group discussions, interviews, public speaking and more.
So stringent and effective is the training methodology that even toilets, bathroom curtains and hostel walls carry information about the armed forces -- so that students utilise every minute of their time at Minerva.
The faculty comprises former officers from defence forces who have been part of the SSBs and professionals. Among the popular faculty members over the years has been 'Mani Sir' (real name K. Vasudeva Panicker) who has been around for nearly 35 years. Another faculty member, Wing Commander S.P. Oberoi, 85, has been around for over three decades.
At a recent event to mark 60 years of the academy, Vishal Batra, younger twin of PVC awardee Captain Vikram Batra, fondly remembered how both brothers from the hill town of Palampur in Himachal Pradesh learnt their first lessons for a career in the army at Minerva in 1996.
"Vikram and I used to go to a neighbour's house in Palampur, as we did not have a TV, to watch the serial 'Param Vir Chakra'. I never imagined that one day my brother would win the PVC and become so famous," said Vishal Batra, who was rejected twice by the SSB and now has a corporate job.
The academy, named after the Roman Goddess of War and Wisdom, was originally founded by J. Deol in 1955 at Shimla. It was briefly shifted to Jalandhar before moving to Chandigarh and later to its present location near Chandigarh. Col. Deol, who was commissioned into the British Indian Army in mid-1940s, took premature retirement to be part of Minerva.
Seven Congress workers held for blocking Patnaik's cavalcade
Bhubaneswar, Feb 20 (IANS) At least seven workers of the opposition Congress party were arrested in Bhubaneswar for blocking Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's cavalcade here, police said
Sone Chandi Ka Bhav: Gold prices fall on the first day of Navratri, know what was the price of silver?
On the first day of Navratri and Durga Puja Kalash's establishment, there has been a big fall in the prices of gold and silver. On Monday, gold is trading below Rs 50,000. In such a situation, you can
Vaccine from January 16: Corona vaccination will start in the country from next Saturday, the first preference is to 3 crore people
The date that the country was waiting for has been announced. Corona vaccination program across the country is going to start on January 16 i.e. next Saturday. Health workers and front line workers
Corona in China: 25 million people in Shanghai imprisoned do not have food and water, Beijing will have a test of 20 million
Shanghai, the financial capital of China, is also becoming the corona capital of the country. On Tuesday, 1,908 Kovid positives were reported in China, of which 1,661 are from Shanghai alone. The news
Delhi High Court's strict instructions to DGCA - Corona Guidelines apply in any situation in flight
Corona's growing infection in India has again drawn lines of concern. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to adequately publicize its guidelines
Mukhtar Ansari: Don Mukhtar's body can be examined even after 20 years, buried specially; Afzal's big claim
The family did not hurry even once in burying the body of mafia Mukhtar Ansari. The Ansari family took precautions from bringing the body from the post-mortem house to keeping it in the house till
Small and marginal farmers benefit most from agricultural reforms: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said amid the farmers' movement that small and marginal farmers will benefit the most from agricultural reforms.
Corona continues to wreak havoc in UP, breaks all old records, 20510 new patients found in one day
The state of coronavirus is getting worse in the country's largest state Uttar Pradesh by population. The virus has broken all the old records here. The state has received 20,510 new cases during the
Parliament Security Breach: Sagar's actions upset the family, police reached his ancestral house in Unnao; Uncle said this
Whoever heard the act of Sagar Sharma, a native of Peerjadigarhi locality of Purva, who broke inside the Parliament security, was stunned. Since morning, there was a constant flow of people outside
Pamela Chopra Death: Yash Chopra's wife Pamela Chopra passed away, funeral held in Mumbai
Pamela Chopra passes away at 74: Yash Chopra's wife Pamela Chopra passed away on Thursday morning, April 20, at the age of 74. Pamela Chopra was a famous Indian playback singer. Along with this, she
