IMA will host the Passing Out Parade on June 12 without parents of cadets (representational image)
The Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, will host the Passing Out Parade on June 12 this year. Owing to the restrictions put forth by the ongoing Covid pandemic, the guardians of the cadets will not be allowed to participate in the parade.
Passing Out Parade is celebrated as a coming of age ceremony for the new cadets. Usually cadets' parents, or relatives, pip in the ranks on the cadets' shoulders after which they officially become commissioned officers in the Indian Army. The IMA's Passing Out Parade symbolises the culmination of rigorous training and transformation of a cadet into a young officer to shoulder the nation's responsibility.
Lieutenant Colonel Himani Pant, PRO of IMA in a statement said: “The passing out parade of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) will be held on June 12. Parents of the cadets will not be allowed to participate in the parade in view of the COVID19 pandemic.”
Last year as well, the Passing Out Parade was held for as many as 423 Cadets without their parents to avoid crowding because of the coronavirus pandemic on June 13. Only the staff of the Military Academy and other trainees attended the parade by conforming to social distancing norms. The Passing Out Parade was live-streamed on the official YouTube channel of the Indian Army and Doordarshan.