History of NCC

NCC in India was formed with the National Cadet Corps Act of 1948. It was raised on 15 July 1948. The National Cadet Corps can be considered as a successor to the University Officers Training Corps (UOTC) which was established by the British in 1942. During World War II, the UOTC never came up to the expectations set by the British. This led to the idea that some better schemes should be formed, which could train more young men in a better way, even during peace times. A committee headed by Pandit H.N. Kunzru recommended a cadet organization to be established in schools and colleges at the national level. The National Cadet Corps Act was accepted by the Governor General on 15 July 1948 and the National Cadet Corps came into existence.

During the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, NCC cadets served as the second line of defence. They organised camps to assist the ordnance factories supplying arms and ammunition to the front, and also were used as patrol parties to capture the enemy paratroopers. The NCC cadets also worked hand in hand with the Civil Defence authorities and actively took part in rescue work and traffic control. After the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars the NCC syllabus was revised. Rather than just being the second line of defence, NCC syllabus laid a greater stress on developing leadership traits and Officer-like qualities. The military training which the NCC cadets received was reduced and greater importance was given to other areas like social service and youth-management.

National Cadet Corps is the Indian military cadet corps with its headquarters at New Delhi. It is open to school and college students on a voluntary basis. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms. The officers and cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete their course but are given preference over normal candidates during selections based on the achievements in the corps.

Motto of NCC

The need to have a motto for the Corps was discussed in the 11th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting held on 11th August 1978. It was decided to have “Unity and Discipline” as the motto for NCC and it was approved in the 12th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting held on 12 Oct 1980.

Principles of NCC

•  Obey with a smile
•  Be Punctual
•  Work hard and without fuss
•  Make no excuses and tell no lies

Aims of NCC

The ‘Aims’ of the NCC was laid out in 1988. It stands the test of time and continues to meet the requirements expected of it in the current socio–economic scenario of the country.

i) The NCC aims at developing character, comradeship, discipline, secular outlook, the spirit of adventure and the ideals of selfless service among the young citizens.

ii) It aims at creating a pool of organized, trained and motivated youth to provide leadership qualities in all walks of life including the Armed Forces and be always available for the service of the nation.

iii) To provide a sound environment conducive towards motivating a large number of young people of India to join armed forces.

Oath

Pledge

NCC Organization

The National Cadet Corps is headed by a Director General, an Army Officer of the rank of Lieutenant General, who is responsible for the functioning of the National Cadet Corps in the country through the National Cadet Corps Headquarters situated at Delhi. At the State Level, the country has been divided into 17 Directorates covering all States and Union Territories. Each of the State National Cadet Corps Directorate Headquarters controls two to fourteen Group Headquarters. While Directorates are commanded by Brigadiers or their equivalents, the Groups are commanded by Colonels or equivalents from the Air Force and the Navy, NCC Units are commanded by Major/Lieutenant Colonel or their equivalents. There are two training establishments namely Officers Training Academy, Kamptee and Gwalior where professors and teachers from universities, colleges and schools are specially trained as Associate NCC Officers (ANOs) to impart training to the cadets.

NCC Flag

The NCC flag for various units of the NCC was first introduced in 1951. The flag was of the same pattern, colour and size as was used by various regiments of the Army. The only difference was that it had the NCC badge and unit designation placed in the center. Later on it was felt that the flag should be in keeping with the inter-service character of the Corps. In 1954 the existing tricolor flag was introduced.

NCC Flag contains NCC Crest in gold in the middle, with the letters “NCC” encircled by a wreath of seventeen lotus with a background in Red, Blue and Light blue. Red depicts the Army, Deep Blue depicts the Navy and Light Blue depicts the Air Force. The seventeen lotuses represent the 17 State Directorates. “Unity of Discipline” (Ekta aur Anushasan) is written at the bottom of the NCC Flag.

NCC Song

The official song of the NCC Kadam Mila Ke Chal‖ was adopted in 1963. However, in 1974, a change was felt to catch the imagination of the youths and portray the true feelings of NCC. As a result the song was replaced by Hum Sab Hindi Hain‖ which kept on playing in RDCs till the word Hindi ‘was replaced by Bhartiya’ in 1980. The NCC song depicts the feelings of unity in diversity and exhorts everyone to march towards the single goal – all being INDIANS.