MOTTO(S) : “Unity and Discipline”
ACTIVE : April 16, 1948 – present
COUNTRY : INDIA
The National Cadet Corps is an Indian military cadet corps with its Headquarters at New Delhi, Delhi, India. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis. National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens. The National Cadet Corps in India is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and universities all over India. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades. 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.
The NCC in India was formed with the National Cadet Corps Act of 1948. It was raised on 15 July 1948. The origin of NCC can be traced back to the ‘University Corps’, which was created under the Indian Defence Act 1917, with the objective to make up the shortage of the Army. In 1920, when the Indian Territorial Act was passed, the ‘University Corps’ was replaced by the University Training Corps (UTC). The aim was to raise the status of the UTC and make it more attractive to the youth. The UTC Officers and cadets dressed like the army. It was a significant step towards the Indianisation of armed forces. It was rechristened in the form of UOTC so the National Cadet Corps can be considered as a successor of the University Officers Training Corps (UOTC) which was established by the British Government 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. A committee headed by Pandit Hradaya Nath Kunjru recommended a cadet organization to be established in schools and colleges at a national level. The National Cadet Corps Act was accepted by the Governor General and on 15 July 1948 the National Cadet Corps came into existence.
In 1948, the Girls Division was raised in order to give equal opportunities to school and college going girls. The NCC was given an inter-service image in 1950 when the Air Wing was added, followed by the Naval Wing in 1952. Same year, the NCC curriculum was extended to include community development/social service activities as a part of the NCC syllabus at the behest of Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who took keen interest in the growth of the NCC. Following the 1962 Sino-Indian War, to meet the requirement of the Nation, the NCC training was made compulsory in 1963. In 1968, the Corps was again made voluntary.
During Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 & Bangladesh-Pakistani war of 1971, NCC cadets were second line of defence. They organized camp to assist ordnance factories, supplying arms and ammunition to the front and also were used as patrol parties to capture enemy paratroopers. The NCC cadets also worked hand in hand with the Civil defence authorities and actively took part in rescue works and traffic control.
After 1965 and 1971 wars NCC syllabus was revised. Rather than just being second line of defence, NCC syllabus laid greater stress on developing quality of leadership 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.
The discussion for motto of NCC was started in 11th central advisory meeting(CAD) held on 11 August 1978. At that time there were many mottos in mind like “Duty and Discipline”; “Duty, Unity and Discipline”; “Duty and Unity”; “Unity and Discipline”. later, at the 12thCAD meeting on 12 Oct 1980 they selected and declared “Unity and Discipline” as motto for the NCC. In living up to its motto, the NCC strives to be and is one of the greatest cohesive forces of the nation, bringing together the youth hailing from different parts of the country and moulding them into united, secular and disciplined citizens of the nation.
The Aims of the NCC was laid out in 1988, NCC aims at developing discipline, character, brotherhood, the spirit of adventure and ideals of selfless service amongst young citizens. Not only these, it also aims to enlighten leadership qualities among the youth who will serve the Nation regardless of which career they choose.It also motivates they young to choose a career in armed forces.
In 1954 the existing tricolor flag was introduced. The three colours in the flag depict the three services in the Corps, red for Army, deep blue for Navy and light blue for the Air Force. The letters NCC and the NCC crest in gold in the middle of the flag encircled by a wreath of lotus, give the flag a colourful look and a distinct identity. Each lotus represents one NCC Directorate(Dte).The two dots represents Officer Training Academy’s in India they are at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and Kamptee, Maharashtra., Nagpur ect.
We the cadets of the national cadet corps,
do solemnly pledge that we shall always uphold the unity of India.
We resolve to be disciplined and responsible citizens of our nation.
We shall undertake positive community service in the spirit of selflessness and concern for our fellow beings.