DEHRADUN : The passing out parade of autumn term, 2018 in Indian Military Academy (IMA) witnessed the passing out of 347 newly commissioned Indian Army officers.
VINAY S KUMAR/HT■ (Above) 4th generation Army officer Manveer S Jodha (second from left) with his parents and brother; (Left) 5th generation army officer Gurveer Talwar with his father at IMA in Dehradun on Saturday.However, among them, there were two officers who were proudly carrying their family’s legacy of serving in the army for five and four generations.
One of the two officers was Gurvir Singh Talwar, who was the fifth generation army officer from his family. Hailing from Panchkula in Haryana, Gurvir’s father KS Talwar is serving as a Colonel in the army.
His great-great-grandfather Subedar Major Sardar Bahadur Honorary Captain Diwan Singh served in the British Indian Army in Turkey during first world war (WW1) while his greatgrandfather Colonel Waryam Singh served in the British Indian Army during second world war (WW2) in Myanmar.
Taking forward the legacy, his grandfather Maj Gen HS Talwar served in the Indian Army during 1962 Indo-Sino war in which he was held as prisoner of war by the Chinese army only to be later released.
Gurvir, who has been commissioned into army’s Gorkha Rifles regiment, is also the winner or silver medal for gentleman cadet (GC) standing second in the order of merit.
Speaking on the decision of joining the army, he said: ‘”Serving in the army runs in his family’s blood.” “Knowing that elders of four previous generations of my family were and are proudly associated with the army, I always wanted to serve in the army. There was no other career option in my mind but the olive green uniform,” he said.
He pursued his education from Rashtriya Indian Military College, National Defence Academy and then got inducted in the IMA for the one year training course before being commissioned as officer in the Indian Army.
His father Col KS Talwar while speaking to HT on his family’s legacy of serving in army proudly said, “Donning the olive green uniform runs in the DNA of our family which now runs in my son Gurvir. I am proud of him.”
Newly commissioned officer Lieutenant Manvir Singh Jodha, from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, also shares a glorious story similar to Gurvir except the fact that he is a proud fourth generation army officer. Manvir’s great-grandfather Lt Col Aman Singh Jodha, served during WW1 in Haifa. His grandfather also served in the British Indian Army during WW2 while his father Brigadier Mahendra Singh Jodha is at present serving in the Indian Army. His elder brother KV Jodha is also a serving in the Army as captain with Gorkha Rifles.
Aman, who has been commissioned as lieutenant in Engineers Core, said he always wanted to serve in the army. “The inspiration to join army was in my family. The Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in Delhi to commemorate the sacrifices of Indian soldiers in the battle of Haifa in WW1 comprises name of my great-grandfather Aman Singh Jodha,” he said.