DSSC, Wellington - TIMELINE

1947Indian elements of Staff College Quetta, under

Col SD Verma moved to Wellington on 8th November 1947, which was selected as the temporary location forthe Staff College.

Col SD Verma promoted in situ to the rank of Brig.

1948 Maj Gen WDA Lentaigne, CB, CBE, DSO, took over

as the Commandant and Brig SD Verma as the Assistant Commandant in March 1948.

1st Interim Staff Course of 20 weeks duration was held from April 1948 with 46 Army, two Naval and two Air Force student officers. The course was intended to train Army officers for Grade 3 staff appointments. The Naval and Air Force officers covered the same syllabus as the Army officers.

2nd Interim Staff Course of six months duration was held from September 1948 with 52 Army, two Naval and three Air Force student officers.

Gandhi Hall was built (renamed Sardar Patel in 1951). Mountbatten and Slim Model Rooms were built.A large airy ante room was added to the Officers’ Mess.

1949Air Wing was established in the College. A full 10 month course was held for Army and Air Force

student officers from May 1949. 60 Army and eight Air Force officers attended. The course was intended to train officersup to the level of Grade 2 staff appointments.

Wellington was confirmed as the permanent location ofDSSC after lengthy correspondence between the College, Army Headquarters and Ministry of Defence. The alternatives considered were Belgaum, Bangalore, Devlali and Secunderabad.

Gandhi Hall renamed as Sardar Patel in 1951

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1951A Short Staff Duties Course was held for the

first time for technical staff officers from Technical Development Establishment, Kirkee.

Mountbatten and Slim Model Rooms were expanded with the addition of galleries to thetwo rooms.

1953The S t a f f Co l l e ge

Course capacity was increased to over 100. As many as 76 Army, seven Naval and 18 Air Force officers attended the course.

A total of nine foreign student officers also attended - four from Britain, two from Burma and one each from USA, Australia and Canada.

Naval and 18 Air Force officers attended the course.

A total of nine foreign student officers also attended - four from

The S t a f f Co l l e ge Course capacity was increased to over 100. As many as 76 Army, seven Naval and 18 Air Force

The S t a f f Co l l e ge Course capacity was increased to over 100. As many as 76 Army, seven Naval and 18 Air Force officers attended the course.

A total of nine foreign student

1955Maj Gen PS Gyani took over as the Commandant fromMaj Gen WDA Lentaigne, CB, CBE, DSO. A short Junior Naval Officers’ War course was held - the first of three

such courses. The sailing club was shifted to Pykara Lake, where a permanent boat

house was constructed.

1956Army Wing Training Camp at Bhavanisagar was introduced.

1950Naval Wing was established in the College. The

concept of Defence Services Staff College for all the three Services was fully implemented.

4th Staff Course, of 10 months’ duration, was conducted for Army, Naval and Air Force student officers. 77 Army, eight Naval and 11 Air Force officers attended the course.

For the first time a batch of seven foreign student officers attended – two from Britain, two from Burma and one each from USA, Australia and Canada.

1954Four civilian officers - three from the Indian Administrative Service and one from the Indian

Defence Science Organisation - attended the Course for the first time. A short Senior IAF Officers’ Course was held.

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1957New Administrative Block was opened by Shri Sri Prakasa, Governor of Madras,in August 1957.

1961Course capacity was increased to 150 officers. 31 foreign

officers - seven from Indonesia, four from Britain, three each from UAR and Iraq, two each from Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia and one each from Jordan, Syria, USA, Canada, Australia and Burma - attended the course.

1962The duration of the Staff Course

was decreased from 10 months to seven months due to a state of emergency following theSino - Indian conflict.

Maj Gen D Som Dutt took over as the Commandantfrom Maj Gen SHFJ Manekshaw, MC.

1963The course duration was further decreased to six months. Post of Chief Instructor (Army) was upgraded from

the rank of Colonel to Brigadier. An additionalColonel-in-Charge Division was authorised.

1964The course capacity was increased to 170 officers.

16 foreign officers - three each from Britain and Nigeria,two each from Malaysia and Jordan, and one eachfrom Canada, Australia, UAR, USA, Nepal andSri Lanka - attended the course.

Chandragupta Model Room was built.1961

1958The Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru,

visited the College for the first time. 110 student officers including 25 foreign officers

– seven from Indonesia, six from UAR (present day Egypt), three each from Britain and Nigeria, two from Ethiopia and one each from USA, Australia, Canada and Nepal - attendedthe Course.

1959Maj Gen PP Kumaramangalam, DSO, took over

as the Commandant from Maj Gen PS Gyani. The Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru,

visited the College for the second time. Maj Gen SHFJ Manekshaw, MC, took

over as the Commandant from Maj Gen PP Kumaramangalam, DSO.

1960The Army Wing was divided into A and B Divisions, one of

the divisions being under charge of a Colonel. The course capacity was increased to 120 officers. 24 foreign

officers – seven from Indonesia, four from UAR, three from Britain, two each from Nepal, Ethiopia and Malaysia, and one each from Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka and USA - attendedthe course.

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1965Maj Gen Har Prasad took over as the

Commandant from Maj Gen Som Dutt.

1968The first post-emergency long course of

10 months duration was held from January 1968. 176 student officers attended the course. A total of 20 foreign officers – five from Malaysia, three from Britain, two each from USA, Iraq and Sudan and one each from Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Ghana and Uganda - attended.

1973Library complex Valmiki was built. Raksha Mantri, Shri Jagjivan Ram, visited the College.

1969An officer each from Afghanistan, People’s

Republic of South Yemen and Zambia attended the course for the first time.

Five new syndicate rooms were built.

1970The President of India,

Dr VV Giri, visited theCollege. This was the first ever visit by the President of India to the College.

Issue of Parchment to the student officers on successful completion of the course was started.

1971Shri GS Pathak, Vice President of India visited

the College. The post of Chief Instructor (Navy)

was upgraded to the rank of Commodore.

1972Maj Gen SP Malhotra took over as Commandant from

Maj Gen RK Ranjit Singh. An officer each from Singapore and Tanzania attended the

course for the first time. The post of Chief Instructor (Air) was upgraded to the rank

of Air Commodore.

1975Maj Gen AM Sethna, AVSM, took over as Commandant

from Maj Gen SP Malhotra, PVSM. Gen TN Raina MVC, alumni of the First Interim Course in

1948, was appointed Chief of the Army Staff. A lady student from Military and

Cantonments Service attended the course for the first time.

1976Forward Area Tour for Naval and Air Force officers was

introduced. For the first time a student officer from Mauritius attended

the course.

1977An army officer from

Jamaica attended the course for the first time.

1978Maj Gen Mohinder Singh

took over as Commandant from Maj Gen AM Sethna, AVSM.

Jamaica attended the course

Maj Gen Mohinder Singh took over as Commandant from Maj Gen AM Sethna,

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1974A delegation of Parliamentarians visited the College. The

High Commissioners and Ambassadors of Japan, USA, UK, Bangladesh, Australia, Malaysia, France, Poland and Nigeria also visited the College.

1979Chanakya Information Room was built.DSSC was affiliated to Madras University for

award of M.Sc degree in Defence and Strategic Studies.

1980The College commenced awarding MSc degree in

Defence and Strategic Studies.

1981The post of Commandant was upgraded

to the rank of Lt Gen.President of India, Shri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy,

visited the College. The Governor of Tamil Nadu and Vice

Chancellor of Madras University, His Excellency Shri Sadiq Ali, presided over the ceremony to award MSc degrees at the College.

1982A beginning was made to award the winners of the ‘Owl

Essay Contest’ with a ‘Silver Salver’. Lt Gen Balaram, PVSM, assumed command of the College. Maj Gen DS Rai took over the first upgraded post of

CI (Army).

1984Lt Gen Mahipat Sinhji, PVSM assumed command

of the College.

1985President Giani Zail Singh visited the College. Jawahar syndicate rooms were built.

1986Lt Gen FN Bilimoria assumed command of the College. Lt Gen FN Bilimoria assumed command of the College. Lt Gen FN Bilimoria assumed command of the College.

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1987Lt Gen Gurinder Singh, AVSM assumed command

of the College. For the first time the Army Wing had a husband and wife

team attending the course. For the first time, a lady student officer, Mrs A Kaul from

the Indian Railways Traffic Service attended the course with the Army Wing.

1988 For the first time ever, a student officer from the USSR

attended the course. The course also had student officers from USA and some of its major NATO partners such as, UK, Canada and West Germany. Thus, DSSC probably became the only institution in the world to train military officers both from the NATO and Warsaw Pact countries together in the art of warfare.

Indira Block was built. Cross-attachment of two officers from each Service to other

Wings started with the 44th Staff Course. Later discontinued from the 47th Staff Course.

1989Lt Gen KS Brar, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, assumed

command of the College. For the first time a student officer from Italy

attended the course. Scudder Medal was instituted for the student

officer standing first in the order of merit for the MSc degree.

Publication of the College professional journal ‘Trishul’ was started.

1990Lt Gen YK Vadehra, AVSM assumed command

of the College. DSSC was recognised as a ‘Research Institute’ by

University of Madras. M Phil and Ph D Programmes started.

1991An army student officer from Namibia and a

Naval student officer from Australia attended the course for the first time.

For the first time the Soviet Navy was represented at Wellington. However the students had to return to Moscow halfway through the course due to the break up of the Soviet Union.

‘Trishakti’, the new auditorium was inaugurated.

1992Lt Gen BS Nalwa, PVSM, assumed command of

the College.

1999Cyber café set up.Para-sailing introduced as a sport.Lt Gen SRR Iyengar, PVSM, AVSM, assumed command of

the College.

2000Local Area Network (LAN) established in the College.

2001Lt Gen PPS Bindra, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, assumed

command of the College.

2003Lt Gen TPS Brar, PVSM, YSM, assumed command

of the College.Information Technology Resource Centre opened. For the second time since the 1971 Indo-Pak War, the army

student officers of the 59th Staff Course were nominated based on computerised selection since the written entrance examination was not held due to Operation PARAKARAM.

2004A team from DSSC led by the Commandant, Lt Gen TPS

Brar, PVSM, YSM, visited the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, UK.

1994Lt Gen VP Malik, AVSM, assumed command of the

College. First issue of ‘The Hoot’ was published. Capt (IN) MS Mamik was the first officer from DSSC to

receive a Ph.D from Madras University.

1995Lt Gen Baldev Singh, AVSM, VSM, assumed Command of

the College.

1996Short capsules on Low Intensity Conflict, Media Warfare,

Information Technology and the United Nations were introduced for the first time.

1997Post Graduate Diploma course of the Madras University

was introduced for ladies.Lt Gen AS Rao, PVSM, AVSM, assumed command

of the College.

1998Golden Jubilee of DSSC was celebrated.

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