GEORGIAN ASSOCIATION : BANGALORE MILITARY SCHOOL

King George V (1865-1936) was the king of Great Britain and Emperor of India from 1910 to 1936. Though during the first World War he had no direct responsibility, his duties, nonetheless took him to 450 Military and Naval installations, 300 Military hospitals and to several other places for personally distributing as many as 58,000 decorations. It was during some of these visits that King George V was so impressed with the courage and fighting abilities of the Indian Troops that at the conclusion of the war, he decided to set up some institutions for education of children of Indian Jawans. That is why these schools were named as King George Royal Indian Military Colleges (KGRIMCs). Initially, these schools were opened between 1925-1930 at Jhelum, Jullundhar and Ajmer. In 1945 when World War II came to an end, two more King George Royal Indian Military Colleges were started at Belgaum and Bangalore by King George VI.

With the nucleus of 100 South Indian Boys, 50 from Jullundhar and 50 from Ajmer, the King George VI Royal Indian Military College had its origin in Bangalore in 1946. During World War II the site of present school was used as a convalescing Home for British Troops. In the beginning, the staff were entirely military personnel, with exception of the office staff who were civilians. Lt Col RHD Ross of the 8th Punjab Regt and later transferred to RAEC, was the first Commandant. In 1948, Lt Col Ross retired and left for UK. His place was taken by Maj TW King the first Indian Officer in Command.

At first, all instructors were officers, but they were gradually replaced by JCOs. In Lt Col TW King's time civilian masters began to be appointed.

Till 1952 various Regimental Centres used to sponsor the sons of JCOs / ORs for admission to KGRIMCs. The aim then was to give education upto Army Special Classes and then make them VCOs. Some of them were also Commissioned as officers. Lt Gen Kundan Singh, Lt Gen RS Dayal, Lt Gen LS Rawat, Maj Gen RPRC Naidu, Maj Gen V Bhatia, Lt Gen A Natarajan are some of the ex-boys of these schools.

In 1952, KGRIMCs were reorganised as Residential Public Schools on the recommendations of a committee headed by Dr Hridaya Nath Kunzru. On reorganisation, public school education was, for the first time, brought within the reach of middle Classes. Admission was thrown open to sons of service officers and civilians as well. Instead of Army Special Exams, boys were now required to pass Senior Cambridge Exams. The motto then was 'Play The Game'.

In 1966, KG Schools were renamed as Military Schools. With changing sociopolitical conditions affiliation to the University of Cambridge was replaced by the Central Board Of Secondary Education. The motto of the schools was also changed to 'Sheelam Param Bhooshanam'.

On completion of 25 years the school celebrated its Silver Jubilee during first week of Dec 1971. Shri Jag Jivan Ram, the then Defence Minister, was the Chief Guest. The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee on 07 Dec 1996. General Shankar Roy Choudhary, Chief of the Army Staff, was the Chief Guest .

Like all other Military Schools, Bangalore Military School is a Cat 'A' Establishment under the direct control of DGMT(MT-15). All instructions pertaining to finance, training, admission and recruitment are received directly from AHQ (MT-15).

In the thirteenth meeting of the Central Governing Council held on 23 Oct 90,the aim was changed to:-

Military Schools will impart quality education to boys to enable them to take All India Secondary School exams of CBSE and also to facilitate their entry into NDA.

BMS is basically a residential school with few day scholars. The sons of JCOs and ORs are also provided with free clothing. The school also has an eight bedded hospital and is authorized an RMO with two Nursing Assistants. A new cadets mess with all modern facilities has been constructed in the school. The school also has a CSD canteen.

Facilities for following games exist in the school:

The school also has a well equipped Gymnasium. A case has also been taken up for construction of squash court in the school campus. Mountain bikes have been procured for adventure hikes. The school also has roller skates and the cadets are encouraged to participate in various other adventure activities organised by the school.

There is also an International swimming pool in the precincts of the school, which is under renovation. However the cadets are sent to the RSI swimming pool for swimming training.

This school is being considered for adoption by SAI in view of the excellent performance of the school in local sports and games.

The Military School Bangalore is spread over an area of 68 acres. The school buildings are of pre independence vintage and demand extensive maintenance on a regular basis. During last two decades only few new buildings have come up namely, Cadets Mess, Assembly Hall, Six class rooms complex and residential accommodation for Administrative Officer, RMO and two Master Gazetted's. A case for new buildings for the school has already been initiated which may come up over a period of time.

Most of the Old Boys of this school are members of the Old Boys Association. The Association has been given an office in the school campus. They have their routine meetings to discuss various aspects related to the Association and the Military School Bangalore in particular. The Association celebrated their Silver Jubilee on 8 Dec 96 coinciding with the Golden Jubilee of the School.

Following inspections of the school are carried out annually:

The School has been renamed as “RASHTRIYA MILITARY SCHOOL BANGALORE” ……. In keeping the emphasis of providing high quality Military Officers to the Defence Services essentially the School is terms as Category ‘A’ Defence Establishment, with the trust being in the nature of a feeder institution to the NDA / IMA etc.