The Commandant of the Indian Military Academy is a post created in 1932 for the purpose of leading the Indian Military Academy in its education of "gentleman cadets". The Commandant must hold a rank of lieutenant general (three star equivalent) or above. There is no minimum nor maximum term of service in this position though in practice commandants have served anywhere from a few months to 4 years in the position.
General Philip Chetwode chose Brigadier L. P. Collins of the 4th Gurkhas as the first commandant. Collins had the task of first acquiring the campus from the railways in Dehradun, and then converting it into an army training institution, taking ten months to do so. On 1 October 1932, the raising day, Collins issued a Special Order of the Day "The Indian Military Academy opens with effect from today [...]."
There were a total of 5 British commandants including Collins, after which Brigadier Thakur Mahadeo Singh was appointed as the first Indian Commandant of IMA in 1947. Thakur Mahadeo Singh was followed by Major General K. S. Thimayya who became the first IMA Commandant to go on to become the Chief of Army Staff in India. Brigadier M. M. Khanna, who was appointed in 1956, was the first alumnus of IMA to be appointed Commandant.
Following a recommendation in 1983 by the Ministry of Defence, the need was felt that cadets needed to know about application of science in weaponry. Lieutenant General Mathew Thomas and all following commandants took note of these changes and implemented them. Thomas also suggested a change in syllabus, proposing new computer focused teaching methods as well as further emphasis on advanced training. This included sending cadets to the High Altitude Warfare School and the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, among other things. Commandant Lieutenant General Himmeth Singh appreciated the difficulties of modern warfare, but emphasized the human factor. His outline of teaching is as follows:
There have been a total of 49 Commandants so far: