The National Cadet Corps, considered as the world’s largest youth organisation, formally came into existence in India, post-Independence, on 15 July 1948 through the XXXI Act of Parliament. The Girls Division of the NCC was raised in July 1949. On 01 April 1950, the Air Wing was raised, with one Air squadron each at Bombay and Kolkata. The Naval Wing of the NCC was raised in July 1952, thus representing all three services in the Corps. Today the NCC has an enrolled strength of more than 13 lakh cadets and consists of two divisions of all the three Services, i.e., the Senior Division/Senior Wing for boys/girls from colleges and the Junior Division/Junior Wing for boys/girls from schools.

The NCC Flag:

In its existing tricolour form, the NCC Flag was introduced in 1954 in keeping with the inter-service character of the Corps. The three colours in the flag depict the three services of the Corps, red for the Army, deep blue for the 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.

The motto of NCC, ‘Unity and Discipline’, was incorporated in October 1980.

NCC @ Jesus and Mary College:

The motto of NCC, ‘Unity and Discipline’ continues to shape the ardour, discipline, inner zeal and a sense of purpose among the young girl cadets of the organisation’s wing at Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, since 1974. JMC-NCC is attached to 3 Delhi (Girls) Battalion, NCC, with a total sanctioned strength of 160. It is headed by an Associate NCC officer, Dr (Lt) Richa Raj, who was awarded as the ‘Best ANO on the Pre-Commission Training (PRCN/SW/102) Course’ at Officers Training Academy, Gwalior, November 2018. The NCC at JMC is also supervised by its most committed and efficient Convenors, Ms Priyanka Marwah and Dr Rashi Mukhopadhyay.

The aim of NCC is to develop character, comradeship, discipline, secular outlook, spirit of adventure and the ideals of selfless service among the cadets. It strives to create a human resource of organised, trained and motivated youth, to provide leadership in all walks of life who will serve the nation regardless of which career they choose. It specifically aims to provide an environment conducive to motivating young Indians to choose the Armed Forces as a career.

The stated objectives of the NCC are to:

Multiple activities as part of the yearly training schedule, both institutional as well as on-ground, are organised to fulfill the above-mentioned aims and objectives of NCC. Cadets are taught to become responsible citizens of the country as well as committed and passionate individuals. NCC as an organisation plays an active role in shaping the character and outlook of the cadet through its training and strict day today schedule. Teamwork and a sense of camaraderie are instilled in the cadets through a ‘buddy’ system. Numerous camps are conducted during the training period such as the Annual Training Camps, Combined Annual Training Camps, Republic Day Camps, Leadership Camps, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Camps, Thal Sainik Camps, SSB Screening Camps, Military Attachment Camps and the Attachment Training (IMA/OTA) Camps with the objective of enhancing the cadet’s personality, instilling leadership and a sense of pride and patriotism towards the country, inculcating discipline and basic life skills through acquainting the cadet with a regimental life. The camps equip the cadets with self-awareness, especially of their strengths and weaknesses, and being put together as a group create a sense of camaraderie and empathy among them. Adventure camps such as Rock Climbing Camps, All-India Trek camps along with obstacle training helps the cadets to overcome fear and encourages them to take initiative. The weekly drill practice/parade develops a feeling of pride in uniform, skill of command and sound body posture.

Cultural exchange programs at camps help in comprehending and respecting the cultural diversity of India. The coming together of cadets from different parts of the country justifies the word ‘unity’ used in the motto, so unerringly. The assiduity with which cadets work and help their buddies perform their duty assists in developing enormous respect and empathy for each other and teaches them to emerge as more helpful, conscious, learned version of themselves.

Most importantly, the various competitions that are held, teach time management and the importance of teamwork. The cadets learn through group activities like Tree Plantation Drive, Traffic Rules Awareness Drive, Swachata Abhiyan Pakhwada and so on, the valuable traits of decision making and problem solving. Through various social service drives, the cadets contribute towards the society in a compassionate manner, and also enhance their own sociability – empathy, etiquettes, communication and general social skills.

The NCC at JMC offers cadets the path to becoming holistic and self-driven individuals.

Care in the Time of Pandemic, 2020

When the pandemic hit the country in 2020, volunteer cadets from JMC showed exemplary courage in working for Exercise Yogdan, an initiative by the NCC to help the civic authorities in distribution of relief and disseminating information about the same. These cadets were Cadet Kavita Mehra and Cadet Muskan who helped in data entry, calling (tracking) at the office of the District Magistrate (South-East), Lajpat Nagar, Delhi, and in assisting people in need of ration (groceries).

HumaneCorps, the NCC-JMC Covid Care Initiative, 2021

During the peak of the pandemic in Delhi, April-June 2021, NCC cadets of Jesus and Mary College took to the online initiative of becoming intermediaries between the service providers and those in need of medical services. The cadets provided personally verified leads of the service providers whom they were able to contact on time, prominently providing leads for patients in Delhi and in some cases arranged information to patients in other states as well. Apart from this initiative, the cadets also collaborated with Icrewsystems Company for leads verification all over India.

Link for the ‘HumaneCorps’ instagram page:

https://instagram.com/humanecorpsncc_jmc?igshid=1v9f578koaqn

Associate NCC Officer: Dr (Lt) Richa Raj

Convenors: Ms Priyanka Marwah

Dr Rashi Mukhopadhyay

For further information on NCC, please click on this link:
https://indiancc.nic.in/

Important Links:

The Cadets’ Corner

Dr (Lt) Richa Raj being awarded the ‘Best ANO on the Pre-Commission Training Course, 2018. Please click here:
https://youtu.be/D9oQMnNBiww

Parasailing by SUO Ishita Ohlan at the Annual Prime Minister’s NCC Rally, 2019. Please click here:
https://youtu.be/3LWFheNMl1E

JMC Annual Sports Day March, 2020. Please click here:
https://youtu.be/3Ak2Rgsr9yM