Of grandeur & Deep emotional connect

Tribune correspondent Deepkamal Kaur and lensman Sarabjit Singh take you to a glorious establishment that has been laying the foundation for entry into the armed forces and preparing students for a life dedicated to the welfare and protection of the nation

HoUSED in a palatial building of the erstwhile Maharaja of Kapurthala, Sainik School, Kapurthala, was inaugurated on July 8, 1961, by the then Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon with the objective of preparing boys academically, physically and mentally to join the NDA.

Named Jagatjit Palace, the structure was built in 1908 on the pattern of Versailles built by Louis XIV of France.

Already housing 630 students from Punjab, Bihar, Ladakh and other states, the school is spread on a sprawling campus of nearly 200 acres. It is a fully residential school for boys providing public school education. It offers an array of opportunities to channel the energies of cadets for constructive purposes. A wide spectrum of extra-curricular activities ensures their multitudinous personality development.

Alumni who made their mark

• Serving Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lieut-Gen Satinder Kumar Saini
• Lieut-Gen Ranbir Singh, retired as GOC-in-C Northern Command
• Lieut-Gen Ikroop Singh Ghumman, GOC-in-C Central Command
• Lieut-Gen Gurmit Singh, former Corps Commander, Srinagar
• Air Marshal NJS Dhillon, Commander-in-Chief Strategic Forces Command
• Former Advocate General HS Mattewal
• Brig MPS Bajwa, 001 roll number (fought Kargil War)
• Maj Gen Lakhwinder Singh, who used Howitzer guns in Kargil War
• Dr Sukhchain S Gill, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar
• Rear Admiral Ranjit Kumar
• Rajpal Sandhu, Commandant, PAP, and President Old Boys’ Assn
• Phagwara-based businessman KK Sardana

The school has been rendering yeoman service to the nation for over four decades by imparting balanced and quality education to cadets hailing from all strata of society. It has produced over 700 officers for the Indian armed forces through National Defence Academy. A sizeable number of its alumni has made their mark in other respectable professions too! It is the only school among the 20 Sainik Schools that holds the record of holding the Defence Minister’s trophy continuously for seven years.

Principal Col Prashant Saxena said: “The National Testing Agency will hold All-India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination (AISSEE)-2021 on January 10. The process of filling admission forms, which is currently on, will end on December 3. In Punjab, the exam will be conducted in Kapurthala, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Faridkot.”

The Subhash House hostel building would be converted into girls’ hostel. The hostel building would be revamped by raising a boundary wall and some renovation work would be done through the PWD.

INNER BEAUTY

Different sculptures at Behja Garden add to the splendour of the Jagatjit Palace

Air Marshal Anil Chopra, an alumnus

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