The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) is a defence service training institution of the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. It trains officers of all three services of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

– (

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

), selected officers from the

Paramilitary forces A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

and the

Civil Services The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

and officers from friendly foreign countries for command and staff appointments.

History

The Defence Services Staff College, one of India's oldest military institutions, was established following the

Partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

in August 1947. During the partition, Pakistan inherited the

Staff College, Quetta The Command and Staff College Quetta is a staff college for the Pakistan Armed Forces and military officers from allied countries. Established in 1905 as Staff College, Deolali, it was later shifted to its present location in 1907 and has been a ...

, originally founded in 1905 at

Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian mi ...

before relocating to

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

in 1907. The Indian elements of the Staff College, Quetta led by the senior-most Indian Army instructor

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

S. D. Verma moved to India. Verma was promoted

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

and appointed as the first commandant and chose

Wellington Cantonment Wellington is a cantonment town in the Coonoor sub-Division of Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. One of its most famous residents was Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who died in the town on 27 June 2008. The town is adjacent to the town of Coonoor. ...

The Nilgiris District The Nīlgiris district is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri () is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hi ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

as the location of the Staff College in India. The first staff course started in April 1948, months after the move. The first course had 46 officers from the Indian Army and 2 each from the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. Two officers from this course –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Tapishwar Narain Raina and

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Hrushikesh Moolgavkar went on to head their services as the Chiefs. The air wing was established in 1949 and the Naval Wing in 1950 and the college was rechristened ''Defence Services Staff College''. The college threw open its gates to officers from friendly foreign countries from the fifth course and to

civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

from the sixth course. DSSC has been affiliated to

Madras University The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

for the award of

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree in 'Defence and Strategic Studies' and recognized as a research centre for

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degrees since 1990.

Crest and motto

Stamp of India - 1998 - Colnect 161855 - Defence Services Staff College

The Staff College when at Quetta adopted the crest of

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, which was the 'Wise Owl' with the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto . In 1964, Owl perched on crossed swords and the motto in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

was adopted.

Commandant

The commandant of the Defence Services Staff College is the head of the institution. The commandant is an army officer of the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Organisation

The commandant of the college is assisted by the chief instructors (CI) of the army, naval and air wings, all two-star appointments. The CIs are drawn from the respective services. The Incharge of the administrative wing (also a two-star appointment), and the brigadier general staff (BGS) also report into the commandant.

Notable alumni

Chiefs of Army Staff

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Sam Manekshaw Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (3 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), also known as Sam Bahadur ("the Brave") was an Indian Army general officer who was the Chief of the Army Staff (India), Chief of the army staff during the Banglade ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

P. P. Kumaramangalam * General Tapishwar Narain Raina * General

Om Prakash Malhotra General Om Prakash Malhotra, (6 August 1922 – 29 December 2015), best known as OP Malhotra, was a senior army officer in the Indian Army who served as the 10th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 19781981. Upon retiring from hi ...

* General

Arun Shridhar Vaidya General Arunkumar Shridhar Vaidya (27 July 1926 – 10 August 1986) was an Indian Army general. He served as the 12th Chief of the Army Staff from 1983 to 1986. Following his retirement, he was assassinated by Harjinder Singh Jinda and Suk ...

* General K. V. Krishna Rao * General

Krishnaswamy Sundarji General (India), General Krishnaswamy "Sundarji" Sundararajan, (28 April 1928 – 8 February 1999) was the Chief of the Army Staff (India), Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1986 to 1988. He was the last former British In ...

* General

Vishwa Nath Sharma General Vishwa Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 4 June 1930) was the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, serving between 1988 and 1990. He was the first Indian COAS to have begun his career in the post-Independence Indian Army. ...

* General

Sunith Francis Rodrigues General (India), General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Vishisht Seva Medal, VSM (19 September 1933 – 4 March 2022) was an Indian army officer who was Chief of the Army Staff (India), Chief of the Army Staff of the ...

* General

Bipin Chandra Joshi General (India), General Bipin Chandra Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, Aide-de-camp, ADC (5 December 1935 – 19 November 1994) was the 16th Chief of Army Staff (India), Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army. He is the only Chief of the Indian A ...

* General Shankar Roychowdhury * General

Ved Prakash Malik General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM (born 1 November 1939) served as the 18th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 30 September 1997 to 30 September 2000. He was the Army Chief during the Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought bet ...

* General

Sundararajan Padmanabhan General Sundararajan Padmanabhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (5 December 1940 – 18 August 2024) was a General Officer of the Indian Army. He served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. General Padmanabhan succeeded General V.P. Malik on ...

* General

Nirmal Chander Vij General Nirmal Chander Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (born 3 January 1943, in Jammu) was the 20th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army. He held the office from 1 January 2003 to 31 January 2005. Early life and education General Vij was born on 3 ...

* General J. J. Singh * General

Deepak Kapoor General Deepak Kapoor PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC (born 1948,Patna) served as the 22nd Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army, appointed on 30 September 2007 and Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee appointed on 31 August 2009. Biogr ...

* General V. K. Singh * General Bikram Singh * General

Bipin Rawat Bipin Rawat (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a Four-star rank, four-star General (India), general of the Indian Army. He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (India), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS ...

* General

Manoj Mukund Naravane General (India), General Manoj Mukund Naravane (born 22 April 1960) is a retired Indian Army General who served as the Chief of the Army Staff (India), 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), as well as the temporary Chairman of the Chiefs of Sta ...

* General

Manoj Pande General Manoj Pande (born 6 May 1962) is a retired four star general officer of the Indian Army. He last served as the 29th Chief of the Army Staff. He previously served as 43rd Vice Chief of the Army Staff, prior to that he was General Offi ...

Chiefs of Naval Staff

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Ronald Lynsdale Pereira * Admiral

Oscar Stanley Dawson Admiral Oscar Stanley Dawson (13 November 1923 – 23 October 2011) was a four-star admiral in the Indian Navy. He served as the 10th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1982 to 30 November 1984. From 1983 until his retirement, he also serve ...

* Admiral

Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Admiral Jayant Ganpat ''"Podgy"'' Nadkarni, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC (5 December 1931 – 2 July 2018) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 12th Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy from 1 December 1987 to 30 November 1990. ...

* Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat * Admiral

Sushil Kumar Sushil Kumar (born 26 May 1983) is a former Indian wrestler and two-time Olympic medallist. His 2008 Olympic bronze medal was only the second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summ ...

* Admiral

Madhvendra Singh Admiral (India), Admiral Madhvendra Singh, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Aide-de-camp, ADC was Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy between 29 December 2001 and his retirement from service on 31 July 2004. H ...

* Admiral

Arun Prakash Admiral Arun Prakash, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (born October 1944) is a former Flag Officer of the Indian Navy. He served as the Chief of the Naval Staff from 31 July 2004 to 31 October 2006 and as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee f ...

* Admiral

Sureesh Mehta Admiral Sureesh Mehta, PVSM, AVSM (born August 18, 1947) served as 19th Chief of the Indian Navy from 31 October 2006 until 31 August 2009. He was succeeded by Nirmal Kumar Verma. He is the first service chief from India's armed forces to be bo ...

* Admiral Robin K. Dhowan * Admiral

Sunil Lanba Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, PJG, ADC (born 17 July 1957) is a retired Indian naval officer who served as the 23rd Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. He assumed the office on 31 May 2016 after Admiral Robin K. Dhowan and demit ...

* Admiral Karambir Singh

Chiefs of Air Staff

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Hrushikesh Moolgavkar * Air Chief Marshal

Idris Hasan Latif Idris Hasan Latif, Param Vishist Seva Medal, PVSM (9 June 1923 – 30 April 2018) was a former air officer in the Indian Air Force. He served as the Chief of Air Staff (India), 10th Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 19 ...

* Air Chief Marshal Lakshman Madhav Katre * Air Chief Marshal Surinder Mehra * Air Chief Marshal S. K. Kaul * Air Chief Marshal Satish Sareen * Air Chief Marshal

Anil Yashwant Tipnis Air Chief Marshal Anil Yashwant Tipnis, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC (born 15 September 1940) served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force from 31 December 1998 to 31 December 2001. He commanded the Air Force to distinction during the Kar ...

* Air Chief Marshal

Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar, ADC (born January 1943) is a former Air Officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF). He served as the 19th Chief of the Air Staff from 2001 to 2004. He raised the first electron ...

* Air Chief Marshal

Shashindra Pal Tyagi Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi, more commonly known as S P Tyagi, is an Indian Air Force officer who served as the 20th Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and served from 31 December 2004 to 31 March 2007. He was succeeded by A ...

* Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik * Air Chief Marshal

Arup Raha Arup Raha, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, PVSM, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, AVSM, Vayusena Medal, VM, Aide-de-camp, ADC, () is an Indian Air Force veteran and was the 21st Chief of Air Staff (India), Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force and s ...

* Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa

Foreign alumni

* Hans-Christoph Ammon, Head of German special forces *

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

, President and former military Head of State, Nigeria *

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, former Nigerian President *

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, MSD,

OStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

, 3rd Prime Minister of Fiji * Lieutenant Colonel

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...

, RWP, RSP, GR – former

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

* Major General Matheus Alueendo 7th Commander of the

Namibian Army The Namibian Army is the ground warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's army was the fastest of the three arms of service. The first units of the Army were deployed as early as 1990. The Army was formed ...

Basil Gunasekara Admiral Deshamanya D. Basil Gunasekara (7 May 1929 – 17 February 2024) was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from 1973 to 1979. Early life and education Born to a planter in Katana, Gunasekara was the youngest child of a family of five m ...

, former commander of the

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Education in Nilgiris district Staff colleges Military academies of India Educational institutions established in 1905 1905 establishments in India Colleges affiliated to University of Madras Defence Services Staff College

History

Crest and motto

Commandant

Organisation

Notable alumni

Chiefs of Army Staff

Chiefs of Naval Staff

Chiefs of Air Staff

Foreign alumni

See also

References

External links