The meaning of the word “Punishments” at Armed Forces Training Academies in India is not what is commonly understood as a “moral rebuke’ or “penance” to make amends for wrongdoing or “indiscipline”. It’s more like Penalties.
A punishment just means an ‘oddly frustrating’ interruption in cadets’ routine plans to chill out or do something they been planning on catching up with for the past week. It does not mean ‘Ragging’ as made out in media.
Unofficial ‘Punishments’ By Seniors:
Swimming on the Rocks
Crawling on gravel with arms locked behind the back clad only in the academy swimming costume.
Rogering Nite (summers)
Front Rolls > Back Rolls > Side Rolls in a random combination of 10 each after consuming at least two bath mugs full of water post-dinner while the duration two hours or maybe more. The kit will mostly be Swimming Costume and the Battle Cries can’t be printed.
Mussourie Nights (winter)
Front Rolls > Back Rolls > Side Rolls in random combination after consuming at least two bath mugs full of water post-dinner. The cadets are provided one bath mug of water to douse the body and stand at attention position for some minutes while no trembling was allowed. Then the senior would one by one ask each cadet to count the total number of lights visible in Mussourie (16 KM away). Naturally, there was no correct figure.
One person would be arbitrarily picked out as the correct answer and would be told to do the honour of pouring a mug full of water over the heads of the rest of the platoon. The cadet doing the honour was anything but relieved because he will be told to drink up the rest of the water in all the buckets and then the whole platoon would be ‘dismissed’ to go and fill up another bucket full and get back into a parade in double time. The straggler would be told that the whole batch would have to repeat the whole shindig because he got too late.
Muster Bluster
Muster Call at 0430h. Since it is expected GCs would be sleepy after a long night Ragda session while the received wisdom of the senior cadets is to put them through their paces first thing in the morning so that they don’t get sluggish while going to the PT fall-in. Thereafter they will keep going through the day.
Patti Parade
Change from sports kit to outdoor Dungaree to indoor formals and back to PT Kit and all the rigs in some unrealistic time limit.
Bajri Order
Type I, Single Pack
Rucksack ‘A’ Scale filled with gravel. Minimum 30 min of Sit (on haunches) Stand Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand and the Dress is Dungarees. For special occasions – swimming trunks are used.
Type II, Two rucksacks
‘A’ Scale strapped together filled with gravel. Scores of Sit (on haunches) Stand Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand and so on.
Type III, Two rucksacks
‘A’ Scale strapped together filled with gravel and a cycle held in bare hands and raised over the head. Stand Attention or the more favourite Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand, Sit-Stand and so on.
Endurance Run
The Time after dinner and the dress is dungarees and ammunition boots.
Hackle Order
Full ceremonial cadet dress with academy hackle clipped onto beret/turban. It is basically done to throw the fear of the Company Commander into a person’s hide. It meant, do this the next time and you get marched up to the Company Cdr and that could mean anything from 14 restrictions onwards.
Push-Ups
Military Style i.e. arms locked to the side of chest and not akimbo and basically the count can be anything from 100 to 500. After the count of 100, the ‘Shamming’ started. The senior’s notice, you get yelled at but the game goes on in all seriousness.
Sit-Ups
Arms locked behind the head legs stretched out and the count is infinite i.e. as many as can be squeezed into the night.
Official Penalties
Instructor Penalties
Drill Ustaad
Continuous Tham Practice Carry On
Tham Khaali Ek Do!, Tham Khaali Ek Do!!, Tham Khaali Ek Do!!!, …Short Left step, short Right step left foot stamp right foot stamp into Savdhan position then repeat. While doing so you have to shout at the top of your voice and the arms have to swing 180 degrees in rapid succession.
Haunching
Hands-on waist and then squat and start hopping forward like a bullfrog.
Continuous Flat Foot
Hands-on waist jumps up to touch your knees to your rib cage and bring your feet crashing down on the tarmac. The sound should be THACK THACK THACK and not putterrr putterrr putter.
Gun Parikrama (Circumambulation Of The Gun)
Rifle held high above the heads run from one corner of the drill square to the other where an obsolete 25 pounder gun (memorabilia) rests. Go around it and fall back into the squad in two minutes flat. Total distance to run is approx. 200 metres.
Weapons Ustaad
Small Arms / Grenade Firing Range
Limbering up with the tiger crawl.
Battle Inoculation (Mock Practice)
Platoon Commander’s Penalties For Appointments
Orders Parade
Get in to push up position on the left hand with a pen in the right and copy on the ground write down the orders. If you unnecessarily ask doubts, you are required to pick up a few pebbles and put them in your mouth to help you keep shut.
Official (Published) Penalties
These are penalties that are awarded for cognizable offences by any officer who sees you default. They are published in the official gazette. Late FM Manekshaw still has some restrictions pending against his name in the drill instructors office in IMA.
Extra Drills
You are required to dress up in Drill Formals “Hackle Order” and report to the drill square where you are to do the drill. Read Hunching and Squatting and Flat Foots and Continuous Tham Practice!
Restrictions
Liberty is excused. Going out to the city on weekends is prohibited. You have to report to the drill square for Extra Drills.
Relegation
You get so many restrictions that there aren’t enough days to complete them, you get relegated. You could also get relegated straight away if you did something really stupid like losing a magazine of a rifle or manhandling your peer etc.
– Rattanbir Singh
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Jai Hind
