Identical twins graduate from IMA together; to serve different army-units
What's the story
Identical twins, Abhinav Pathak and Parinav Pathak born only two minutes apart, created history by becoming the first pair of identical twins to graduate together from the prestigious Indian Military Academy (IMA).
The brothers who have been together for most of the past 22 years will now have to be apart as they would be posted in different army units.
Here's more on them.
About
Reunited at IMA to realize dream of joining the army
The Pathak brothers were the center of attraction at the IMA passing-out parade on Saturday.
The twins share similar interests and have studied in the same school in Amritsar. They have been together for most of their lives, except when they pursued engineering in different colleges in Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
However, they reunited at IMA, Dehradun to realize their dream of joining the army.
Tales
Twins share tales about how their identical looks confused others
Abhinav and Parinav shared several tales about how their identical looks confused others, leading to comical situations sometimes.
"The only time anyone was able to tell us apart was when we would wear our (PT) uniform or through our respective company batches on the collar," said Abhinav.
Abhinav will now join Army Air Defence Corps while Parinav will be part of Army Aviation Corps.
Childhood friends
Two childhood friends from Karnataka also graduated together
"We have achieved whatever we have, together. This makes us extremely proud," Parinav said.
Apart from the twins, two childhood friends from Karnataka who graduated together are preparing to stay apart to serve in different regiments.
21-year-olds Sudarshan LM and Varun Channalli have been inseparable for the last 11 years. They met while studying Class-6 and made it to the National Defence Academy together.
Details
A total of 459 Gentlemen Cadets graduated from the IMA
A total of 459 Gentlemen Cadets (GCs) graduated from the IMA, including 382 Indians and 77 from friendly foreign countries. Among foreign GCs, the maximum belonged to Afghanistan (45).
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Command, Lt Gen Cherish Mathson, reviewed the parade. He urged GCs "to be always ready to protect the nation and its constitution from the threats including insurgents and terrorists."