Following the Independence of India in August 1947 and the subsequent partition into Pakistan, a number British officers who were trainers in the Academy left for Britain, while Pakistani cadets left for Pakistan. A total of 110 Pakistani cadets then continued their training at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. Brigadier Thakur Mahadeo Singh, DSO, was appointed the first Indian Commandant of the Academy. The 189 GCs who graduated on 20 December 1947 were the first class from IMA to be commissioned into a free India.