Central Command (India)

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Central Command
IA Central Command.jpg
Central Command's insignia today
Active1942–1946
1 May 1963 [1] – Present
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
BranchFlag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
Type Command
Garrison/HQ Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt General N. S. Raja Subramani
Notable
commanders		 Gen S F Rodrigues

The Central Command of the Indian Army is one of the seven operational commands of the army. It is based at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Contents

History

Second World War

Central Command was first established in 1942 during World War II and then disbanded in 1946. [2] Southern Command was responsible for most of the training activities for Indian Army until Central Command was formed in April 1942 which took over the responsibility of some of the training areas. [3]

Post 1962 Indo-China war

With its HQ at Lucknow the Command was re-established on 1 May 1963 due to the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Lt Gen K Bahadur Singh was the first Army Commander of the new Central Command. Prior to that date Lucknow had been the headquarters of the Eastern Command. [4] [5]

Rescue operations during 2013 North India floods

During 2013 North India floods in its rescue operations "Operation Surya Hope" in Uttarakhand, the Central Command mobilised over 8,000 troops for rescue and relief operations for stranded people on all four different axis of Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Harsil-Gangotri axis, Rudraprayag-Kedarnath axis, Joshimath-Badrinath axis and Dharchula-Tawaghat axis in Pithoragarh district. Under operation Ganga, the Army evacuated 1,150 persons from Harsil area; 6,000 from Joshimath and 700 from Tawaghat area. Army operations in the 40,000 square kilometres were led by Lieutenant General Anil Chait, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command. [6] [7]

New Corps under Central Command

In February 2024, reports emerged for the formation of a new Corps under the Central Command for deployment along Line of Actual Control (LAC). [8] The XVIII Corps will consist of at least one division (with around 15,000 to 18,000 combat soldiers each) and three independent brigades. This includes 14 RAPID Division, 9 Mountain Brigade, 136 Mountain Brigade and 119 Mountain Brigade. This move will convert HQ Uttar Bharat from a Static Formation into 'Full-fledged Combat Arm'. [9] [10]

Structure

Central Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers eight states of India: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. [11] 18 Regimental Centres and a large number of logistic and training establishments come under Central Command. The responsibility for the central sector of the Western border with Pakistan also lies with Central Command. [12] Almost half of the 62 cantonments in India lie within the Central Command's theatre. [13]

There are two Static Area Formations:- Uttar Bharat Area and Madhya Bharat Area. Central Command earlier used to act as strategic reserve but now it is looking after Uttarakhand sector of Sino-Indian border. [14] [15]

Structure of Central Command
CorpsCorps HQGOC of Corps

(Corps Commander)

Assigned UnitsUnit HQ
18 CorpsN/AN/AN/AN/A
N/AN/AN/A14 RAPID Division Dehradun, Uttarakhand
50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade Agra, Uttar Pradesh
9 (Independent) Mountain Brigade Joshimath, Uttarakhand
136 (Independent) Mountain BrigadeSumdo, Himachal Pradesh
119 (Independent) Mountain Brigade Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
N/AN/AN/AUttar Bharat Area Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Bharat Area Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

Precursors

Following is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders: [2]

Central Command (1942–1946)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command
RankNameAppointment dateLeft officeUnit of commission
Lieutenant General Henry B. D. Willcox May 1942December 1944 Sherwood Foresters
General Sir Geoffry A. P. Scoones December 1944December 1946 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)

List of GOC-in-C of Central Command (1963–present)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command
RankNameAppointment DateLeft OfficeUnit of CommissionRef.
Lieutenant General Kanwar Bahadur Singh May 1963August 1966 19th Hyderabad Regiment
Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon August 1966August 1970 Bengal Sappers
Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat August 1970Jun 1972 Bombay Sappers
Lieutenant General Har Krishen SibalJune 1972November 1973 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)
Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh November 1973March 1975 16 Light Cavalry [16]
Lieutenant General J. S. NakaiApril 1975March 1979 Regiment of Artillery [17]
Lieutenant General Ram Dharam Dass HiraApril 1979June 1980 11th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant General Walter Anthony Gustavo Pinto July 1980June 1982 Brigade of the Guards
Lieutenant General H. C. DuttaJuly 1982November 1983 8th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant General Bhupinder SinghDecember 1983September 1985 Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant General K. K. HazariOctober 1985January 1986 Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant General K. B. MehtaFebruary 1986December 1987 Brigade of the Guards
Lieutenant General Sami Khan January 1988March 1989 Madras Regiment
Lieutenant General Sunith Francis Rodrigues April 1989October 1989 Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant General Faridoon Noshir Billimoria November 1989June 1991 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) [18]
Lieutenant General Vijai SinghJuly 1991February 1992 8th Light Cavalry
Lieutenant General Y. N. SharmaMarch 1992March 1994 The Grenadiers
Lieutenant General Arun Kumar GautamaApril 1994April 1995 16th Light Cavalry [19]
Lieutenant General R. K. GulatiApril 1995May 1996 9th Deccan Horse
Lieutenant General Chandra SekharJune 1996September 1997 4th Gorkha Rifles [20]
Lieutenant General Surjit SinghOctober 1997September 2000 Dogra Regiment [21]
Lieutenant General P. S. JoshiOctober 2000September 2001 8th Gorkha Rifles [22]
Lieutenant General D. S. ChauhanOctober 2001December 2003 Madras Regiment [23]
Lieutenant General Ram SubramanyamJanuary 2004December 2005 Corps of Engineers [24]
Lieutenant General O. P. NandrajogJanuary 2006February 2008 Brigade of the Guards [25]
Lieutenant General Harcharanjit Singh Panag March 2008December 2008 Sikh Regiment [26]
Lieutenant General J. K. MohantyJanuary 2009February 2010 Dogra Regiment
Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar AhluwaliaMarch 2010February 2012 Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant General Anil Chait March 2012June 2013 Armoured Corps [27]
Lieutenant General Rajan BakhshiJuly 2013November 2015 17th Horse (Poona Horse) [28]
Lieutenant General Balwant Singh Negi December 201530 September 2018 Assam Regiment [29]
Lieutenant General Abhay Krishna 1 October 201830 September 2019 Rajputana Rifles [30]
Lieutenant General Iqroop Singh Ghuman 1 October 201931 March 2021 Brigade of The Guards [31]
Lieutenant General Yogendra Dimri 1 April 202128 February 2023 Bombay Sappers [32]
Lieutenant General N. S. Raja Subramani 1 March 2023Incumbent Garhwal Rifles [33]

See also

Operation Surya Hope

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References

  1. ↑ "Army pays poignant tributes to its martyrs & bravehearts". The Times of India . 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Alan Jeffreys; Patrick Rose (1 August 2012). The Indian Army 1939–47 Experience and Development. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN   9781409456537 . Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Central Command Raising Day concludes". The Times of India . 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: India (Central Provinces)-Indology. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 3372. ISBN   9788177552683 . Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Army rescues over 7,000 stranded persons". The Times of India . 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "2,500 additional troops deployed for rescue operations". The Times of India . 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC". The Indian Express. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Philip, Snehesh Alex (20 February 2024). "Army's Central Command gets 'combatised' to counter China, new corps raised". ThePrint. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  10. ↑ Staff, MyIndMakers. "Indian Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC". Indian Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Theatre Commands". India Today.
  12. ↑ "Commands of the Indian Army". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Mukund Padmanabhan (11 May 2003). "Central Command's novel initiative". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  14. ↑ Bharat Verma; G. M. Hiranandani; B. K. Pandey (2008). Indian Armed Forces. Lancer Publishers. p. 16. ISBN   9780979617423 . Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Twitter https://twitter.com/conflictx7/status/1532037655315197958/photo/1 . Retrieved 8 June 2022.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh, MVC: A great military leader". defenceinfo.com. 11 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "General Nakai laid to rest with service honours". The Tribune.
  18. ↑ "NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED" (PDF). 29 October 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away". 28 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "Padmanabhan may be new Army Chief". The Tribune.
  21. ↑ "Shortage of officers may continue". The Tribune.
  22. ↑ "First IDS chief Lt Gen Joshi dies". The Times of India. 2 July 2009.
  23. ↑ "New Army Vice-Chief". The Hindu . 5 September 2001.[ dead link ]
  24. ↑ "Lt-Gen Subramanyam is new GOC-in-C". The Times of India. January 2004.
  25. ↑ "Lt Gen Nandrajog takes over as Central Command GOC-in-C". Outlook.
  26. ↑ "Senior Appointments : Army". pib.nic.in. PIB.
  27. ↑ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL ANIL CHAIT TAKES OVER AS GOC-IN-C, CENTRAL COMMAND". Indian Army.
  28. ↑ "Lt Gen Rajan Bakhshi takes over as GOC-in-C, Central Command". Indian Defence Review.
  29. ↑ "Lt Gen BS Negi appointed Central Command's new GOC-in-C (designate)". The Times of India. 6 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Lt Gen Abhay Krishna takes over as GOC-in-Chief of Central Command". The Times of India. October 2018.
  31. ↑ Gurung, Shaurya Karanbir (23 July 2019). "Naravane appointed as new Vice Chief of Indian Army, four army commanders appointed". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  32. ↑ "Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri appointed as next Commander-in-chief of Lucknow-based Central Army Command". ANI News. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "Lt. Gen. Raju shifted, new Vice-Chief named". The Hindu. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
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