History
Pre-Independence
The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras became the Indian Army. [3] The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a lieutenant general. [3]
Between 1904 and 1908, the Bombay Command was renamed as the Western Command. In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies: Northern Army and Southern Army as recommended by then Commander-in-Chief, Indian Army Lord Kitchener. This system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again: Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command. [4]
In 1937, Western Command was downgraded to become the Western Independent District commanded by a major general. In April 1942, the Western Independent District was absorbed in the Northern Command which itself was re-designated as North Western Army. [5]
Re-raising
After the partition of India, the erstwhile command HQ, Northern Command, went to Pakistan and was renamed as GHQ, Pakistan. The communal violence of partition necessitated the raising of a new command headquarters to relieve Army Headquarters of the day to day overseeing of operations of the two independent areas in north India. [6]
This command, initially named Delhi and East Punjab Command was raised in Delhi on 14 September 1947 with Lt Gen Sir Dudley Russell as its commander. It was responsible to administer the Delhi Independent Area and the East Punjab Independent Area. [6]
On 26 October 1947, following the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India, Western Command was put in charge of all Indian Army operations to secure the area for India. [6]
Initially a division sized force Jammu and Kashmir Division was raised on 5 November 1947 under Maj Gen Kulwant Singh for overseeing operations in Jammu and Kashmir. [6] This was later split into two parts Jammu Division (under Maj Gen Atma Singh) and Srinagar Division (under Maj Gen K.S. Thimayya) to oversee operations in Jammu and Kashmir respectively. [7]
The II Corps (Ambala), IX Corps (Yol), XI Corps (Jalandhar) and 40th Artillery Division (Ambala [8] ) are control operational units in Western Command. [9]
XV Corps, or 15 Corps, also known as Chinar Corps, is a Corps of the Indian Army which is presently located in Srinagar and responsible for military operations in the Kashmir Valley. It has participated in all military conflicts with Pakistan and China to date. Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava is the current Corps Commander since 05 October 2024 taking over from Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.
Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, VrC was an Indian senior military officer. As the commander of the Western Command, Singh commanded the Indian Army and played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. For his role in the war, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1966.
II Corps is a corps of the Indian Army, based in Ambala and known as Kharga Corps.
The XI Corps of the Indian Army is based in Jalandhar and is a part of Western Command. XI Corps is also known as Vajra Corps.
The Northern Command is a Command of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as the Northern Army of the British Indian Army in 1908. It was scrapped upon India's independence in 1947 and later re-raised in 1972. Currently, the XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar), I Corps (Mathura) and XVI Corps (Nagrota) are under its control. Its present commander is Lieutenant General M. V. Suchindra Kumar.
The XVI Corps, or the White Knight Corps, is a corps of the Indian Army raised on 1 June 1972 with Lieutenant General J F R Jacob as its first General Officer Commanding (GOC). It has its headquarters at Nagrota Cantonment,, Jammu and Kashmir. In 2005, IX Corps was raised in southern part of the XVI Corps' area, taking over two of its divisions.
The South Western Command of the Indian Army was established on 15 April 2005 and became fully operational on 15 August 2005. It was in response to the emerging threats and opportunities on the Western Indo-Pak border. It is headquartered at Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The Eastern Command is one of the six operational commands of the Indian Army. It is headquartered in Fort William in the city of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal. The Eastern Command was formed on 1 November 1920. The Command is commanded by a three-star rank officer with the title General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C).
Lieutenant General Philip Campose, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM was the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2014 succeeding General Dalbir Singh. He retired on 31 July 2015 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai.
Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC was the 25th General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2015 after Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai.
Lieutenant General Surinder Singh, PVSM, AVSM & Bar, VSM is a retired officer of Indian Army who served as General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Western Command. He took office of the Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission on 21 August 2019.
Lieutenant General Balwant Singh Negi, PVSM, UYSM, YSM, SM, VSM & Bar is a former General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Central Command of the Indian Army who served in office from 1 December 2015 till 30 September 2018. He assumed the post after Lt General Rajan Bakshi retired and was succeeded by Lt General Abhay Krishna.
Lieutenant General Man Mohan Singh Rai, PVSM, AVSM, VSM was the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) of the Indian Army and assumed office on 1 August 2015 following the retirement of Lieutenant General Philip Campose. He retired on 31 July 2016 and was succeeded by General Bipin Rawat.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane, is a retired Indian Army General who served as the 28th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), as well as the temporary Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from 15 December 2021 until his superannuation on 30 April 2022. He took over as COAS from General Bipin Rawat on 31 December 2019. Prior to his appointment as the COAS, the general officer served as the 40th Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Eastern Command and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army Training Command. He also served as General Officer Commanding II Corps and also as General Officer Commanding Delhi Area.
Lieutenant General Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM was the Military Secretary of the Indian Army and assumed office on 01 February 2018. He was the 46th Commander, XV Corps of the Indian Army and was in office from 1 November 2016 to 31 January 2018. He assumed the post from Lt General Satish Dua and was succeeded by Lt General Anil Kumar Bhatt.
Lieutenant General Gurpal Singh Sangha, AVSM, SM, VSM is a former Chief of Staff Western Command of the Indian Army and assumed office on 30 December 2018. He assumed the post from Lt General Amarjeet Singh Bedi. He retired from his position on July 31, 2020.
Lieutenant General (Dr) Jaiveer Singh Negi PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM** is a retired General Officer who has served as the 49th Commandant of the Indian Military Academy. He took over from Lieutenant General Sanjay Kumar Jha, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, on 1 February 2020. Prior to his appointment as Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, he was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces Command
Lieutenant general Manjinder Singh, AVSM, YSM, VSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief South Western Command. He previously held the appointment of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Army Training Command. He earlier served as the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff at HQ IDS, prior to this he was General Officer Commanding XVI Corps. He also served as Chief of Staff of the Western Command. The general officer is also the COLONEL of the MADRAS REGIMENT since 01 Jan 2021.
Indian order of battle during the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes:
Lieutenant General Amardeep Singh Aujla, UYSM,YSM, SM, VSM is a serving general officer of the Indian Army. He currently serves as the Master General Sustenance (MGS). He earlier served as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps(XV).
British India (former) 
India (after 1947)
British Indian Army (former) 
Indian Army (after 1947)
