XVI Corps (India)

Last updated

XVI Corps
White Knight Corps.jpg
Active1972 – present
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
BranchFlag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
TypeArmy Corps
Size Corps
Part of IA Northern Command.jpg Army Northern Command
Garrison/HQ Nagrota
Nickname(s)White Knight Corps
Commanders
Current
commander
Lt Gen Naveen Sachdeva [1]
Notable
commanders
Lt Gen Manjinder Singh
Lt Gen M. V. Suchindra Kumar
Lt Gen D S Hooda
Lt Gen T K Sapru
Lt Gen R R Nimbhorkar
Lt Gen J.B.S.Yadava
Gen Shankar Roychowdhury
Gen K. V. Krishna Rao
Lt Gen J. F. R. Jacob

The XVI 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 district), Jammu and Kashmir. In 2005, IX Corps was raised in southern part of the XVI Corps' area, taking over two of its divisions.

Contents

Organisation

The corps is reported to include 10th Infantry Division (RAPID) (Crossed Swords Division), headquartered at Akhnoor; 25 Infantry Division (Ace of Spades Division), headquartered at Rajouri and 39 Infantry Division (Dah Division), with its headquarters at Yol. [2] [3] [4] [5] Delta Force, Romeo Force and Uniform Force of the Rashtriya Rifles come under the operational control of the corps. [6]

It is the largest wheeled formation in the world. Its current General Officer Commanding is Lieutenant General Sandeep Jain.

Lt Gen Harsha Gupta assuming command of White Knight Corps (16 Corps) from Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, on 12 Oct 2019. Lt Gen Harsha Gupta assumed command of White Knight Corps from Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, on 12 Oct 19.jpg
Lt Gen Harsha Gupta assuming command of White Knight Corps (16 Corps) from Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, on 12 Oct 2019.
General Manoj Pande, COAS, visiting 16 Corps, August, 2022 General Manoj Pande COAS visiting 16 Corps.jpg
General Manoj Pande, COAS, visiting 16 Corps, August, 2022

List of commanders

NameRankAppointment dateLeft officeUnit of commissionReferences
J F R Jacob Lieutenant General17 June 19721 August 1974 Regiment of Artillery [7]
K V Krishna Rao 2 August 19741979 Mahar Regiment [8]
K Chiman Singh1979 Rajputana Rifles
Shankar Roychowdhury 19911992 20 Lancers [9]
Manjit Singh Bhullar19961998 Sikh Regiment
D S Chauhan1998 Madras Regiment [10]
Arjun Singh Khanna31 March 2001 Regiment of Artillery [11]
J.B.S. Yadava 1 April 200118 August 2002 11th Gorkha Rifles [12] [13]
T P S Brar19 August 20022 December 2003 Maratha Light Infantry [14]
Ashok Kapur3 December 200330 April 2006 Sikh Light Infantry [14]
T K Sapru1 May 200631 October 2007 4th Gorkha Rifles [15]
R K Karwal1 November 200717 October 2008 Rajput Regiment [16]
R K Swamy16 October 200818 October 2009 Mahar Regiment [17]
Romeshwar Roy17 October 20094 December 2010 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles [18]
J P Nehra04 December 20101 November 2011 Madras Regiment [19]
A S Nandal2 November 20114 October 2012 5th Gorkha Rifles [20] [21]
Deependra Singh Hooda 5 October 201216 April 2014 4th Gorkha Rifles [22]
Konsam Himalay Singh 17 April 201423 July 2015 Rajput Regiment [23]
Rajendra Ramrao Nimbhorkar 24 July 20158 October 2016 Punjab Regiment [24] [25]
Ajae Kumar Sharma 9 October 201610 October 2017 Sikh Regiment [25]
Saranjeet Singh11 October 201711 October 2018 Sikh Light Infantry [26] [27]
Paramjit Singh Sangha12 October 201812 October 2019 Parachute Regiment [28]
Harsha Gupta13 October 201913 October 2020 Sikh Light Infantry [29]
M. V. Suchindra Kumar 14 October 202028 October 2021 Assam Regiment [30]
Manjinder Singh 29 October 202124 December 2022 Madras Regiment [31]
Sandeep Jain 25 December 202231 December 2023 Mahar Regiment [32]
Naveen Sachdeva01 January 2024Incumbent Garhwal Rifles [33]

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References

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  29. Corps, White Knight (12 October 2019). "Lt Gen Harsha Gupta assumed command of elite @WhiteKnightCorps from Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, on 12 Oct 19. He exhorted all ranks to continue to strive for excellence & be combat ready to thwart nefarious designs of enemy & inimical forces @NorthernComd_IA @adgpipic.twitter.com/sebJQhk3Uq". @Whiteknight_IA. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
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  33. https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2024/01/01/des15-jk-goc.html

Further reading