XV Corps (India)

This article is about the present-day formation of the Indian Army. For British Indian formation of the Second World War, see XV Corps (British India).

XV Corps
Active	1916-1918 1942-1945 1948-Present [1]
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Role	Holding Corps
Size	Corps
Part of	Northern Command
Garrison/HQ	Badami Bagh, Srinagar
Nickname(s)	Chinar Corps
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava AVSM , SM
Notable commanders	General S. M. Shrinagesh General Sundararajan Padmanabhan General Bikram Singh

The XV Corps, also known as the Chinar Corps, ^[2] 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. ^[1] Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava is the current Corps Commander since 05 October 2024 taking over from Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.

History

HQ XV Corps was first raised in Egypt at Port Said on January 12, 1916, under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Horne who was sacked after killing of five under command Indian soldiers.^{[ citation needed ]} It was part of the British Indian Army during the First World War for operations in Egypt and France. Disbanded in 1918, it was re-raised on March 20, 1942, at Barrackpore for combat operations in Burma during World War II, and after the war, it served in Java and Sumatra. ^[3]

Disbanded in Karachi in 1947 after repatriation, it was re-raised after India gained independence, as part of the Indian Army, in 1948 as HQ Jammu and Kashmir Force. It underwent a number of name changes till its final re-designation as HQ 15 Corps in 1955 in Udhampur. In June 1972, HQ Northern Command was raised to take over operational control of Jammu & Kashmir. HQ 15 Corps moved to Srinagar to take charge of the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh. After Operation Vijay, HQ 15 Corps was made solely responsible for military operations in the Kashmir Valley. ^[1]

Formation Sign

The design consists of the 'red-white-red background' depicting a corps of the Indian Army with a Chinar leaf and a battle axe superimposed on it.

Composition

The corps currently consists of: ^{[4] [5]}

• 19th Mountain Division (Dagger Division) headquartered at Baramulla
• 28th Infantry Division (Vajr Division) headquartered at Kupwara
• Kilo Force, Victor Force of the Rashtriya Rifles come under the operational control of the corps

List of Commanders / General Officer Commanding (GOC)

Rank	Name	Appointment Date	Left Office	Unit of Commission	References
Lieutenant General	S. M. Shrinagesh	September 1948	January 1948	19th Hyderabad Regiment	[6] [7]
	Mohinder Singh Wadalia	1957	1959	19th Hyderabad Regiment	[8]
	Shiv Dev Verma	January 1959	1961	16th Light Cavalry	[9]
	Bikram Singh	June 1961	22 November 1963	13th Frontier Force Rifles	[10]
	Kashmir Singh Katoch	November 1963	7 June 1966	13th Frontier Force Rifles	[11]
	Sartaj Singh	1970	January 1973	Regiment of Artillery	[12] [13]
	R K Jasbir Singh			4th Gorkha Rifles	[14] [15] [nb 1]
	Prem Nath Hoon	3 August 1983	1984	Sikh Regiment	[16] [nb 2]
	Mohammad Ahmed Zaki	October 1989	June 1991	Maratha Light Infantry	[17]
	Sundararajan Padmanabhan	July 1993	February 1995	Regiment of Artillery	[18] [19]
	J S Dhillon	March 1995		Maratha Light Infantry	[20]
	Krishan Pal	1999	January 2000	Assam Regiment	[21] [22]
	John Ranjan Mukherjee	January 2000	17 April 2002	Assam Regiment	[23]
	Vinayak Gopal Patankar	18 April 2002	17 July 2003	Regiment of Artillery	[24]
	Nirbhay Sharma	18 July 2003	14 June 2005	Parachute Regiment	[25]
	Sarabjit Singh Dhillon	15 June 2005	22 October 2006	The Grenadiers	[26]
	Amarjeet Singh Sekhon	23 October 2006	23 November 2007	Sikh Light Infantry	[27] [28]
	Mukesh Sabharwal	24 November 2007	2008	Rajput Regiment	[29] [30]
	Bikram Singh	2008	31 October 2009	Sikh Light Infantry	[31]
	N C Marwah	30 November 2009	3 December 2010	Kumaon Regiment	[32] [33]
	Syed Ata Hasnain	4 December 2010	8 June 2012	The Garhwal Rifles	[34] [35]
	Om Prakash	9 June 2012	9 June 2013	Kumaon Regiment	[36]
	Gurmit Singh	10 June 2013	25 June 2014	Assam Regiment	[37] [38] [39]
	Subrata Saha	26 June 2014	25 November 2015	Assam Regiment	[40]
	Satish Dua	26 November 2015	31 October 2016	Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry	[41] [42]
	Jaswinder Singh Sandhu	1 November 2016	14 December 2017	5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)	[43]
	Anil Kumar Bhatt	15 December 2017	7 February 2019	9th Gorkha Rifles	[44]
	Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon	8 February 2019	29 February 2020	Rajputana Rifles	[45]
	B. S. Raju	1 March 2020	17 March 2021	Jat Regiment	[46]
	Devendra Pratap Pandey	17 March 2021	9 May 2022	Sikh Light Infantry	[47]
	Amardeep Singh Aujla	9 May 2022	14 June 2023	Rajputana Rifles	[48]
	Rajiv Ghai	14 June 2023	5 October 2024	Kumaon Regiment	[49]
	Prashant Srivastava	5 October 2024	Incumbent	Parachute Regiment	[50]

Notes

1. Though commissioned into the 4th Gorkha Rifles, he was later transferred to the Jat Regiment
2. Though commissioned into the 4 Sikh, he was later transferred to the Dogra Regiment

References

1. A Hundred Seasons : Chinar Corps Saga of Valour & Sacrifice. Srinagar: Chinar Corps. 2016.
2. "Chinar Corps on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
3. "15 Corps celebrates Raising Day". 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
4. "Army's elite counter-insurgency unit Rashtriya Rifles turns 25 tomorrow". The Economic Times. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
5. "In Kashmir, Army Chief Sends Word Down The Line: No Custody Death". 9 February 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
6. "General S. M. Shrinagesh passes away" (PDF). 27 December 1977. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
7. Singh, VK (2005). Leadership in the Indian Army, Biographies of Twelve Soldiers. Sage Publications. p. 105. ISBN   978-0761933229.
8. "First Vice-Chief of Army Staff cremated". 22 May 2001. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
9. Singh, Jogindar (1993). Behind The Scene: An Analysis of India's Military Operations 1947–1971. Lancer Publishers. p. 53. ISBN   978-1897829202.
10. "Gazette of India" (PDF). 23 November 1963. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
11. "Lt Gen KS Katoch retires" (PDF). 22 November 1970. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
12. "Generals promoted Army Commanders" (PDF). 22 January 1973. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
13. Khullar, Darshan (2017). Themes of Glory: Indian Artillery in War. VIJ Books (India) Pty Ltd. ISBN   978-9385563973.
14. "In Memory Of Late Shujaat Bukhari". 1 September 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
15. "Defence expert says clear nuclear doctrine crucial for India". 16 June 1998. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
16. "Lt Gen PN Hoon, who secured Siachen for India in 1984, dies at 90". 7 January 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
17. "Lt Gen (Retd) M.A. Zaki" . Retrieved 12 August 2021.
18. "General S Padmanabhan" . Retrieved 10 August 2021.
19. "Lt Gen Sundararajan Padmanabhan to be next army chief". 1 August 2000. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
20. "Words of wisdom: Put in your best, enjoy what you do, results will follow, says war veteran". 5 May 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
21. "The Commanders Who Failed". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
22. "Rediff On The NeT: Lt Gen Krishan Pal to be shifted out of 15 Corps". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
23. "The Indian Army is not a tired army". 16 April 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
24. "Lt Gen V G Patankar on minority targets in J&K". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
25. "Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma takes over as G-O-C of 15 corps". Zee News. 18 July 2003. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
26. "Dhillion to take over as GOC of 15 Corps". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
27. "Lt Gen Sekhon takes over".
28. "New GOC for Srinagar-based 15 Corps". The Hindu. 25 October 2006. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
29. "Lt General Sabharwal takes charge of 15 Corps - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
30. "Gen. Sabharwal takes over as Srinagar's 15 Corps GOC". The Hindu. 25 November 2007. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 December 2017.
31. "General Bikram Singh (01 Jun 2012 to 31 Jul 2014)" . Retrieved 8 August 2021.
32. "Marwah is new GOC 15 Corps". Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
33. "Marwah takes over as commander of 15th Corps | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
34. "After two decades, Muslim officer to command Srinagar-based 15 Corps - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
35. "Muslim General takes charge to thwart Pak offensive along LoC". The Economic Times. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
36. "Lt Gen Om Prakash takes over as new GOC of 15 Corps". www.hindustantimes.com/. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
37. "Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh to take over as GOC 15 Corps".
38. "GOC 15 Corps Lt General Gurmit Singh addressing a press conference at Army headquarters in Badami Bagh in Srinagar on Wednesday. (UNI)". Jammu Kashmir Latest News | Tourism | Breaking News J&K. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
39. "Lt Gen Gurmeet Singh new Chinar corps GOC". Firstpost. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
40. "Lt Gen Subrata Saha takes over as GOC 15 Corps in Srinagar". Firstpost. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
41. "Lt Gen Satish Dua takes over as CISC". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
42. "Lt Gen Dua takes over command of 15 Corps". Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
43. "Lt Gen Sandhu takes over as GoC, 15 Corps". Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
44. "Lt Gen A K Bhatt new GoC 15 Corps". Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
45. "Lt Gen Dhillon takes over as GOC 15 Corps". www.tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019.
46. "Lieutenant General BS Raju: 'Present situation in Kashmir stable but fragile… peace goal for forces'". The Indian Express. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
47. "Lt Gen DP Pandey takes command of Chinar Corps". 17 March 2021.
48. "Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla takes over as GoC 15 Corps". 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
49. "Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai assumes Chinar Corps command". 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
50. "Lt Gen Prashant Srivastava assumes command of Army's Chinar Corps". 5 October 2024. Archived from the original on 5 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

External links

• XV Corps on Twitter

Further reading

• Richard A. Renaldi and Ravi Rikhe, 'Indian Army Order of Battle,' Orbat.com for Tiger Lily Books: A division of General Data LLC, ISBN   978-0-9820541-7-8, 2011.