XXI Corps (India)

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XXI Corps
XXI Corps.png
Indian Army XXI Corps Formation Sign
Active1917-18
19421943
1990present
Country British Raj Red Ensign.svg British India
Flag of India.svg India
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg British Empire
Flag of India.svg India
Branch British Raj Red Ensign.svg British Indian Army
Flag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
RoleStrike Corps
Size Corps
Part of Southern Command (India).png Southern Command
Garrison/HQ Bhopal
Nickname(s)Sudarshan Chakra Corps
Engagements World War II
Commanders
Current
commander
Lieutenant General Arvind Chauhan
Notable
commanders
General Nirmal Chander Vij
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain
Lt Gen Pradeep Singh Mehta
Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth

The XXI Corps, or the Sudarshan Chakra Corps, is a strike corps of the Indian Army and is headquartered at Bhopal.

Contents

World War I

The XXI Indian Corps was first raised on 12 August 1917 during the World War I, specifically for operations in the Middle East region against the German–Ottoman alliance. The corps was part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Allenby and took active part in the capture of Gaza and Jerusalem from October to December 1917, and against the Turkish Seventh and Eight Armies in 1918. The Corps was disbanded in 1918, at the end of the war. [1]

World War II

The corps was re-raised in Persia on 6 June 1942 as a formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The corps was commanded throughout its existence by Lieutenant General Mosley Mayne and was part of the Tenth Army. The corps, composed of the 8th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Dudley Russell) and the British 56th Infantry Division (Major-General Eric Miles), was created as part of the Allied buildup of forces in Persia and Iraq to create Persia and Iraq Command in order to prevent a German invasion of the Caucasus. The invasion never occurred and the corps was disbanded on 24 August 1943. [2]

Present

Exercise Sudarshan Shakti, 21 Corps, December 2011 Exercise Sudarshan Shakti.jpg
Exercise Sudarshan Shakti, 21 Corps, December 2011

After India's intervention in Sri Lanka, the provisional headquarters (HQ) controlling India's expeditionary force, HQ Indian Peace Keeping Force, became HQ XXI Corps in April 1990 at Chandimandir. Permanent retention of the Corps at Bhopal was authorised on 29 October 1990. [1] It is the only strike corps in the Indian Army’s Pune based Southern Command, the other three being - I Corps, II Corps and XVII Corps. [4] XXI corps functions as both a strike corps and would also be used if India were to make another large intervention overseas.

It currently consists of: [5]

List of Commanders

Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal taking over the command of the Corps from Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, August 2022. Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal.jpg
Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal taking over the command of the Corps from Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth, August 2022.
RankNameAppointment DateLeft OfficeUnit of CommissionReferences
Lieutenant General G L BakshiApril 1990January 1992 Kumaon Regiment [16]
R K GulatiJanuary 1992October 1992 9th Deccan Horse [16]
Krishna Mohan Seth October 1992October 1994 Regiment of Artillery [17] [16]
Chandra ShekharOctober 19941996 4th Gorkha Rifles [18] [16]
Nirmal Chander Vij 19961997 Dogra Regiment [17] [16]
B M Kapur1997 Armoured Corps [16]
Satish Satpute30 August 2002 Maratha Light Infantry [16]
P P S Bhandari31 August 200231 December 2004 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) [19] [16]
Aditya Singh1 January 2004January 2005 9th Deccan Horse [16] [20]
Harcharanjit Singh Panag January 2005December 2006 Sikh Regiment [21] [16]
Pradeep KhannaJanuary 2007May 2008 20 Lancers [22]
Arvinder Singh Lamba26 May 2008May 2009 Regiment of Artillery [23]
Rajinder SinghMay 20092010 Mechanised Infantry Regiment [24] [25]
Syed Ata Hasnain 2010December 2010 Garhwal Rifles [26]
Sanjiv LangerDecember 2010January 2012 Armoured Corps [27]
S H KulkarniJanuary 2012January 2013 Armoured Corps [28]
Amit SharmaJanuary 2013February 2014 45 Cavalry [29]
Rajeev Vasant KanitkarFebruary 20142015 17th Horse (Poona Horse) [5]
Pradeep Singh Mehta201531 June 2016 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) [30]
Cherish Mathson 1 July 201630 June 2017 Garhwal Rifles [31]
Iqroop Singh Ghuman 1 July 201731 June 2018 Brigade of the Guards [32]
Ravendra Pal Singh 1 July 2018July 2019 Mechanised Infantry Regiment [33]
Yogendra Dimri July 201925 July 2020 Bombay Sappers [34]
Atulya Solankey26 July 202030 July 2021 11th Gorkha Rifles [35]
Dhiraj Seth 31 July 202131 July 2022 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) [36]
Vipul Shinghal3 August 202231 December 2023 51 Armoured Regiment [37]
Prit Pal Singh1 January 202431 July 2025 62 Cavalry [38]
Arvind Chauhan01 August 2025Incumbent 1 Gorkha Rifles [39]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "SUDARSHAN CHAKRA CORPS" . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. "British Military History". www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016.
  3. "Exercise 'Sudarshan Shakti', Mighty Manoeuvres". 11 December 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. Chauhan, R S (3 January 2014). "Finally, an army strike corps aimed at China". Rediff.com . Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 "General Officer Commanding 21 Corps meets MP CM". 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "Lt Gen JS Nain, Army Cdr Southern Command accompanied by Lt Gen Atulya Solankey, GOC Sudarshan Chakra Corps visited White Tiger Division, Babina to witness integrated field firing conducted on a near realistic technology enabled battle field situation". 13 March 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  7. "Armoured Formations" . Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  8. "Army strike formation validates new assault concepts". SP's MAI.
  9. See also http://www.kv3gwalior.org/index.php?qs=cont_show&pageid=2 Archived 10 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Mandeep Bajwa and Ravi Rikhye, Indian Army RAPID Divisions Archived 28 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine , 11 February 2001
  11. "GOC Sudarshan Chakra Corps visits Secunderabad Military Station". 8 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  12. Kerala to be headquarters for country's first amphibious brigade Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine , 5 October 2008
  13. "Major General Sanjeev Narain". 19 August 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  14. "Lt General Dhiraj Seth, GOC, Sudarshan Chakra Corps visited Agnibaaz Division". 1 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  15. "AD unit of First to Strike Brigade of Sudarshan Chakra Corps organised a blood donation camp". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Of commanders and their command". 9 December 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  17. 1 2 "Sudarshan Chakra corps celebrate 3rd reunion". 3 December 2008. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  18. Shekhar, Chandra (2016). Gorkha Hat and Maroon Beret. Ambi Knowledge Resources Pvt.Ltd. ISBN   978-8190359160.
  19. "PIB press release". 31 August 2002. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  20. "Lt Gen Aditya Singh takes over charge of Southern Command". 1 March 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  21. "New Northern Command chief takes over". 1 January 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  22. "Lt Gen Pradeep Khanna takes over". 6 January 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  23. "Lt Gen Lamba is new GOC of Bhopal-based 21 Corps" . Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  24. "Army Chief visits Pangode". 1 December 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  25. "Musical fight". 13 March 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  26. "General Ata Hasnain". 21 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  27. "Pratibha Patil to review Sudarshan Shakti in desert". 1 December 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  28. "Lt Gen Kulkarni takes over reins of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". 9 January 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  29. "LT GEN AMIT SHARMA, VSM APPOINTED C-IN-C STRATEGIC FORCE COMMAND". 20 June 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  30. "Centre sits on postings of Lt Generals, Western Command awaits GOC-in-C". 23 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  31. "lt Gen Cherish Mathson takes over Sudarshan Chakra's command".
  32. "Lt General Ghuman takes command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". thehitavada.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  33. "Lt Gen Ravendra Pal Singh assumes command of Sudharshan Chakra Corps". thehitavada.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  34. "Lieutenant General Yogendra Dimri, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal Assumes Command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". The Times of India . Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  35. atulya, solankey. "atulya solankey took over reins of sudarshan chakra corps".
  36. "Bhopal: Lt General Dhiraj Seth assumes command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". 31 July 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  37. "Lt Gen Vipul Shinghal took over the command of the Sudarshan Chakra Corps from Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth". 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  38. "Lieutenant-General Prit Pal Singh assumes command of Sudarshan-chakra Corps". 1 January 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  39. "Lieutenant General Arvind Chauhan assumes Command of Sudarshan Chakra Corps". 1 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.