54th Infantry Division (India)

The 54th Infantry Division is an Infantry division of the Indian Army. The Division was raised as an Infantry Division, but was converted into a Reorganised Amphibious Formation (RAMFOR) in 2011. It is currently the only division of the Indian Army which carries out Amphibious warfare.[1] The division is headquartered at Secunderabad in Telangana and is a part of XXI Corps. The Division is commanded by a Two-star General Officer of the rank of Major General titled General Officer Commanding (GOC).

54th Infantry Division
Founded01 October 1966 (01 October 1966)
Country India
Branch Indian Army
TypeInfantry
RoleAmphibious warfare
SizeDivision
Part ofXXI Corps
Garrison/HQSecunderabad
Nickname(s)Bison Division
Thambi Division
Bash On Regardless Division
Motto(s)Bash On Regardless
Mascot(s)The Gaur (The Indian Bison)
EngagementsIndo-Pakistani War of 1971
Operation Pawan
Operation Blue Star
Kargil War
Operation Parakram
Commanders
Current
commander		Major General Manjinder Singh
Notable
commanders		WAG Pinto
Cherish Mathson

History

The 54th Infantry Division was raised at Secunderabad on 1 October 1966. Major General SS Maitra, AVSM was the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division. At the time of its raising, the division had three Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigades. 47 Infantry Brigade was raised by Brigadier B D Man Singh at Golconda Fort, 91 Infantry Brigade by Brigadier K P Lahiri, VrC at Bolarum and the 54 Artillery Brigade was raised by Brigadier N V Subramaniam at Bowenpally.[2]

ORBAT during raising

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Main article: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

In the event of a war, the 54th Infantry Division was to be part of I Corps, then the only Strike Corps of the Indian Army. The division was commanded by Major General WAG Pinto, the 3rd General Officer Commanding (GOC).[3] The division moved from its peacetime location in Secunderabad to its operational location in the Punjab and was ready by mid-September 1971.

The tasks allotted to the Division were:

  • Carry out offensive operations based upon Galar with the ultimate aim of capturing Zafarwal and Dhamtal.
  • While doing so, capture Darman, Bari, Laisar Kalan, Supwal Ditch and Badwal. Be prepared to capture Deoli and Mirzapur, if required.[4][5] This meant that the Division was to operate between the Degh Nadi and the Karir Nadi.

The Pakistani forces opposite the Division consisted of elements of the 8th Infantry Division. The 24 Infantry Brigade with four battalions (11 Baloch which held the Supwal ditch, 40 Punjab which was deployed east of the Karir Nadi, 24 Punjab which was defending the Basantar Nala), a brigade in Zafarwal area and Reconnaissance elements of 21 Baloch. Apart from these infantry units, Pakistani armour consisted of the 8 Armoured Brigade which had 13th Lancers, 31 Cavalry and 27 Cavalry under it, equipped with M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks.[6]

The Division crossed the border as planned at 2000 hrs on 6 December and captured the border outposts at Chamnakhurd, Danadout, Galar Tanda, Chak Jangu, Dhandhar, Mukhwal and Buru Chakby 0230 hrs 7 December.[7]

Battle of Basantar
Main article: Battle of Basantar

The Battle of Basantar was among the most vital battles in the war. It was one of the greatest tank battles fought by the Indian Army.[8] The Division had the 47 Infantry Brigade, 91 Infantry Brigade and the 74 Infantry Brigade, Poona Horse and one squadron of Hodson's Horse. The date for the Basantar crossing was fixed for night 14/15 December, but was postponed by 24 hours by Gen Pinto.[9] The Battle of Basantar was a decisive Indian victory.

GOC 54 Inf Div Maj Gen WAG Pinto about the Division's performance during the war
"At 2000 hrs that night, the ceasefire was honoured by both sides and became effective. The guns were silent and an eerie calm pervaded over the bitterly cold night. It was a strange feeling, the sudden peace and quiet after the unending din and noise of the past fourteen days. Most of us were taken aback and felt lost. But, we couldn't waste time on this. We still had our hands full and soon got busy in dominating and securing every inch of the 388 square kilometers, which we had captured and over which the National Flag as well as the Divisional Flag proudly flew."

[10]

The 47 Infantry Brigade was christened Basantar Brigade after the war.[11]

In what is an Indian Army record, the 54th Infantry Division won as many as 196 gallantry medals in just 14 days of fierce fighting. These include 2 Param Vir Chakras and 9 Mahavir Chakras.[12] The GOC, Maj Gen Pinto was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

The Division remained in Pakistan until the Simla Agreement, after which it moved back to Secunderabad in March 1973. A war trophy - a disabled Pakistani M47 Patton Tank was gifted by the Division to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and had it installed on the Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad.[13]

Award Rank Name Unit References
Param Vir ChakraSecond LieutenantArun Khetarpal17 Poona Horse[14]
Param Vir ChakraMajorHoshiar Singh Dahiya3 Grenadiers[15]
Mahavir ChakraLieutenant ColonelHanut Singh17 Poona Horse[16]
Mahavir ChakraLieutenant ColonelV P Airy3 Grenadiers[17]
Mahavir ChakraLieutenant ColonelV P Ghai16 Madras[18]
Mahavir ChakraLieutenant ColonelRaj Mohan Vohra4 Horse[19]
Mahavir ChakraMajorA S Bal17 Poona Horse[20]
Mahavir ChakraMajorD V Singh8 Grenadiers[21]
Mahavir ChakraHavildarThomas Philipose16 Madras[19][22]

Operation Pawan
Main article: Operation Pawan

The Division, led by Major General Harkirat Singh, was the first formation to be inducted into Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). The Division was grouped with a Mechanised Infantry battalion, a Squadron of Armour and an Air Operation Flight.[2]

ORBAT

The Division was in Sri Lanka for over two and a half years and was de-inducted on 20 March 1990. During Operation Pawan, the Division earned 1 Param Vir Chakra, 3 Mahavir Chakras, 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 32 Vir Chakras, among others.[2]

Award Rank Name Unit References
Param Vir ChakraMajorRamaswamy Parameshwaran8 Mahar[23]
Mahavir ChakraBrigadierHanut Singh47 Infantry Brigade[24][25]
Mahavir ChakraColonelI B S Bawa4/5 Gorkha Rifles[26][27]
Mahavir ChakraMajorP S Ganapathi8 Mahar[28][29]

General Officers Commanding
S.No. Name Assumed Office Left Office
1 Major General S S Maitra AVSM 1966 1969
2 Major General K A S Raja PVSM 1969 1971
3 Major General WAG Pinto PVSM 1971 1974
4 Major General K S Bajwa 1974 1976
5 Major General M L Tuli 1976 1977
6 Major General A K Handoo 1977 1979
7 Major General D S C Rai 1979 1981
8 Major General G K Sen 1981 1983
9 Major General Shamsher Singh SM 1983 1985
10 Major General V K Singh 1985 1987
11 Major General Harkirat Singh 1987 1988
12 Major General S C Sardeshpande UYSM, AVSM 1988 1989
13 Major General R N Bhalia VSM 1989 1990
14 Major General M M Lakhera AVSM, VSM 1990 1992
15 Major General B N Kapur 1992 1994
16 Major General S P S Kanwar AVSM, VSM 1994 1996
17 Major General Mahesh Vij 1996 1998
18 Major General Basant Singh YSM 1998 2000
20 Major General S Pattabhiraman SM, VSM 2000 2001
21 Major General Zu Shah VSM 2001 2003
22 Major General K S Siva Kumar VSM 2003 2004
23 Major General S P S Dhillon VSM 2004 2005
24 Major General S P Rai VSM 2005 2006
25 Major General Anil Chait AVSM, VSM 2006 2008
26 Major General Rajesh Singh 2008 2009
27 Major General R C Chadha 2009 2011
28 Major General Amit Sharma 2011 2012
29 Major General Cherish Mathson SM, VSM 2012 2013
30 Major General R K Jagga 2014 2015
31 Major General R S Mann VSM 2015 2016
32 Major General Satish N Wasade 2016 2017
33 Major General B D Rai YSM 2017 2018
34 Major General Manjinder Singh 2018 Present
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See also

Citations
  1. "Army converts one infantry division into RAMFOR". Moneycontrol.
  2. "Curtain Raiser". Issuu.
  3. Pinto 2013, p. 74.
  4. Pinto 2013, p. 84.
  5. Rao 1991, p. 227.
  6. Pinto 2013, p. 85-86.
  7. Rao 1991, p. 228.
  8. Pinto 2013, p. 103.
  9. Pinto 2013, p. 92.
  10. Pinto 2013, p. 102.
  11. Farida, Syeda (14 December 2012). "Basantar Brigade pays tribute to war heroes". The Hindu.
  12. "Meet the Victor of Basantar- Lt General WAG Pinto". dnaindia.com.
  13. "War hero recalls the story behind tank on Tank Bund". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. TOI.
  14. "ARUN KHETARPAL | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  15. "HOSHIAR SINGH | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  16. "LT COL HANUT SINGH". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  17. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC) Awardee: Lt Gen Ved Prakash Airy, MVC". twdi.in.
  18. "VED PRAKASH GHAI | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  19. "THOMAS PHILIPOSE | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  20. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Brig Amarjit Singh Bal, MVC @ TWDI". twdi.in.
  21. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Col Dharam Vir Singh, MVC (retd) @ TWDI". twdi.in.
  22. Chakravorty, B. (1995). Stories of Heroism: PVC & MVC Winners. Allied Publishers. p. 273. ISBN 978-81-7023-516-3.
  23. "RAMASWAMY PARAMESWARAN | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  24. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Brig Manjit Singh, MVC (retd) @ TWDI". twdi.in.
  25. "MANJIT SINGH | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  26. "INDER BAL SINGH BAWA | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  27. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Lt Col Inder Bal Singh Bawa, MVC @ TWDI". twdi.in.
  28. "PUTTICHANDA SOMAIAH GANAPATHI | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in.
  29. "Mahavir Chakra (MVC), Awardee: Lt Col Puttichanda Somaiah Ganapathi, MVC (retd) @ TWDI". twdi.in.

References
  • Pinto, W.A.G. (2013), Bash on Regardless : A record of a life in war and peace, Natraj Publishers, ISBN 978-8181581983
  • Rao, K.V. Krishna (1991), Prepare or perish : a study of national security, Lancer Publ., ISBN 978-8172120016


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