Northern Command (India)

The Northern Command is a Command of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as a formation of the British Indian Army in 1895, scrapped upon India's independence in 1947 and later reformed in 1972. Its present commander is Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi.[1]

"North Western Army" redirects here. For the Chinese revolutionary army, see Guominjun.

Northern Command
Northern Command's insignia today
Active	1908–1947 1972 – present
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Command
Garrison/HQ	Udhampur
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM, ADC
Notable commanders	General Sundararajan Padmanabhan General Deepak Kapoor
Insignia
Flag

History

The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army.[2] The Indian Army was divided into four Commands (Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command) each under a lieutenant general.[2]

In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies (Northern Army and Southern Army): this system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again (Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command).[2] Northern Command was re-formed again as North Western Army in April 1942 to guard the North West Frontier. It controlled the Kohat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan and Waziristan Districts.[3] The former Western Command, was absorbed by the new North Western Army at that time.[4] The formation reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945.[5] In 1947 Headquarters Northern Command became the new headquarters of the Pakistan Army. General Sir Frank Messervy continued to serve as Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1948.[6]

Composition 1942–45

The composition was:

• 7th Indian Infantry Division, April 1942 to January 1943
• 84th Indian Infantry Brigade, May 1942 to October 1943
• 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade, July 1942 to December 1942
• 55th Indian Infantry Brigade, July 1942 to September 1942
• Risalpur Training Brigade (15 Nov 1940 – April 1944) then re designated 155th Indian Infantry Brigade, April 1944 to August 1945[3]

Commanders prior to Independence

Commanders included:[7]
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Punjab Command

• 1895 – 1898 Major-General Sir William Lockhart
• 1898 – 1899 Major-General Sir Arthur Palmer
• 1899 – 1901 Major-General Sir Charles Egerton
• Oct 1901 – 1907 Lieutenant-General Sir Bindon Blood

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Army

• 1907 – Nov 1908 General Sir Alfred Gaselee
• Nov 1908 – Oct 1910 Lieutenant-General Sir Josceline Wodehouse
• Oct 1910 – Aug 1914 Lieutenant-General Sir James Willcocks
• Aug 1914 – Feb 1915 Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Scallon
• Feb 1915 – Apr 1915 General Sir John Nixon
• May 1916 – Nov 1920 General Sir Arthur Barrett

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command

• Nov 1920 – Nov 1924 General Sir William Birdwood
• Nov 1924 – May 1926 General Sir Claud Jacob
• May 1926 – May 1930 General Sir Alexander Cobbe
• May 1930 – May 1934 General Sir Robert Cassels
• May 1934 – May 1936 General Sir Kenneth Wigram
• May 1936 – Jun 1940 General Sir John Coleridge
• Jun 1940 – Jan 1942 General Sir Alan Hartley
• Jan 1942 – Apr 1942 General Sir Cyril Noyes

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North Western Army

• Apr 1942 – May 1943 General Sir Cyril Noyes
• May 1943 – Aug 1943 General Sir Edward Quinan
• Aug 1943 – May 1945 General Sir Henry Finnis
• Jun 1945 – Oct 1945 Major-General Cecil Toovey
• Oct 1945 – Nov 1945 General Sir Richard O'Connor

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command

• Nov 1945 – Oct 1946 General Sir Richard O'Connor
• Oct 1946 – Aug 1947 Lieutenant-General Sir Frank Messervy

Re-raising

The Government of India decided to raise a separate command to oversee operations in the northern borders with Pakistan and China. Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat, VC was appointed as the first Army Commander in June 1972. Bhagat's main activities as Army Commander were the improvement of defences and the living and working condition of his troops.[8] Headquarters for the command was established at Udhampur, J&K.[9]

The XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar) and XVI Corps (Nagrota) control the operational units in Northern Command. 71 Independent Sub Area is part of the Command. III Corps and its 57th Mountain Division were shifted into the command as a reserve for Operation Parakram in 2001–2002.[9]

List of Commanders

Rank	Name	Appointment Date	Left Office	Unit of Commission	References
Lieutenant General	P S Bhagat	June 1972	28 July 1974	Bombay Sappers	[8]
Lieutenant General	H. C. Rai	28 July 1974	31 July 1978	Rajputana Rifles	[10]
Lieutenant General	Gurbachan Singh	1 August 1978	31 December 1979	Armoured Corps	[11]
Lieutenant General	S. P. Malhotra	1 January 1980	30 September 1982		[12]
Lieutenant General	Manohar Lal Chibber	1 October 1982	31 August 1985		[13][14]
Lieutenant General	A. K. Handoo	1 September 1985	31 May 1987	Brigade of Guards	[15]
Lieutenant General	B. C. Nanda	1 June 1987	31 May 1989	2 Mahar Regiment	[15]
Lieutenant General	Gurinder Singh	1 June 1989	30 September 1991	4th Horse (Hodson's Horse)	[16]
Lieutenant General	D. S. R. Sahni	1 October 1991	31 August 1993	Madras Sappers	[17][18]
Lieutenant General	Surrinder Singh	1 September 1993	31 August 1996	17 Horse (Poona Horse) Armoured Corps	[19][20]
Lieutenant General	Sundararajan Padmanabhan	1 September 1996	31 December 1998	Regiment of Artillery	[21]
Lieutenant General	H M Khanna	1 January 1998	31 January 2001	Gorkha Rifles	[22]
Lieutenant General	R K Nanavatty	1 February 2001	31 May 2003	8 Gorkha Rifles	[23]
Lieutenant General	Hari Prasad	1 June 2003	31 July 2005	Maratha Light Infantry	[24]
Lieutenant General	Deepak Kapoor	1 September 2005	30 December 2006	Regiment of Artillery	[25][26]
Lieutenant General	H S Panag	1 January 2006	29 February 2008	18 Mechanised Infantry	[27]
Lieutenant General	P C Bhardwaj	1 March 2008	30 September 2009	1 Parachute Regiment	[28]
Lieutenant General	B S Jaswal	1 October 2009	31 December 2010	3 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles	[29][30]
Lieutenant General	K T Parnaik	1 January 2011	30 June 2013	2 Rajputana Rifles	[31]
Lieutenant General	Sanjiv Chachra	1 July 2013	31 May 2014	17 Rajput Regiment	[32]
Lieutenant General	D S Hooda	1 June 2014	30 November 2016	4 Gorkha Rifles	[33]
Lieutenant General	Devraj Anbu	1 December 2016	31 May 2018	Sikh Light Infantry	[34]
Lieutenant General	Ranbir Singh	1 June 2018	31 January 2020	Dogra Regiment	[1]
Lieutenant General	Yogesh Kumar Joshi	1 February 2020	Incumbent	13 JAK RIF	[35]

References

1. "'Face of Indian Army' Lt Gen Ranbir Singh appointed Northern Army Commander". The Week. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
2. "Northern Army". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
3. "North Western Army". Order of Battle. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
4. "British Military History". British Military History. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
5. Major General Cecil Watton Toovey CB, CBE, MC Archived 11 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
6. Ammentorp, Steen. "Generals of World War II". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
7. Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
8. Singh, V.K. (23 March 2005). Leadership in the Indian army: biographies of twelve soldiers (Illustrated ed.). New Delhi: Sage. p. 417. ISBN 978-0-7619-3322-9.
9. Renaldi and Rikhye 2011, p. 21
10. "Lt. Gen. Rai Takes Over Northern Command" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 28 July 1974. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
11. "New Appointments in Army" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 19 May 1978. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
12. "Lt. Gen. S. P. Malhotra – New GOC-in-C" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 26 December 1979. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
13. "Gen. Chhibber New GOC-in-C Northern Command" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 1 October 1982. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
14. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 February 1986. p. 129.
15. "Lt. Gen. BC Nanda Appointed GOC-in-C Northern Command" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 20 May 1987. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
16. "Lt. Gen. Gurinder Singh Appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 31 May 1989. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
17. "New Army Commanders Appointed" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 15 June 1991. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
18. "New Vice-Chief and Army Commanders Appointed" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 23 June 1993. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
19. "Lt. Gen. Surinder Singh Takes Over as Northern Army Commander" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 1 September 1993. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
20. "Army Appointments" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 22 August 1996. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
21. "rediff.com: Lt Gen Sundararajan Padmanabhan to be next army chief". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
22. "The Commanders Who Failed". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
23. "Lt Gen Nanavatty takes over as GOCC, northern command". Zee News. 1 February 2001. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
24. "Lt Gen Hari Prasad new GoC-in-C, Northern Command". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
25. "Lt Gen Kapoor to be new VCOAS; Panag, Jamwal to head N, E Cmds". oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
26. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News". www.tribuneindia.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
27. "Senior Appointments : Army". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
28. "Lt Gen PC Bhardwaj, takes over as Vice Army Chief". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
29. "Northern Command bid Farewell to Lt Gen BS Jaswal, general officer commanding- in chief – Ground Report". www.groundreport.com. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
30. "Lt Gen B S Jaswal takes charge of Northern Command today – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
31. "Lieutenant General KT Parnaik,takes over as the GOC-in -C, Northern Command – Ground Report". www.groundreport.com. January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
32. "Lt Gen Chachra takes over as Army's Northern Command chief". The Economic Times. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
33. "Lt Gen Hooda takes over as Northern Command Chief". Firstpost. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
34. "Lt Gen Devraj Anbu takes over as chief of Army's Northern command". The Indian Express. 1 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
35. Negi, Manjeet Singh (24 January 2020). "Kargil fame Lt Gen YK Joshi appointed Northern Army Commander". India Today. London. Retrieved 25 January 2020.

Sources

• Rinaldi, Richard; Rikhye, Ravi (2011). Indian Army Order of Battle. General Data. ISBN 978-0982054178.