XV Corps (India)

XV Corps, or 15 Corps, also known as Chinar Corps,[1] 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.[2] Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava is the current Corps Commander since 05 October 2024 taking over from Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai.

XV Corps
Indian Army XV Corps Formation Sign
Active1916-1918, 1942-1945, 1948-Present[2]
CountryIndia
BranchIndian Army
RoleHolding Corps
SizeCorps
Part of Northern Command
Garrison/HQBadami Bagh, Srinagar
Nickname(s)Chinar Corps
Commanders
Current
commander
Lieutenant General Prashant Srivastava
AVSM, SM
Notable
commanders
Lt Gen B. S. Raju
General Bikram Singh
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan
Lt Gen Kashmir Singh Katoch
Gen S. M. Shrinagesh
Lt.General Devendra Pratap Pandey

History

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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.[2]

Formation Sign

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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

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The corps currently consists of:[4][5]

List of Commanders / General Officer Commanding (GOC)

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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

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  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

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  1. ^ "Chinar Corps on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c A Hundred Seasons : Chinar Corps Saga of Valour & Sacrifice. Srinagar: Chinar Corps. 2016.
  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".
  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".
  43. ^ "Lt Gen Sandhu takes over as GoC, 15 Corps".
  44. ^ "Lt Gen A K Bhatt new GoC 15 Corps".
  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. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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Further reading

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  • 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.