Central Command (India)

Indian Army regional command

Central Command

Insignia of the Central Command

Active| 1942–1946
1 May 1963[1] – Present
Country|  India
Branch|  Indian Army
Type| Command
Garrison/HQ| Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Commanders
Current
commander| Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, UYSM AVSM YSM
Notable
commanders| Gen S F Rodrigues
Insignia
Flag|

Military unit

The Central Command of the Indian Army is one of the seven operational commands of the army. It is based at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

## History

[edit]

### Second World War

[edit]

Central Command was first established in 1942 during World War II and then disbanded in 1946.[2] Southern Command was responsible for most of the training activities for Indian Army until Central Command was formed in April 1942 which took over the responsibility of some of the training areas.[3]

### Post 1962 Indo-China war

[edit]

With its HQ at Lucknow the Command was re-established on 1 May 1963 due to the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Lt Gen K Bahadur Singh was the first Army Commander of the new Central Command. Prior to that date Lucknow had been the headquarters of the Eastern Command.[4][5]

### Humanitarian assistance and flood relief operations

[edit]

Central Command undertook humanitarian and Flood Relief Operations at various locations during flash floods including Delhi[6] and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh).[7]

## Structure

[edit]

Central Command's Area Of Responsibility (AOR) covers eight states of India: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.[8] 18 Regimental Centres and a large number of logistic and training establishments come under Central Command. The responsibility for the central sector of the Western border with Pakistan also lies with Central Command.[9] Almost half of the 62 cantonments in India lie within the Central Command's theatre.[10]

There are two Static Area Formations:– Uttar Bharat Area and Madhya Bharat Area. Central Command earlier used to act as a strategic reserve but now it is looking after Uttarakhand sector of Indo-Tibet and Indo-Nepal border.[11][12]

Structure of Central Command

Corps  | Corps HQ  | GOC of Corps

(Corps Commander)

| Assigned Units  | Unit HQ
XVIII Corps[13][14] | N/A  | N/A  | N/A  | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
N/A  | N/A  | N/A  | 14 RAPID Division  | Dehradun, Uttarakhand
50 (Independent) Parachute Brigade | Agra, Uttar Pradesh
9 (Independent) Mountain Brigade  | Joshimath, Uttarakhand
136 (Independent) Mountain Brigade  | Pooh, Himachal Pradesh
119 (Independent) Mountain Brigade  | Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
N/A  | N/A  | N/A  | Uttar Bharat Area  | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Bharat Area  | Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

## Precursors

[edit]

Following is the list of precursors to the Western Command and their commanders:[2]

### Central Command (1942–1946)

[edit]

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command

S.No  | Name  | Assumed office  | Left office  | Unit of Commission  | References
1  | Lieutenant General Henry B. D. Willcox CB, DSO, MC | May 1942  | December 1944  | Sherwood Foresters |
2  | General Sir Geoffry A. P. Scoones KBE, CB, CSI, DSO, MC | December 1944  | December 1946  | 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) |

## List of GOC-in-C of Central Command (1963–present)

[edit]

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Central Command

S.No  | Name  | Assumed office  | Left office  | Unit of Commission  | References
1  | Lieutenant General Kanwar Bahadur Singh MBE | May 1963  | August 1966  | 19th Hyderabad Regiment |
2  | Lieutenant General Joginder Singh Dhillon | August 1966  | August 1970  | Corps of Engineers |
3  | Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat PVSM, VC | August 1970  | Jun 1972  | Corps of Engineers |
4  | Lieutenant General Har Krishen Sibal MVC | June 1972  | November 1973  | 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) |
5  | Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh MVC | November 1973  | March 1975  | 16 Light Cavalry | [15]
6  | Lieutenant General J. S. Nakai PVSM | April 1975  | March 1979  | Regiment of Artillery | [16]
7  | Lieutenant General Ram Dharam Dass Hira PVSM, MVC | April 1979  | June 1980  | 11th Gorkha Rifles |
8  | Lieutenant General Walter Anthony Gustavo Pinto PVSM | July 1980  | June 1982  | Brigade of the Guards |
9  | Lieutenant General H. C. Dutta PVSM | July 1982  | November 1983  | 8th Gorkha Rifles |
10  | Lieutenant General Bhupinder Singh PVSM | December 1983  | September 1985  | Regiment of Artillery |
11  | Lieutenant General K. K. Hazari PVSM, AVSM | October 1985  | January 1986  | Regiment of Artillery |
12  | Lieutenant General K. B. Mehta PVSM | February 1986  | December 1987  | Brigade of the Guards |
13  | Lieutenant General Sami Khan PVSM, SM | January 1988  | March 1989  | Madras Regiment |
14  | Lieutenant General Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM, VSM | April 1989  | October 1989  | Regiment of Artillery |
15  | Lieutenant General Faridoon Noshir Billimoria PVSM | November 1989  | June 1991  | 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) | [17]
16  | Lieutenant General Vijai Singh PVSM | July 1991  | February 1992  | 8th Light Cavalry |
17  | Lieutenant General Y. N. Sharma PVSM, AVSM, VSM | March 1992  | March 1994  | The Grenadiers |
18  | Lieutenant General Arun Kumar Gautama PVSM | April 1994  | April 1995  | 16th Light Cavalry | [18]
19  | Lieutenant General R. K. Gulati PVSM | April 1995  | May 1996  | 9th Deccan Horse |
20  | Lieutenant General Chandra Sekhar PVSM, AVSM | June 1996  | September 1997  | 4th Gorkha Rifles | [19]
21  | Lieutenant General Surjit Singh PVSM, VSM | October 1997  | September 2000  | Dogra Regiment | [20]
22  | Lieutenant General P. S. Joshi PVSM, AVSM, VSM | October 2000  | September 2001  | 8th Gorkha Rifles | [21]
23  | Lieutenant General D. S. Chauhan PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM | October 2001  | December 2003  | Madras Regiment | [22]
24  | Lieutenant General Ram Subramanyam PVSM | January 2004  | December 2005  | Corps of Engineers | [23]
25  | Lieutenant General O. P. Nandrajog PVSM, AVSM, VSM | January 2006  | February 2008  | Brigade of the Guards | [24]
26  | Lieutenant General Harcharanjit Singh Panag PVSM, AVSM | March 2008  | December 2008  | Sikh Regiment | [25]
27  | Lieutenant General J. K. Mohanty PVSM, UYSM, SM, VSM | January 2009  | February 2010  | Dogra Regiment |
28  | Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM | March 2010  | February 2012  | Regiment of Artillery | [26]
29  | Lieutenant General Anil Chait PVSM, AVSM, VSM | March 2012  | June 2013  | Armoured Corps | [27]
30  | Lieutenant General Rajan Bakhshi PVSM, UYSM | July 2013  | November 2015  | 17th Horse (Poona Horse) | [28]
31  | Lieutenant General Balwant Singh Negi PVSM, UYSM, YSM, SM, VSM | December 2015  | 30 September 2018  | Assam Regiment | [29]
32  | Lieutenant General Abhay Krishna PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM | 1 October 2018  | 30 September 2019  | Rajputana Rifles | [30]
33  | Lieutenant General Iqroop Singh Ghuman PVSM, AVSM | 1 October 2019  | 31 March 2021  | Brigade of The Guards | [31]
34  | Lieutenant General Yogendra Dimri PVSM, AVSM, VSM | 1 April 2021  | 28 February 2023  | Corps of Engineers | [32]
35  | Lieutenant General N. S. Raja Subramani PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM | 1 March 2023  | 30 June 2024  | Garhwal Rifles | [33]
36  | Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM | 1 July 2024  | Incumbent | Punjab Regiment | [34]

## See also

[edit]

Operation Surya Hope

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Army pays poignant tributes to its martyrs & bravehearts". The Times of India. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
2. ^ a b Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Alan Jeffreys; Patrick Rose (1 August 2012). The Indian Army 1939–47 Experience and Development. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9781409456537. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
4. ^ "Central Command Raising Day concludes". The Times of India. 3 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
5. ^ Subodh Kapoor (2002). The Indian Encyclopaedia: India (Central Provinces)-Indology. Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. p. 3372\. ISBN 9788177552683. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
6. ^ Hindustan Times (14 July 2023). Delhi Flood Situation Grim, Indian Army Steps In To Help Govt | More Rains Predicted In Uttarakhand. Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via YouTube.
7. ^ IndiaTV (20 February 2019). Himachal: One ITBP jawan killed, 5 missing in Kinnaur avalanche, rescue operation underway. Retrieved 29 May 2024 – via YouTube.
8. ^ "Theatre Commands". India Today. 20 November 2021.
9. ^ "Commands of the Indian Army". Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
10. ^ Mukund Padmanabhan (11 May 2003). "Central Command's novel initiative". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
11. ^ Bharat Verma; G. M. Hiranandani; B. K. Pandey (2008). Indian Armed Forces. Lancer Publishers. p. 16\. ISBN 9780979617423. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
12. ^ "Central Command earlier used to act as strategic reserve but now it is looking after uttrakhand sector of Chinese border. 14 Division is tasked for the role". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
13. ^ "Army to set up new corps for operations along LAC". The Indian Express. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
14. ^ "New Corps at Bareilly: How Indian Army plans to get war ready against China". The Economic Times. 21 February 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
15. ^ "Lieutenant General Khem Karan Singh, MVC: A great military leader". defenceinfo.com. 11 August 2016.
16. ^ "General Nakai laid to rest with service honours". The Tribune.
17. ^ "NEW ARMY C0MMANDERS ANNOUNCED" (PDF). 29 October 1989. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
18. ^ "Ex-Western Army Commander Lt Gen Gautama passes away". 28 November 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
19. ^ "Padmanabhan may be new Army Chief". The Tribune.
20. ^ "Shortage of officers may continue". The Tribune.
21. ^ "First IDS chief Lt Gen Joshi dies". The Times of India. 2 July 2009.
22. ^ "New Army Vice-Chief". The Hindu. 5 September 2001.[dead link]
23. ^ "Lt-Gen Subramanyam is new GOC-in-C". The Times of India. January 2004.
24. ^ "Lt Gen Nandrajog takes over as Central Command GOC-in-C". Outlook.
25. ^ "Senior Appointments : Army". pib.nic.in. PIB.
26. ^ "Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Ahluwalia retires after 40 years of service". 1 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
27. ^ "LIEUTENANT GENERAL ANIL CHAIT TAKES OVER AS GOC-IN-C, CENTRAL COMMAND". Indian Army.
28. ^ "Lt Gen Rajan Bakhshi takes over as GOC-in-C, Central Command". Indian Defence Review. November 2015.
29. ^ "Lt Gen BS Negi appointed Central Command's new GOC-in-C (designate)". The Times of India. 6 December 2015.
30. ^ "Lt Gen Abhay Krishna takes over as GOC-in-Chief of Central Command". The Times of India. October 2018.
31. ^ Gurung, Shaurya Karanbir (23 July 2019). "Naravane appointed as new Vice Chief of Indian Army, four army commanders appointed". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
32. ^ "Lt Gen Yogendra Dimri appointed as next Commander-in-chief of Lucknow-based Central Army Command". ANI News. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
33. ^ "Lt. Gen. Raju shifted, new Vice-Chief named". The Hindu. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
34. ^ "Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta appointed as Central Army commander". The tinesnownews.com. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Central Command @ globalsecurity.org

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