The Northern Command is a Command of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as the Northern Army of the British Indian Army in 1908. It was scrapped upon India's independence in 1947 and later re-raised in 1972. Currently, the XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar), I Corps (Mathura) and XVI Corps (Nagrota) are under its control. Its present commander is Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma.
History The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands: Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command, each under a lieutenant general.
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.
In 1937, Western Command was downgraded to become the Western Independent District. In April 1942, the Western Independent District was absorbed into the Northern Command which itself was re-designated as North Western Army to guard the borders at North West Frontier during World War II. It controlled the Kohat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan and Waziristan Districts.
The formation reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945.Major General Cecil Watton Toovey CB, CBE, MC In 1947, India moved towards partition, with Northern Command HQ at Rawalpindi becoming the Army HQ of the newly formed Pakistan Army (as GHQ Pakistan), with the rest of commands passing to the Indian Army.
In 1972, the Government of India decided to raise a separate command to oversee operations in the northern borders with Pakistan and China. Lt. Gen. P. S. Bhagat was appointed as its GOC-in-C in June 1972. Bhagat's main activities as Army Commander were the improvement of defence and the living and working condition of his troops. Headquarters for the command was established at Udhampur, J&K.Renaldi and Rikhye 2011, p. 21
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. In 2001–02, during Operation Parakram the III Corps and its 57th Mountain Division were temporarily shifted into the command as a reserve.On 1 June 2025, the Northern Command became the first Command of the Indian Army to establish the position of Command Subedar Major by appointing Subedar Major Ojit Singh from 3 Assam Regiment in-charge of the office. The appointee is meant for an advisory role and as a communication channel between the Army's senior leadership and the junior commissioned officers and other ranks. The position, equivalent to Senior Sergeant Major in Western armies and Master Warrant Officer in the Indian Air Force, will be established at all commands as well as at the COAS-level. The tenure is set for two years and extendable to three years.
Structure Currently, the Northern Commands has been assigned operational units under four corps: XIV Corps, I Corps, XV Corps and XVI Corps.
In 2021, the Strike One Corps was re-organised to join the Northern Command to assist at the Ladakh border with China. Structure of Northern CommandCorpsCorps HQGOC of Corps (Corps Commander)Assigned UnitsUnit HQ XIV Corps (Fire and Fury Corps)Leh, LadakhLt Gen Madanraj Pande3 Infantry DivisionKaru, Ladakh8 Mountain DivisionDras, Ladakh72 Infantry DivisionPathankot, Punjab254 (Independent) Armoured BrigadeLeh, Ladakh102 (Independent) Infantry BrigadePartapur, Ladakh118 (Independent) Infantry BrigadeNyoma, Ladakh XV Corps (Chinar Corps)Srinagar, Jammu & KashmirLt Gen Balbir Singh19 Mountain DivisionBaramulla, Jammu & Kashmir28 Infantry DivisionGurez, Jammu & KashmirRashtriya Rifles "Kilo Force"N/ARashtriya Rifles "Victor Force"N/AXVI Corps (White Knight Corps)Nagarota, Jammu & KashmirLt Gen Prasanna Kishore Mishra10 RAPID DivisionAkhnoor, Jammu & Kashmir25 Infantry DivisionRajauri, Jammu & Kashmir39 Mountain Division Yol, Himachal PradeshRashtriya Rifles "Delta Force"N/ARashtriya Rifles "Romeo Force"N/ARashtriya Rifles "Uniform Force"N/A10 Artillery BrigadeN/AI Corps (Strike One Corps)Mathura, Uttar PradeshLt Gen V Hariharan4 RAPID DivisionPrayagraj, Uttar Pradesh6 Mountain DivisionBareilly, Uttar Pradesh42 Artillery DivisionBassi, Rajasthan14 (Independent) Armoured BrigadeBhatinda, Punjab
Precursors (1895–1947) Following is the List of precursors to the Northern Command and their commanders:Army Commands
Punjab Command (1895–1907) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Punjab Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission1General Sir William S. A. Lockhart April 1895Nov 189844th Bengal Native Infantry2General Sir Arthur Power Palmer Nov 1898March 19005th Bengal Light InfantryActingLieutenant General Charles C. Egerton March 1899Oct 190131st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot3General Sir Bindon Blood Oct 1901Oct 1904Royal Engineers
Northern Command (1904–1908) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission1General Sir Bindon Blood Oct 1904June 1907Royal Engineers
Northern Army (1908–1920) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Army S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission1General Sir Alfred Gaselee June 1907Nov 1908Sutherland Highlanders2Lieutenant General Sir Josceline H. Wodehouse Nov 1908Oct 1910Royal Artillery3Lieutenant General Sir James Willcocks Oct 1910Aug 1914100th Regiment of Foot4Lieutenant General Sir Robert I. Scallon Aug 1914Feb 191572nd Highlanders5General Sir John E. Nixon Feb 1915Apr 1915 75th Regiment of FootVacantApr 1915May 1916 -6General Sir Arthur A. Barrett May 1916 May 1920
Northern Command (1920–1942) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission1General Sir William R. Birdwood, Bt Nov 1920Nov 1924Royal Scots Fusiliers2General Sir Claud W. Jacob Nov 1924May 1926Worcestershire Regiment3General Sir Alexander S. Cobbe May 1926May 1930Indian Staff Corps4General Sir Robert A. Cassels May 1930May 1934Indian Staff Corps5General Sir Kenneth Wigram May 1934May 19362nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)6General Sir John F. S. D. Coleridge May 1936Jun 1940Indian Staff Corps7General Sir Alan F. Hartley Jun 1940Jan 1942Durham Light Infantry8General Sir Cyril D. Noyes Jan 1942Apr 19422nd Queen Victoria's Own Rajput Light Infantry
North-Western Army (1942–1945) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North-Western Army S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission1General Sir Cyril D. Noyes Apr 1942May 1943Royal Scots Fusiliers2General Sir Edward P. Quinan May 1943Aug 1943Worcestershire Regiment3General Sir Henry Finnis Aug 1943May 1945Indian Staff CorpsActingMajor-general Cecil Toovey Jun 1945Oct 1945Indian Staff Corps4General Sir Richard N. O'Connor Oct 1945Nov 1945Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Northern Command (1945–1947) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command S.No Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission Ref1General Sir Richard N. O'Connor Nov 1945May 1946Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)ActingLieutenant General Douglas D. Gracey May 1946Oct 1946Royal Munster Fusiliers2Lieutenant General Frank W. Messervy Oct 1946Aug 19479th Hodson's Horse
List of GOC-in-C of Northern Command (1972–present) Following is the list of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command after its re-raising in 1972: General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command S.NoRank Name Assumed office Left office Unit of Commission Ref1Lieutenant General Premindra Singh Bhagat June 197228 July 1974Bombay Sappers2Harish Chandra Rai 28 July 197431 July 1978Rajputana Rifles3Gurbachan Singh 1 August 197831 December 197920 Lancers4Suraj Prakash Malhotra 1 January 198030 September 1982Brigade of The Guards5Manohar Lal Chibber 1 October 198231 August 19855th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)6Ashoka Kumar Handoo 1 September 198531 May 1987Brigade of Guards7Biddanda Chengappa Nanda 1 June 198731 May 1989Mahar Regiment8Gurinder Singh 1 June 198930 September 19914th Horse (Hodson's Horse)9Diwan Siri Ram Sahni 1 October 199131 August 1993Madras Sappers10Surrinder Singh 1 September 199331 August 199617th Horse (Poona Horse)11Sundararajan Padmanabhan 1 September 199631 December 1998Regiment of Artillery12Hari Mohan Khanna 1 January 199831 January 20014th Gorkha Rifles13Rustum Kaikhusrau Nanavatty 1 February 200131 May 20038th Gorkha Rifles14Hari Prasad 1 June 200331 July 2005Maratha Light Infantry15Deepak Kapoor 1 September 200530 December 2006Regiment of Artillery16Harcharanjit Singh Panag 1 January 200629 February 2008Sikh Regiment17Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj 1 March 200830 September 2009Parachute Regiment18Baljit Singh Jaswal 1 October 200931 December 2010Jammu and Kashmir Rifles19K. T. Parnaik 1 January 201130 June 2013Rajputana Rifles20Sanjiv Chachra 1 July 201331 May 2014Rajput Regiment21Deependra Singh Hooda 1 June 201430 November 20164th Gorkha Rifles22Devraj Anbu 1 December 201631 May 2018Sikh Light Infantry23Ranbir Singh 1 June 201831 January 2020Dogra Regiment24Yogesh Kumar Joshi 1 February 202031 January 2022Jammu and Kashmir Rifles 25Upendra Dwivedi 1 February 202218 February 2024Jammu and Kashmir Rifles26M. V. Suchindra Kumar 19 February 202430 April 2025Assam Regiment27Pratik Sharma 1 May 2025IncumbentMadras Regiment
References
Chris KEMPTON, ‘Loyalty and Honour’ – The Indian Army September 1939 – August 1947 Part I Divisions; Part II Brigades; Part III (Milton Keynes: Military Press, 2003) [ISBN 0-85420-228-5].
Sources
http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/where-did-brigades-go-vanished-why-and-who-disbanded.70950/ - list of brigades on the frontier in 1939