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Southern Command (India)

Indian Army command

Summary

Indian Army command

Field	Value
unit_name	Southern Command
image	File:Southern Command, Indian Army.png
image_size	250px
caption	Insignia of the Southern Command
country	India
branch
type	Command
dates	1908–present
current_commander	Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth,
garrison	Pune
anniversaries	1 April (Raising Day)
notable_commanders	General Rajendrasinhji Jadeja
General S M Shrinagesh
General K S Thimayya
General Pran Nath Thapar
General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri
General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor
General Om Prakash Malhotra
General Bipin Chandra Joshi
General Ved Prakash Malik
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan
General Nirmal Chander Vij
General Bipin Rawat
identification_symbol	[[File:Flag of the Southern Command (India).jpg	150px]]
identification_symbol_label	Flag

General S M Shrinagesh General K S Thimayya General Pran Nath Thapar General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor General Om Prakash Malhotra General Bipin Chandra Joshi General Ved Prakash Malik General Sundararajan Padmanabhan General Nirmal Chander Vij General Bipin Rawat Southern Command is a formation of the Indian Army, active since 1895. It has seen action during the integration of several Princely States into modern India, during the 1961 Indian liberation of Goa, and during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani Wars.

Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth is the present Southern Army Commander.

History

Early 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 1914, the Southern Army consisted of the 4th (Quetta) Division, the 5th (Mhow) Division, the 6th (Poona) Division, the 9th (Secunderabad) Division, and the Aden Brigade.

Second World War

During the Second World War, Southern Command was reformed as Southern Army (equivalent to a corps) in April 1942. The formation reverted to the title Southern Command in November 1945.

Component divisions included:

19th Indian Infantry Division, April 1942 to July 1944
2nd British Infantry Division, June 1942 to April 1943, and then June 1945 to August 1945
70th British Infantry Division, July 1943 to October 1943
81st (West Africa) Division, March 1945 to August 1945
36th Infantry Division (British Army), June 1945 to August 1945

Component brigades included:

7th Armoured Brigade, June 1942 to September 1942
British 6th Infantry Brigade, November 1942 to December 1942
150th Indian Infantry Brigade March 1944 to August 1945
26th Indian Infantry Brigade July 1944 to December 1944

Post war

In August 1947, Southern Command had the Deccan, Madras and Bombay Areas (with HQs at Kamptee, Madras and Bombay). In 1947–48, Southern Command was largely responsible in getting Junagadh and Hyderabad to sign the instrument of accession to India. 1st Armoured Division did the actual incursion into Hyderabad. In 1961, the Indian annexation of Goa was conducted by 17th Infantry Division and 50th Parachute Brigade, under the operational control of Southern Command.

In 1965–66, two further divisions were raised within the command. After fighting broke out in the Rann of Kutch in April 1965, a hastily constituted force, named Kilo Force under Maj. Gen P. O. Dunn was formed to contain this attack. Kilo Force was later re-designated as 11 Infantry Division. In September 1965, the operational responsibility for the Barmer sector was given to Southern Command and entrusted to 11 Infantry Division. Delhi and Rajasthan Area, with its Advance Headquarters at Jodhpur, fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 under Western Command. On 3 November 1966, this formation was re-designated 12th Infantry Division, under Major General J.F.R. Jacob, and also placed under Southern Command.

Structure

The command headquarters is located in Pune, Maharashtra. It consists of two corps and two military areas. The two areas are the Maharashtra Goa and Gujarat Area (MG&G Area) and the Dakshin Bharat Area (renamed). In 2005, changes were made to its area of responsibility when a new South Western Command was established.

Dakshin Bharat Area is a static formation which now provides administrative, logistical, and infrastructural support to military units and establishments in Southern India. It was previously known as the Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala Area (ATNK&K Area). The current General Officer Commanding is Lieutenant General Karanbir Singh Brar. Its responsibilities include administrative; logistical; and infrastructure support. The area encompasses the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, as well as the union territories of Puducherry and Lakshadwee.

Structure of Southern Command	Corps	Corps HQ	GOC of Corps	Assigned Units	Unit HQ
[[File:XII Corps (India).svg	frameless	124x124px]]	XII Corps	Jodhpur, Rajasthan	Lt Gen Aditya Vikram Singh Rathee	11 Infantry Division	Ahmedabad, Gujarat
12 RAPID Division	Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
75 (Independent) Infantry Brigade	Bhuj, Gujarat
4 (Independent) Armoured Brigade	Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
340 (Independent) Mechanized Brigade	Ajmer, Rajasthan
[[File:XXI Corps.png	frameless	124x124px]]	XXI Corps	Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh	Lt Gen Arvind Chauhan	54 Infantry Division	Secunderabad, Telangana
36 RAPID Division	Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
31 Armoured Division	Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
41 Artillery Division	Pune, Maharashtra
475 Engineering Brigade	Nasirabad, Rajasthan
	Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa Area	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu,	Chennai, Tamil Nadu
617 (Independent) Air Defence Brigade	Pune, Maharashtra

Precursors (1907–1948)

Following is the List of precursors to the Southern Command and their commanders:

Southern Command (1907–1908)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command	S.No	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Unit of Commission	References
1	General Sir Archibald Hunter	June 1907	October 1908	4th (King's Own Royal) Regiment of Foot

Southern Army (1908–1920)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Army	S.No	Name	Assumed office	Left office
1	General Sir Edmund G. Barrow	October 1908	October 1912	102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers)
2	General Sir John E. Nixon	October 1912	February 1915	75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot
3	Lieutenant General Sir Robert I. Scallon	February 1915	1916	72nd (Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders) Regiment of Foot
4	Lieutenant General Sir Charles A. Anderson	April 1917	November 1919	Royal Horse Artillery
5	Lieutenant General Sir William R. Marshall	November 1919	1920	Sherwood Foresters

Southern Command (1920–1942)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command	S.No	Name	Assumed office	Left office
1	Lieutenant General Sir William R. Marshall	1920	December 1923	Sherwood Foresters
2	Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Skeen	December 1923	March 1924	King's Own Scottish Borderers
3	Lieutenant General Sir Harold B. Walker	March 1924	March 1928	Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
4	General Sir William C. G. Heneker	March 1928	March 1932	Connaught Rangers
5	General Sir George D. Jeffreys	March 1932	March 1936	Grenadier Guards
6	Lieutenant General Sir Ivo L. B. Vesey	March 1936	October 1937	Queen's Royal Regiment
7	General Sir John E. S. Brind	October 1937	March 1941	Royal Artillery
8	Lieutenant General Thomas S. Riddell-Webster	March 1941	October 1941	Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
9	General Sir Brodie Haig	October 1941	June 1942	24th Punjabis

Southern Army (1942–1945)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Army	S.No	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Unit of Commission	References
1	Lieutenant General Sir Noel M. de la P. Beresford-Peirse	June 1942	March 1945	Royal Artillery

List of GOC-in-C of Southern Command (1945- present)

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command	S.No	Name	Assumed office	Left office	Unit of Commission	References
1	Lieutenant General Rob Lockhart	April 1945	15 August 1947	51st Sikhs
2	Lieutenant General Eric Goddard	15 August 1947	1 May 1948	107th Pioneers
3	Lieutenant General Rajendrasinhji Jadeja	1 May 1948	14 January 1953	2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
4	Lieutenant General Satyawant M. Shrinagesh	17 January 1953	14 May 1955	19th Hyderabad Regiment
5	Lieutenant General K. S. Thimayya	15 May 1955	14 September 1956	19th Hyderabad Regiment
6	Lieutenant General Pran Nath Thapar	21 January 1957	24 May 1959	1st Punjab Regiment
7	Lieutenant General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri	25 May 1959	19 November 1962	7th Light Cavalry
8	Lieutenant General Lionel Protip Sen	10 May 1963	7 May 1965	10th Baluch Regiment
9	Lieutenant General Moti Sagar	8 May 1965	3 July 1969	4th Gorkha Rifles
10	Lieutenant General Gopal Gurunath Bewoor	4 July 1969	14 January 1973	Dogra Regiment
11	Lieutenant General Sartaj Singh	27 January 1973	31 July 1974	Regiment of Artillery
12	Lieutenant General Om Prakash Malhotra	1 August 1974	19 January 1977	Regiment of Artillery
13	Lieutenant General A. M. Vohra	20 January 1977	30 May 1979	3rd Gorkha Rifles
14	Lieutenant General A. N. Mathur	31 May 1979	29 June 1980	Corps of Signals
15	Lieutenant General Ram Dharam Dass Hira	30 June 1980	31 August 1981	11th Gorkha Rifles
16	Lieutenant General Tirath Singh Oberoi	1 September 1981	30 November 1984	Parachute Regiment	title=As Gen Arun Shridhar Vaidya retires, Indian Army reshuffles to appoint new army chief	url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/defence/story/19850315-as-gen-arun-shridhar-vaidya-retires-indian-army-reshuffles-to-appoint-new-army-chief-769878-2013-12-01	access-date=2017-10-26}}
17	Lieutenant General Ranjit Singh Dyal	14 February 1985	30 November 1986	Parachute Regiment
18	Lieutenant General Depinder Singh	1 December 1986	29 November 1988	8th Gorkha Rifles
19	Lieutenant General A. K. Chatterjee	1 March 1988	31 May 1990	Sikh Light Infantry
20	Lieutenant General Bipin Chandra Joshi	1 June 1990	14 August 1992	64 Cavalry	last1=Abidi	first1=S. Sartaj Alam	url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k35_SlDMyUsC&pg=PA85	title=Services Chiefs of India	last2=Sharma	first2=Satinder	publisher=Northern Book Centre	year=2007	isbn=978-81-7211-162-5	page=85}}
21	Lieutenant General A. S. Kalkat	15 August 1992	31 December 1993	8th Gorkha Rifles
22	Lieutenant General Moti Dar	1 January 1994	16 July 1995	17th Horse (Poona Horse)
23	Lieutenant General Ved Prakash Malik	17 July 1995	31 August 1996	Sikh Light Infantry
24	Lieutenant General H. M. Khanna	1 September 1996	3 January 1999	4th Gorkha Rifles
25	Lieutenant General Sundararajan Padmanabhan	4 January 1999	30 September 2000	Regiment of Artillery
26	Lieutenant General Nirmal Chander Vij	1 October 2000	31 September 2001	Dogra Regiment
27	Lieutenant General Gurbaksh Singh Sihota	9 October 2001	29 February 2004	7 Field Regiment
28	Lieutenant General Balraj Singh Takhar	1 March 2004	31 January 2006	17th Horse (Poona Horse)
29	Lieutenant General Aditya Singh PVSM, AVSM*	1 March 2006	30 September 2007	9th Deccan Horse
30	Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj	1 October 2007	31 December 2008	Bombay Sappers
31	Lieutenant General Pradeep Khanna	1 January 2009	28 February 2011	20 Lancers
32	Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh	1 March 2011	31 January 2013	7th Light Cavalry
33	Lieutenant General Ashok Singh	1 February 2013	31 December 2015	Brigade of the Guards
34	Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat	1 January 2016	31 July 2016	11th Gorkha Rifles
35	Lieutenant General P. M. Hariz	1 September 2016	30 November 2017	Mechanised Infantry
36	Lieutenant General Dewan Rabindranath Soni	1 December 2017	1 October 2018	Central India Horse	date=2017-12-02	title=Lt Gen Soni takes over as chief of Southern Command	language=en-US	work=The Indian Express	url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/lt-gen-dr-soni-takes-over-as-chief-of-southern-command-4964165/	access-date=2017-12-07}}
37	Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini	1 October 2018	24 January 2020	Jat Regiment
38	Lieutenant General Chandi Prasad Mohanty	30 January 2020	31 January 2021	Rajput Regiment
39	Lieutenant General Jai Singh Nain	1 February 2021	31 October 2022	Dogra Regiment
40	Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh	1 November 2022	30 June 2024	11th Gorkha Rifles
41	Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth	1 July 2024	Incumbent	2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)

Notes

Sources

References

(2024-07-01). "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes command of Southern Army".
"Northern Command".
(2001-03-25). "THE INDIAN ARMY 1914". Orbat.com.
"Southern Army". OOB.com.
"Southern Army Subordinates". OOB.com.
Pillarisetti, Jagan. "The Liberation of Goa: 1961".
Renaldi and Rikhye 2011, p. 43
"Operational Commands of The Indian Army".
Renaldi and Rikhye, 2011, p. 18
"Southern Command". GlobalSecurity.
(9 July 2025). "Lt Gen KS Brar, GOC Dakshin Bharat Area visits industries in Hyderabad". The News Mill.
"Army Commands".
Praval, Major K.C.. (1987). "Indian Army After Independence". Lancer Publishers LLC.
"Gopal Gurunath Bewoor".
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(2007). "Services Chiefs of India". Northern Book Centre.
"rediff.com: Lt Gen Sundararajan Padmanabhan to be next army chief".
"The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News".
(2004-02-28). "Lt Gen GS Sihota retires on Feb 29".
(2005-11-04). "Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Army's Southern Command chief visits OTA in city".
(2004-12-30). "Tamil Nadu News : Army took six hours to get ready for relief".
(2004). "India Who's who". INFA Publications.
"LT. GEN. ADITYA SINGH PVSM, AVSM** (RETD)".
"Lt Gen HS Lidder new CIDS". oneindia.com.
"Lt Gen ML Naidu to be next Vcoas : other Senior Appointments also announced".
"Sainik Samchar 2007".
"'Ekuverin-09' Indo-Maldivian troops joint exercise concludes".
"Lt Gen A K Singh is new GOC-in-C of Southern Command – Times of India". The Times of India.
(2011-03-01). "Lt Gen A K Singh to head Southern Army Command". The Indian Express.
"Lt Gen Ashok Singh takes over as Southern Army commander – Indian Express".
(2016-01-02). "Lt Gen Bipin Rawat takes over as new Army Commander". The Indian Express.
IANS. (2016-09-01). "Lt Gen P.M. Hariz is new chief of Southern Command". Business Standard India.
(2017-12-02). "Lt Gen Soni takes over as chief of Southern Command". The Indian Express.
(1 October 2018). "General SK Saini, new head of Southern Command". Devdiscourse.
(31 January 2020). "Lt Gen CP Mohanty assumes command of Pune-based Southern Command".
(31 January 2021). "JS Nain army commander southern command". Deccan Express.
(2022-11-01). "Lieutenant General Ajai Kumar Singh assumed the command of Southern Command today.".
(2024-07-01). "Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth assumes command of Pune-based Southern Army".

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