XI Corps | |
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![]() Vajra Corps formation sign | |
Active | 1950 - present |
Country | India |
Branch | Indian Army |
Role | Strike Corps |
Size | Army Corps |
Part of | Western Command |
Garrison/HQ | Jalandhar |
Nickname(s) | Vajra Corps Defenders of Punjab [1] |
Battle honours | Theatre Honour: Punjab Battle Honours: Dograi Barki Asal Uttar Sehjra Dera Baba Nanak [2] |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Lt Gen Ajay Chandpuria [3] |
Notable commanders |
General
Ved Prakash Malik General Om Prakash Malhotra Lt Gen Naveen Chand Rawlley Lt Gen J S Dhillon Lt Gen T B Henderson Brooks |
Indian Army Corps (1915 - Present) | ||||
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The XI Corps of the Indian Army is based in Jalandhar and is a part of Western Command. XI Corps is also known as Vajra Corps.
XI Corps was raised to take command of the formations in the Punjab in 1950 [4] as India reorganised its post-1947 army to meet the new threat of Pakistan. [5] It was raised on March 1, 1950 at Ambala under the command of Lieutenant General Kalwant Singh. [6] The corps headquarters was relocated to Jalandhar in July 1951. [2]
To reduce the load of XI Corps, X Corps was formed at Bathinda on 1 July 1979, taking over south Punjab and north Rajasthan. [7]
The Corps formation sign consists of the 'red-white-red background' depicting a corps of the Indian Army overlaid by a Vajra, the powerful thunderbolt weapon of Lord Indra, the symbol of sacrifice of the great sage Dadhichi, who voluntarily sacrificed his body to make the fiercest weapon from his thighbone. [6]
The corps consists of: [8]
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Rank | Name | Appointment Date | Left Office | Unit of Commission | References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant General | Kalwant Singh | 1 March 1950 | 1st Punjab Regiment | [6] | |
S P P Thorat | 1955 | May 1957 | 1/14 Punjab Regiment | [20] [6] | |
T B Henderson Brooks | 1962 | 1963 | 5th Maratha Light Infantry | [21] | |
Joginder Singh Dhillon | November 1963 | August 1966 | Bengal Sappers | [22] | |
Premindra Singh Bhagat | August 1966 | August 1970 | Bombay Sappers | ||
Naveen Chand Rawlley | 1970 | 1972 | 12th Frontier Force Regiment | [23] | |
Om Prakash Malhotra | May 1972 | July 1974 | Regiment of Artillery | [24] | |
Krishnaswamy Gowri Shankar | 1984 | 1985 | Corps of Signals | [25] | |
V K Nayar | 1985 | 31 October 1987 | Parachute Regiment [nb 1] | [27] | |
Bakshi Krishan Nath Chhibber | July 1990 | September 1992 | 9th Gorkha Rifles | [28] | |
Ved Prakash Malik | August 1992 | Sikh Light Infantry | [29] [6] | ||
H B Kala | April 1995 | Jat Regiment | [30] | ||
Virendra Kumar Sewal | Armoured Corps | ||||
Kamal Davar | March 2000 | April 2001 | 7th Light Cavalry | [31] | |
Shantonu Choudhry | April 2001 | April 2002 | Regiment of Artillery | [32] | |
Krishnamurthy Nagaraj | Apr 2002 | May 2003 | Maratha Light Infantry | [33] | |
S Pattabhiraman | May 2003 | May 2004 | Bombay Sappers | [34] [6] | |
Parmendra Kumar Singh | May 2004 | May 2005 | Regiment of Artillery | [35] | |
Mandhata Singh | May 2005 | April 2006 | 9th Gorkha Rifles | [35] | |
Noble Thamburaj | May 2006 | September 2007 | Bombay Sappers | [36] | |
S S Kumar | October 2007 | August 2008 | Brigade of the Guards | [37] | |
Virender Singh Tonk | August 2008 | July 2009 | Rajput Regiment | [38] | |
Ramesh Halgali | 24 July 2009 | August 2010 | Sikh Light Infantry | [39] | |
Munish Sibal | August 2010 | November 2011 | Rajputana Rifles | [40] [41] | |
Sanjeev Madhok | November 2011 | March 2013 | Brigade of the Guards | [42] | |
Ashwini Kumar Bakshi | March 2013 | July 2014 | Bihar Regiment | [43] | |
N P S Hira | August 2014 | 31 July 2015 | Sikh Light Infantry | [44] | |
Jagbir Singh Cheema | 21 August 2015 | 31 August 2016 | Sikh Regiment | [45] [46] | |
B S Sahrawat | 1 September 2016 | 2 November 2017 | Kumaon Regiment | [47] | |
Dushyant Singh | 2 November 2017 | 4 November 2018 | Maratha Light Infantry | [48] | |
Arvind Dutta | 5 November 2018 | 5 November 2019 | Dogra Regiment | [49] | |
Sanjeev Sharma | 6 November 2019 | 2 December 2020 | Rajputana Rifles | [50] | |
C B Ponnappa | 2 December 2020 | 10 February 2022 | Mahar Regiment | [51] | |
Devendra Sharma | 11 February 2022 | 15 May 2023 | 14th Horse (Scinde Horse) | [52] | |
Vijay B Nair | 15 May 2023 | 30 June 2024 | Punjab Regiment | [53] | |
Ajay Chandpuria | 1 July 2024 | Incumbent | Dogra Regiment | [54] |