XXI Corps (India)


The XXI Corps, or the Sudarshan Chakra Corps, is a strike corps of the Indian Army and is headquartered at Bhopal.

World War I

The XXI Indian Corps was first raised on 12 August 1917 during the World War I, specifically for operations in the Middle East region against the German–Ottoman alliance. The corps was part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force under Allenby and took active part in the capture of Gaza and Jerusalem from October to December 1917, and against the Turkish Seventh and Eight Armies in 1918. The Corps was disbanded in 1918, at the end of the war.

World War II

The corps was re-raised in Persia on 6 June 1942 as a formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The corps was commanded throughout its existence by Lieutenant General Mosley Mayne and was part of the Tenth Army. The corps, composed of the 8th Indian Infantry Division and the British 56th Infantry Division, was created as part of the Allied buildup of forces in Persia and Iraq to create Persia and Iraq Command in order to prevent a German invasion of the Caucasus. The invasion never occurred and the corps was disbanded on 24 August 1943.

Present

After India's intervention in Sri Lanka, the provisional headquarters controlling India's expeditionary force, HQ Indian Peace Keeping Force, became HQ XXI Corps in April 1990 at Chandimandir. Permanent retention of the Corps at Bhopal was authorised on 29 October 1990. It is the only strike corps in the Indian Army’s Pune based Southern Command, the other three being - I Corps, II Corps and XVII Corps. XXI corps functions as both a strike corps and would also be used if India were to make another large intervention overseas.
It currently consists of:

List of Commanders

RankNameAppointment DateLeft officeUnit of CommissionReferences
Lieutenant GeneralG L BakshiApril 1990January 1992Kumaon Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralR K GulatiJanuary 1992October 19929th Deccan Horse
Lieutenant GeneralKrishna Mohan SethOctober 1992October 1994Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant GeneralChandra ShekharOctober 199419964th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralNirmal Chander Vij19961997Dogra Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralB M Kapur1997Armoured Corps
Lieutenant GeneralSatish Satpute30 August 2002Maratha Light Infantry
Lieutenant GeneralP P S Bhandari31 August 200231 December 20044th Horse (Hodson's Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralAditya Singh1 January 2004January 20059th Deccan Horse
Lieutenant GeneralHarcharanjit Singh PanagJanuary 2005December 2006Sikh Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralPradeep KhannaJanuary 2007May 200820 Lancers
Lieutenant GeneralArvinder Singh Lamba26 May 2008May 2009Regiment of Artillery
Lieutenant GeneralRajinder SinghMay 20092010Mechanised Infantry Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralSyed Ata Hasnain2010December 2010Garhwal Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralSanjiv LangerDecember 2010January 2012Armoured Corps
Lieutenant GeneralS H KulkarniJanuary 2012January 2013Armoured Corps
Lieutenant GeneralAmit SharmaJanuary 2013February 201445 Cavalry
Lieutenant GeneralRajeev Vasant KanitkarFebruary 2014201517th Horse (Poona Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralPradeep Singh Mehta201531 June 20161st Horse (Skinner's Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralCherish Mathson1 July 201630 June 2017Garhwal Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralIqroop Singh Ghuman1 July 201731 June 2018Brigade of the Guards
Lieutenant GeneralRavendra Pal Singh1 July 2018July 2019Mechanised Infantry Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralYogendra DimriJuly 201925 July 2020Bombay Sappers
Lieutenant GeneralAtulya Solankey26 July 202030 July 202111th Gorkha Rifles
Lieutenant GeneralDhiraj Seth31 July 202131 July 20222nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
Lieutenant GeneralVipul Shinghal3 August 202231 December 202351 Armoured Regiment
Lieutenant GeneralPrit Pal Singh1 January 202431 July 202562 Cavalry
Lieutenant GeneralArvind Chauhan01 August 2025Incumbent1 Gorkha Rifles
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