Unit Name: | XII Corps |
Dates: | 1987–Present |
Country: | India |
Branch: | Indian Army |
Role: | Holding Corps |
Size: | Corps |
Command Structure: | Southern Command |
Garrison: | Jodhpur |
Current Commander: | Lieutenant General Mohit Malhotra |
Notable Commanders: | Lt Gen A K Chatterjee Lt Gen Philip Campose Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai |
Nickname: | Konark Corps (Desert Corps) |
The XII Corps, or the Konark Corps/Desert Corps, is a corps of the Indian Army and one of the two corps of the Pune-based Southern Command.
With two combat divisions on the order of battle of Southern Command and increasing operational importance of the desert sector, by January 1987, a Corps Headquarters was sanctioned. HQ 12 Corps was raised at Jodhpur during the volatile days of Operation Trident.[1] The corps, which came into existence on the auspicious day of Maha Shivaratri on February 26, 1987 is charged with protection of the desert sectors of the country falling in Rajasthan and Gujarat states and was raised under Lieutenant General A K Chatterjee as the first General Officer Commanding (GOC). Also referred to as Desert Corps within the army, the corps adopted Konark as its formation insignia after the Konark Sun Temple of Puri as a symbolic representation of the radiation of the sun in eight cardinal directions, thereby establishing a spiritual link with the Sun City - Jodhpur.[2]
XII corps currently consists of:
The corps has been intimately involved in providing succor to citizens of India in times of natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods most noteworthy being Bhuj earthquake, floods in Rajasthan and Gujarat.[6]
Rank | Name | Appointment Date | Left Office | Unit of Commission | References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lieutenant General | AK Chatterjee | February 1987 | February 1988 | Sikh Light Infantry | |
R Narasimhan | April 1988 | May 1990 | Jat Regiment | ||
YN Sharma | May 1990 | February 1992 | The Grenadiers | ||
Moti Dar | March 1992 | December 1992 | 17th Horse (Poona Horse) | ||
HM Khanna | January 1994 | August 1996 | Gorkha Rifles | ||
PS Joshi | September 1996 | January 1999 | 8th Gorkha Rifles | ||
MA Gurbaxani | January 1999 | March 2001 | Rajput Regiment | ||
Hari Prasad | March 2001 | August 2002 | Maratha Light Infantry | ||
Ram Subramanyam | August 2002 | December 2003 | Corps of Engineers | ||
KS Jamwal | December 2003 | April 2005 | Regiment of Artillery | [7] | |
PR Gangadharan | April 2006 | September 2006 | Maratha Light Infantry | [8] | |
SPS Dhillon | September 2006 | January 2008 | Regiment of Artillery | [9] | |
SN Handa | January 2008 | December 2008 | 3rd Gorkha Rifles | [10] | |
AM Verma | December 2008 | February 2010 | Rajput Regiment | [11] | |
Narendra Singh | February 2010 | June 2011 | Maratha Light Infantry | [12] | |
Philip Campose | 3 July 2011 | August 2012 | Mechanised Infantry Regiment | [13] | |
Man Mohan Singh Rai | August 2012 | August 2013 | Bombay Sappers | [14] | |
GS Katoch | August 2013 | 1 September 2014 | Jammu and Kashmir Rifles | [15] | |
Bobby Mathews | 1 September 2014 | 10 October 2015 | Kumaon Regiment | [16] | |
VP Singh | October 2015 | November 2016 | Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry | [17] | |
Podali Shankar Rajeshwar | November 2016 | November 2017 | Regiment of Artillery | [18] | |
Rajni Kant Jagga | November 2017 | November 2018 | 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) | [19] | |
VS Sreenivas | 19 November 2018 | 10 February 2020 | The Garhwal Rifles | [20] | |
Anil Puri | 11 February 2020 | 13 February 2021 | Corps of Engineers | [21] | |
PS Minhas | 14 February 2021 | 06 March 2022 | Central India Horse | [22] | |
Rakesh Kapoor | 07 March 2022 | 08 June 2023 | Armoured Corps | [23] [24] | |
Mohit Malhotra | 09 June 2023 | Incumbent | Armoured Corps | [25] |