Northern Command (India)

Northern Command
Northern Command's insignia today
Active	1908-1947 1972 - Present
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Command
Garrison/HQ	Udhampur
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Gen Devraj Anbu

The Northern Command is a Command of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as a formation of the British Indian Army in 1895, scrapped upon India's independence in 1947 and later reformed in 1972. Its present commander is Lt Gen Devraj Anbu.

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). Northern Command was re-formed again as North Western Army in April 1942 to guard the North West Frontier. It controlled the Kohat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan and Waziristan Districts. The former Western Command, was absorbed by the new North Western Army at that time. The formation reverted to the title Northern Command in November 1945. In 1947 Headquarters Northern Command became the new headquarters of the Pakistan Army. General Sir Frank Messervy continued to serve as Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1948.

The composition was:

Commanders included:
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Punjab Command

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Army

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief North Western Army

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command

The government of India decided to raise a separate command to oversee operations in the northern borders with Pakistan and China. Lt Gen Premindra Singh Bhagat, VC was appointed as the first Army Commander in June 1972. Bhagat's main activities as Army Commander were the improvement of defences and the living and working condition of his troops. Headquarters for the command was established at Udhampur, J&K.