# 54th Infantry Division (India)

The 54th Infantry Division is an Infantry division of the Indian Army. The Division was raised as an Infantry Division, but was converted into a Reorganised Amphibious Formation (RAMFOR) in 2011. It is currently the only division of the Indian Army which carries out Amphibious warfare. The division is headquartered at Secunderabad in Telangana and is a part of XXI Corps. The Division is commanded by an Officer of the rank of Major General titled General Officer Commanding (GOC).

## History

The 54th Infantry Division was raised at Secunderabad on 1 October 1966. Major General SS Maitra, AVSM was the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division. At the time of its raising, the division had three Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigade. 47 Infantry Brigade was raised by Brigadier B D Man Singh at Golconda Fort, 91 Infantry Brigade by Brigadier K P Lahiri, VrC at Bolarum and the 54 Artillery Brigade was raised by Brigadier N V Subramaniam at Bowenpally.

### Order of battle (ORBAT) during raising

* 47 Infantry Brigade
** 20th Bn The Bihar Regt
** 13th battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (13 JAKRIF)
** 5th battalion, 3rd Gorkha Rifles (5/3 GR)
* 91 Infantry Brigade
** 4th battalion, Madras Regiment (4 Madras)
** 3rd battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (3 MLI)
** 2nd battalion, 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) (2/5 GR)
* 74 Infantry Brigade
** 4th battalion, Sikh Light Infantry (4 Sikh LI)
** 5th battalion, Madras Regiment (5 Madras)
** 22nd battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (22 MLI)
* 54 Artillery Brigade
** 7 Field Regiment
** 141 Field Regiment
** 6 Medium Regiment
** 278 Medium Regiment
** 1889 Light Regiment

## Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

In the event of a war, the 54th Infantry Division was to be part of I Corps, then the only Strike Corps of the Indian Army. The division was commanded by Major General WAG Pinto, the 3rd General Officer Commanding (GOC). The division moved from its peacetime location in Secunderabad to its operational location in the Punjab and was ready by mid-September 1971.

### ORBAT

The ORBAT of the division during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was:
* Divisional Reserves
** 45 AD Regiment
** 6th battalion, Madras Regiment (6 Madras)
** 9 Engineer Regiment (Lt Col B T Pandit)
* 47 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier A P Bhardwaj)
** 16th battalion, Madras Regiment (Lt Col V P Ghai)
** 16th battalion, Dogra Regiment (16 Dogra)
** 3rd battalion, The Grenadiers (Lt Col V P Airy)
* 74 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Ujaggar Singh)
** 8th battalion, The Grenadiers (8 Granadiers)
** 6th battalion, Kumaon Regiment (6 Kumaon)
** 9th battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (9 MLI)
* 91 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier A K Handoo)
** 3rd battalion, Garhwal Rifles (3 Garh Rif)
** 3rd battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment) (3/1 GR)
* 16 (Independent) Armoured Brigade (Brigadier A S Vaidya MVC)
** 4th Horse (Hodson's Horse) (Lt Col R M Vohra)
** 16th Light Cavalry (Lt Col Mahindra Singh)
** 17 Horse (Poona Horse) (Lt Col Hanut Singh)
** 75 Medium Regiment (Lt Col K N Thadani)
** 18th battalion, Rajputana Rifles (18 Raj Rif)
** 90 (Independent) Reconnaissance Squadron (AMX-13)
* 54 Artillery Brigade (Brigadier Avtar Singh)
** 69 Field Regiment
** 161 Field Regiment
** 162 Field Regiment (Lt Col A K Bhandari)
** 44 Light Regiment
** 70 Medium Regiment
* 41 (Independent) Artillery Brigade
The tasks allotted to the Division were:
* Carry out offensive operations based upon Galar with the ultimate aim of capturing Zafarwal and Dhamtal.
* While doing so, capture Darman, Bari, Laisar Kalan, Supwal Ditch and Badwal. Be prepared to capture Deoli and Mirzapur, if required. This meant that the Division was to operate between the Degh Nadi and the Karir Nadi.
The Pakistani forces opposite the Division consisted of elements of the 8th Infantry Division. The 24 Infantry Brigade with four battalions (11 Baloch which held the Supwal ditch, 40 Punjab which was deployed east of the Karir Nadi, 24 Punjab which was defending the Basantar Nala), a brigade in Zafarwal area and Reconnaissance elements of 21 Baloch. Apart from these infantry units, Pakistani armour consisted of the 8 Armoured Brigade which had 13th Lancers, 31 Cavalry and 27 Cavalry under it, equipped with M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks.
The Division crossed the border as planned at 2000 hrs on 6 December and captured the border outposts at Chamnakhurd, Danadout, Galar Tanda, Chak Jangu, Dhandhar, Mukhwal and Buru Chakby 0230 hrs 7 December.

### Battle of Basantar

   "At 2000 hrs that night, the ceasefire was honoured by both sides and became effective. The guns were silent and an eerie calm pervaded over the bitterly cold night. It was a strange feeling, the sudden peace and quiet after the unending din and noise of the past fourteen days. Most of us were taken aback and felt lost. But, we couldn't waste time on this. We still had our hands full and soon got busy in dominating and securing every inch of the 388 square kilometers, which we had captured and over which the National Flag as well as the Divisional Flag proudly flew."
The Battle of Basantar was among the most vital battles in the war. It was one of the greatest tank battles fought by the Indian Army. The Division had the 47 Infantry Brigade, 91 Infantry Brigade and the 74 Infantry Brigade, Poona Horse, one squadron of Hodson's Horse and 75 Medium Regiment. The date for the Basantar crossing was fixed for night 14/15 December, but was postponed by 24 hours by Gen Pinto. The Battle of Basantar was a decisive Indian victory.
The 47 Infantry Brigade was christened Basantar Brigade after the war.
In what is an Indian Army record, the 54th Infantry Division won as many as 196 gallantry medals in just 14 days of fierce fighting. These include 2 Param Vir Chakras, 9 Mahavir Chakras and 4 Vir Chakra. The GOC, Major General WAG Pinto was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
The Division remained in Pakistan until the Simla Agreement, after which it moved back to Secunderabad in March 1973. A war trophy - a disabled Pakistani M47 Patton Tank was gifted by the Division to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and had it installed on the Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad.

## Awards and honours

Key :
| † | Indicates posthumous honour |
| Award | Rank | Name | Unit |
| Param Vir Chakra | Second Lieutenant | Arun Khetarpal † | 17 Poona Horse |
| Param Vir Chakra | Major | Hoshiar Singh Dahiya | 3 Grenadiers |
| Mahavir Chakra | Lieutenant Colonel | Hanut Singh | 17 Poona Horse |
| Mahavir Chakra | Lieutenant Colonel | V P Airy | 3 Grenadiers |
| Mahavir Chakra | Lieutenant Colonel | V P Ghai † | 16 Madras |
| Mahavir Chakra | Lieutenant Colonel | Raj Mohan Vohra | 4 Horse |
| Mahavir Chakra | Major | Amarjit Singh Bal | 17 Poona Horse |
| Mahavir Chakra | Major | D V Singh | 8 Grenadiers |
| Mahavir Chakra | Major | Vijay Rattan Choudhry † | 9 Engineer Regiment |
| Mahavir Chakra | Havildar | Thomas Philipose | 16 Madras |
| Vir Chakra | Lieutenant Colonel | B T Pandit | 9 Engineer Regiment |
| Vir Chakra | Captain | Satish Chander Sehgal † | 75 Medium Regiment |
| Vir Chakra | Captain | Ravinder Nath Gupta † | 9 Engineer Regiment |
| Vir Chakra | Naib Subedar | Dorai Swamy | 9 Engineer Regiment |

## Operation Pawan

The Division, led by Major General Harkirat Singh, was the first formation to be inducted into Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). The Division was grouped with a Mechanised Infantry battalion, a Squadron of Armour and an Air Operation Flight.

### ORBAT

* Divisional Reserves
** 10th battalion, Para Commando (10 Para Cdo)
** 65 Armoured Regiment
* 91 Infantry Brigade
** 5th battalion, Madras Regiment (5 Madras)
** 8th battalion, Mahar Regiment (8 Mahar)
** 1st battalion, Maratha Light Infantry (1 MLI)
* 76 Infantry Brigade
* 41 Infantry Brigade
* 93 Field Regiment
* 831 Light Regiment
The Division was in Sri Lanka for over two and a half years and was de-inducted on 20 March 1990.

### Awards and honours

During Operation Pawan, the Division earned a total of 471 awards including 1 Param Vir Chakra, 3 Mahavir Chakras, 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 32 Vir Chakras.
| Award | Rank | Name | Unit |
| Param Vir Chakra | Major | Ramaswamy Parameshwaran | 8 Mahar |
| Mahavir Chakra | Brigadier | Manjit Singh | 41 Infantry Brigade |
| Mahavir Chakra | Colonel | Inder Bal Singh Bawa | 4/5 Gorkha Rifles |
| Mahavir Chakra | Major | Puttichanda Somaiah Ganapathi | 8 Mahar |

## Other Operations

* Operation Parakram
* Internal security duties during the Mandal Commission violence and 2002 Gujarat riots.
* Humanitarian assistance - Operation Sahayta, Operation Sea Waves, Operation Madad, Operation Megh, Operation, Operation Lehar and Operation Hudhud.

## General Officers Commanding

| S.No. | Name | Assumed office | Left office |
| 1 | Major General S S Maitra AVSM | 1966 | 1969 |
| 2 | Major General K.A.S. Raja PVSM | 1969 | 1971 |
| 3 | Major General WAG Pinto PVSM | 1971 | 1974 |
| 4 | Major General K S Bajwa | 1974 | 1976 |
| 5 | Major General M L Tuli | 1976 | 1977 |
| 6 | Major General A K Handoo | 1977 | 1979 |
| 7 | Major General D S C Rai | 1979 | 1981 |
| 8 | Major General G K Sen | 1981 | 1983 |
| 9 | Major General Shamsher Singh SM | 1983 | 1985 |
| 10 | Major General V K Singh | 1985 | 1987 |
| 11 | Major General Harkirat Singh | 1987 | 1988 |
| 12 | Major General S C Sardeshpande UYSM, AVSM | 1988 | 1989 |
| 13 | Major General R N Bhalia VSM | 1989 | 1990 |
| 14 | Major General M M Lakhera AVSM, VSM | 1990 | 1992 |
| 15 | Major General B N Kapur | 1992 | 1994 |
| 16 | Major General S P S Kanwar AVSM, VSM | 1994 | 1996 |
| 17 | Major General Mahesh Vij | 1996 | 1998 |
| 18 | Major General Basant Singh YSM | 1998 | 2000 |
| 19 | Major General S Pattabhiraman SM, VSM | 2000 | 2001 |
| 20 | Major General Zameer Uddin Shah VSM | 2001 | 2003 |
| 21 | Major General K S Siva Kumar VSM | 2003 | 2004 |
| 22 | Major General S P S Dhillon VSM | 2004 | 2005 |
| 23 | Major General S P Rai VSM | 2005 | 2006 |
| 24 | Major General Anil Chait AVSM, VSM | 2006 | 2008 |
| 25 | Major General Rajesh Singh | 2008 | 2009 |
| 26 | Major General R C Chadha | 2009 | 2011 |
| 27 | Major General Amit Sharma | 2011 | 2012 |
| 28 | Major General Cherish Mathson SM, VSM | 2012 | 2013 |
| 29 | Major General R K Jagga | 2014 | 2015 |
| 30 | Major General R S Mann VSM | 2015 | 2016 |
| 31 | Major General Satish N Wasade | 2016 | 2017 |
| 32 | Major General B D Rai YSM | 2017 | 2018 |
| 33 | Major General Manjinder Singh | 2018 | 2020 |
| 34 | Major General Alok Joshi | 2020 | 2021 |
| 35 | Major General PP Singh | 2021 | 2022 |
| 36 | Major General R K Suresh SC&bar, SM | 2022 | 2024 |
| 37 | Major General Akhilesh Kumar SM | 2024 | Incumbent |