# XXXIII Corps (India)

Indian Army Corps (1915 - Present) :
| Previous | Next |
| XXI Corps | None |
The XXXIII Corps, or the Trishakti Corps, is a corps of the Indian Army. It draws some of its heritage from the British Indian XXXIII Corps which was formed in 1942, but disbanded in 1945. It was re-raised in 1960 at Shillong.
The corps is headquartered in Sukna in North Bengal and is commanded by a Three Star officer of the rank of Lieutenant General titled General Officer Commanding (GOC). His chief of staff is a Two Star officer of the rank of Major General. The total troop strength of the XXXIII corps is estimated to be between 45,000 and 60,000 soldiers.

## History

The XXXIII Corps Operating Signal Regiment was a part of XIV Army during World War II. The regiment moved to its present location along with the Corps HQ in 1962. It participated in the Indo-China war of 1962 and captured some Chinese communication equipment. These equipment are kept in Corps of Signals Museum at Jabalpur to enable the future generations of soldiers know about the bravery and dedication shown by their predecessors.

## Re-Raising

The corps was re-raised by Lieutenant General Umrao Singh on 1 November 1960, to reduce IV Corps' area of responsibility. The Corps is headquartered in Sukna in North Bengal, near the city of Siliguri. Its area of responsibility includes North Bengal, Sikkim and if needed, Bhutan. It comprises three mountain divisions, 17th (Gangtok), 20th (Binnaguri), and 27th (Kalimpong).
The coat of arms consists of a white horizontal band between two red bands (the standard formation sign background for corps in the Indian Army) with a black trident and a black spear with black wings in the foreground. The Corps HQ has an Indian Air Force air control unit attached to it, 3 TAC, commanded by a Group Captain. The corps also has an organic Army Aviation Helicopter Squadron based at Sevoke flying the HAL Chetak. It is commanded by a Colonel. The Indian Air Force bases at Bagdogra (Siliguri) and Hashimara are the air units co-tasked to the XXXIII Corps Area of Responsibility.

## ORBAT

It currently consists of:
* 17th Mountain Division (Blackcat Division) headquartered at Gangtok.
** It was raised in 1959 and converted to a mountain division in 1963.
** It is assigned to the Sikkim sector.
* 20th Mountain Division (Kirpan Division) headquartered at Binnaguri.
** It was raised in 1963 and assigned to the Sikkim sector.
** Composed of 66, 165, and 202 Mountain Brigades in 1971.
* 27th Mountain Division (Striking Lion Division) headquartered at Kalimpong.
** It was converted to a mountain division in 1963.
* Division Artillery Brigade
* MR-SAM (Abhra) Regiment (raised in February 2023)

## Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

The corps handled the sensitive Indo-Tibetan border and was responsible for the defence of the McMahon Line. The corps under Lieutenant General Mohan L. Thapan controlled 6 and 20 Mountain Divisions and 71 Mountain Brigade. While fighting the war to the south, however, the corps also had to look north and retained command of 17 and 27 Mountain Divisions on the Tibetan frontier. Furthermore, Thapan could not commit 6 Mountain Division without permission from New Delhi as it was to be held ready to move to the Bhutanese border in case China intervened in the war.
As elsewhere along the border, Indian forces in support of the Mukti Bahini made significant in roads into East Pakistan prior to 3 December. Most notable was Brigadier Pran Nath Kathpalia’s 71 Mountain Brigade, which had pushed to the outskirts of Thakurgaon by the eve of war. Efforts to capture the heavily fortified border village of Hilli, however, failed repeatedly in a struggle that raged off and on from 24 November to 11 December. Resolutely defended by Pakistani 4 Frontier Force, Hilli blocked the proposed advance of 20 Division across the narrow “waist” of this sector.
After heavy losses in front of Hilli, the 20 division solved this problem by swinging around to the north and unleashing 340 Brigade under Brigadier Joginder Singh Bakshi. Bakshi moved swiftly to control the main north-south road, unhinging the defense of Hilli, splitting Pakistani 16 Division, and opening the way to Bogra, which town he effectively controlled by war’s end. The Pakistani division, despite continued resistance by isolated units, had ceased to exist as a coherent combat formation. Indicative of the chaotic situation, General Shah and the commander of 205 Brigade, Brigadier Tajammul Hussain Malik, were almost captured when Indian forces ambushed their convoy on 7 December. On the other hand, a last-minute Indian moves north by 66 and 202 Brigades to capture Rangpur proved unsuccessful.
In secondary actions, 9 Mountain Brigade secured most of the area north of the Tista River and an ad hoc command of Indian BSF and Mukti Bahini under Brigadier Prem Singh pushed out of Malda to capture Nawabganj in the extreme southeastern corner of the sector. Despite Bakshi’s performance and the generally successful advance of 71 Brigade, much of XXXIII Corps’ offensive power was allowed to lie idle far too long and Pakistani troops still held the major towns of the sector (Rangpur, Saidpur, Dinajpur, Nator, Rajshahi) when the cease-fire was announced. Likewise, the cease-fire intervened before the Indians could implement a hastily conceived plan to transfer 340 Brigade, a tank squadron, and an artillery battery across the Jamuna via the Phulchari ferry to take part in the advance on Dacca. With the exception of this squadron, all the armour was preparing to transfer to the west by the end of the war.

## General Officers Commanding

| Rank | Name | Appointment Date | Left Office | Unit of Commission |
| Lieutenant General | Umrao Singh | 1 November 1960 | 28 October 1962 | Rajputana Rifles |
| Lieutenant General | Harbaksh Singh | 29 October 1962 | 29 October 1964 | Sikh Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Gopal Gurunath Bewoor | 30 October 1964 | 26 April 1967 | 10th Baluch Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Jagjit Singh Aurora | 27 April 1967 | March 1969 | Punjab Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Mohan L Thapan | 1969 | May 1972 | Jat Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | H C Rai | June 1972 | July 1974 | Rajputana Rifles |
| Lieutenant General | WAG Pinto | 1976 | 1978 | 13th Frontier Force Rifles |
| Lieutenant General | Krishnaswamy Sundarji | February 1979 | January 1980 | Mahar Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Krishnaswami Balaram | January 1980 | 26 December 1981 | Corps of Signals |
| Lieutenant General | S S Brar | 27 December 1981 | 11 December 1983 | Armoured Corps |
| Lieutenant General | J K Puri | 12 December 1983 | | Regiment of Artillery |
| Lieutenant General | M R Sharma | | | Dogra Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Arun Kumar Gautama | July 1993 | April 1994 | 16th Light Cavalry |
| Lieutenant General | A B Masih | | | Kumaon Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | H R S Mann | 4 October 1999 | 19 November 2000 | Brigade of the Guards |
| Lieutenant General | Ashok Chaki | 20 November 2000 | 19 August 2002 | 4th Gorkha Rifles |
| Lieutenant General | Avtar Singh | 20 August 2002 | 20 February 2004 | Jat Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Deepak Kapoor | 21 February 2004 | 14 April 2005 | Regiment of Artillery |
| Lieutenant General | Thomas Mathew | 15 April 2005 | 25 August 2006 | Rajput Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | C K S Sabu | 26 August 2006 | 25 September 2007 | Regiment of Artillery |
| Lieutenant General | Deepak Raj | 26 September 2007 | 31 August 2008 | Mechanised Infantry Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Prashant Kumar Rath | 1 September 2008 | 25 November 2009 | Regiment of Artillery |
| Lieutenant General | D S Sidhu | 26 November 2009 | 2 November 2010 | 17th Horse (Poona Horse) |
| Lieutenant General | Vinod Bhatia | 3 November 2010 | 24 November 2011 | Parachute Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Kotheneth Surendranath | 25 November 2011 | 31 January 2013 | 71 Armoured Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Kamal Jit Singh | 1 February 2013 | 11 May 2014 | 63rd Cavalry |
| Lieutenant General | G S Chandel | 12 May 2014 | 25 July 2015 | Bihar Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Surinder Singh | 26 July 2015 | 26 August 2016 | Brigade of the Guards |
| Lieutenant General | Sanjay Kumar Jha | 27 August 2016 | 27 August 2017 | The Sikh Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Pradeep M Bali | 28 August 2017 | 29 August 2018 | Punjab Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Chandi Prasad Mohanty | 30 August 2018 | 13 September 2019 | Rajput Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Nav Kumar Khanduri | 13 September 2019 | 13 September 2020 | Corps of Army Air Defence |
| Lieutenant General | Ajai Kumar Singh | 14 September 2020 | 21 October 2021 | 11th Gorkha Rifles |
| Lieutenant General | Tarun Kumar Aich | 22 October 2021 | 31 October 2022 | Madras Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | VPS Kaushik | 01 November 2022 | 09 June 2024 | Kumaon Regiment |
| Lieutenant General | Zubin A Minwalla | 10 June 2024 | Incumbent | 9th Gorkha Rifles |