Know Your City: How the Army’s Southern Command became an integral part of Pune’s history

Present-day Pune – or erstwhile Poona and Punawadi before that – and the surrounding areas nestled in the Western Ghats have been on the military map of the Indian subcontinent since medieval times. However, it became a key strategic location in the 17th century when the area was under the direct control of the Maratha empire and subsequently was ruled by the Peshwas in the 18th century.

Not far away, on the other side of the Western Ghats, the East India Company had taken over the Island of Bombay around the middle of the 17th century. It became the headquarters of the Bombay Presidency and the East India Company gradually started bringing more area from the hinterland under its control, mostly through military conquests.

An archive image of Kirkee barracks

The area of present-day Pune and its surroundings came under the British Rule in 1817 when in the conflict between the ruling Peshwas and the British East India Company, fought at Khadki (spelt Kirkee by the British rulers), saw the defeat of the 13th and the last of the Peshwas, BajiRao II. Khadki was soon to attain further significance in the context of the military identity of the region. With the expansion of the area under control, the East India Company was in need of more robust military formations in the region and with an existing base on the banks of the Mutha river in Pune and other favourable aspects including the weather and terrain, the region turned out to be a natural choice. As more troops and higher military formations came to be headquartered in the area, Kirkee and Poona Cantonment came into existence in 1817 and 1819, respectively.

Even today, though these cantonments have geographically assimilated into the urban agglomeration of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, they maintain their distinct identity through a separate civic administration, heritage buildings and the presence of key military formations.

A present-day image of the Army’s southern command headquarters.

The era of transformations

The Great Indian Rebellion of 1857 not only resulted in the transfer of power from the East India Company to the British Crown, but also led to a reorganisation of existing military formations. With the British government taking direct control of affairs after what was the First War of Independence, the then Presidency Armies were brought under the umbrella of a unified structure under the Commander-in-Chief. With effect from April 1, 1895, the Presidency Armies were abolished to form the Indian Army. Thus, the Presidency Army structures prevalent since the mid-17th century ceased to exist.

Four separate commands – Bombay, Bengal, Punjab and Madras – came into existence with the Bombay Command being headquartered in Pune since April 1, 1895, the day which marks the raising of the command in Pune.

Around 1908, the Indian Army was further reorganised with the four Commands being replaced by two Armies. The Northern Army headquartered in Rawalpindi and the Southern Army in Poona. In the early 1920s, the four commands were reintroduced with the Southern Command headquartered in Poona, the Northern Command in Rawalpindi, Eastern Command in Nainital and a Western Independent District with the status of a Command headquartered in Quetta. During World War II, the Southern Command was briefly shifted to Bangalore primarily for the defence of ports, airfields and to prepare for an offensive, if required, in response to anticipated advances from Germany and Japan. The Southern Command remained a key facilitator of training during the war. At the time of Independence, the Southern Command was and still remains the oldest field formation of the Indian Army by virtue of retaining the structure as at the earliest phase of reorganisation in 1895.

The formation sign of the Southern Command is the Crux, commonly known as the Southern Cross. The sign is based on the four brightest stars of the Crux constellation which has been a standard of navigation for millennia. As per Hindu astronomy, the Crux is referred to as Trishanku, a character in Hindu mythology.

Post-Independence chapter

The first Indian General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, also referred to as the Army Commander, was Lt Gen K S Rajendrasinhji, who later succeeded General (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa as the second Chief of Army Staff.

The Southern Command played a key role in the princely states of Junagadh and Hyderabad signing the Instrument of Accession to India. The operations conducted by an Infantry Division under the control of the Southern Command also played a key role in the liberation of Goa in 1961. The Command played a crucial role during the 1965 war in the Rann of Kutch and it was after this conflict that various formations under the Southern Command further crystallised.

The deployment of Southern Command troops in the Barmer, Jaisalmer and Kutch sectors during the 1971 war witnessed historically significant operations. In the Battle of Longewala, the gallant troops of the Command from 12 Infantry Division defended the Indian territory from Pakistan’s offensive, in a joint operation with the Indian Air Force. Another defining moment was the offensive by 11 Infantry Division to capture Khokhrapar and Gadra areas, which was the first such military operation that the Southern Command executed for the capture of enemy territory. Subsequently, in 1987 a Desert Corps of the Southern Command was raised with its headquarters in Jodhpur.

In the Battle of Longewala, the gallant troops of the Command from 12 Infantry Division defended the Indian territory from Pakistan’s offensive, in a joint operation with the Indian Air Force.

Today, the Southern Command comprises two Corps headquartered in Jodhpur and Bhopal besides other static formations. The Command’s area of responsibility includes eleven states and four Union territories covering nearly 41% of the country’s landmass. The formations, establishments and units of the command are spread over 19 cantonments and 36 military stations.

In its area of responsibility, the Southern Command has the land border with Pakistan in Rajasthan, Gujarat and the coastal states. Coupled with the presence of several key military formations of all the three services, the Southern Command is the only tri-service theatre among all the Army Commands.

The present-day Southern Command

Over the years, the Southern Army has emerged as a formidable fighting force. In keeping with the notion ‘the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war’, all formations of the Southern Command train and exercise to be in constant readiness for any eventuality. This year, the Command conducted Exercise Dakshin Shakti, one of the largest exercises in the recent past involving the participation of more than 30,000 troops. The exercise was conducted in the Jaisalmer sector with an aim to ensure synchronised application of forces to achieve the capability to execute multi-domain operations and uphold the nation’s military aims in the entire spectrum of conflict.

The entrance to the Southern Command.

In the past year, the Command, under the leadership of Lt Gen J S Nain, has taken numerous initiatives to modernise and innovate to give impetus to the incorporation of cutting-edge technology sourced from indigenous industry, in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence. The command also plays a key role in hosting and contributing to joint military training exercises with a number of friendly foreign countries including Sri Lanka, France, Seychelles and Japan. It has two foreign training nodes at Belgaum and at Aundh in Pune where regular exercises are conducted.

The troops from the Command were instrumental in maintaining communal harmony in the aftermath of the 1992 Mumbai Riots, providing relief during the Koyna and Latur earthquakes of 1960 and 1993, as also the Bhuj Earthquake of 2003. The Command undertook one of the largest international relief operations post the tsunami in 2004. Operation Varsha-21 launched by the Command in 2021 saw the provision of immediate relief and rescue support during floods in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the medical facilities of the Southern Command were open to all including the civilian population. To refine the responses further as part of a joint international effort, this year the Command conducted PANEX-21, an exercise for disaster relief operation in the backdrop of the pandemic which saw participation from all the BIMSTEC countries (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand) and civil disaster response organisations.

As the Southern Command completes 127 years of existence, it has become an integral part of the landscape and narrative of Pune. The formation has been leaving its indelible mark on the heritage of the city through various social and cultural interactions and initiatives with the public. This iconic military formation and the heritage-rich city of Pune hope to continue the mutually enriching journey together.