The XII Corps, or the Konark Corps/Desert Corps, is a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and one of the two corps of the

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

-based Southern Command.

Formation

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 Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

during the volatile days of Operation Trident. The corps, which came into existence on the auspicious day of

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

on February 26, 1987 is charged with protection of the desert sectors of the country falling in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

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 Konark Sun Temple is a Hindu temple, Hindu Surya, Sun temple at Konark about northeast from Puri, Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha, India. XII corps currently consists of: * 11 Infantry Division ''(Golden Katar Division)'' headquartered at

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

* 12 Infantry Division ''(Battle Axe Division)'' headquartered at

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

. ** 140 Armoured Brigade (includes at least 2 regiments equipped with Arjun Mk 1 MBT) *75 (Independent) Infantry Brigade ''(Bald Eagle Brigade)'' at

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

, Gujarat. *4 (Independent) Armoured Brigade ''(Black Mace Brigade)'' *340 (Independent) Mechanised Brigade (former 34th Independent Infantry Brigade) (Amphibious)

Humanitarian assistance

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 The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat, India. The earthquake had ...

, floods in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

List of General Officer Commanding

References

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive br ...

Military units and formations established in 1987 {{India-mil-unit-stub