1.    The Indian Army has a rich legacy of bravery and fortitude. The qualities that set Indian soldiers apart from the leading militaries of the worldare best embodied by the Indian Army's Northern Command, established on 17 June 1972. A relatively young command, responsible for the sanctity of borders with China and Pakistan including Line of Actual Control (LAC),Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), Line of Control (LC). The theatre has a unique distinction of having fought all wars post Independence and ishence considered ‘Forever in Ops’.

2.    The Command theatre comprises of varied terrain conditions that are arduous and challenging to include thickly forestedmountains, high altitude deserts, rugged mountains and glaciers.

3.    Post Independence, in 1947 invaders from Pakistan attacked Jammu & Kashmir is an attempt to annex Kashmir. The invaders came from Muzaffarabad towards Srinagar and from Nowshera towards Poonch. They quickly overrantowns and villages and arrived at the outskirts of Srinagar. On 24th October Maharaja Hari Singh, sent an urgent message to Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten, seeking immediate assistance from India to stop the invaders. Jammu and Kashmir accepted merger with India to save its territory, from Pakistan,by signing the Instrument of Accession on 26th October 1947. Indian army was then deployed in Srinagar and Poonch and a large number of operations followed to successfully evict the invaders.

4.    In August 1965, thousands of Pakistani infiltrators again intruded into Jammu & Kashmir to carry out sabotage, subversion and indoctrination of the local population, encouraging them to overthrow Indian rule. India launched counter offensive operations and forced these intruders to retreat.A number of military offensive operations were conducted by Indian forces in Kargil, Tithwal and Poonch sectors to seal infiltration routes. The strategically important, Hajipir Pass was captured by India during this war.

5.    On 03 December 1971, Pakistani troops attacked Indian positions in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab. The attack on Poonch was beaten back. Clashes took place in the adjoining areas also during which Indian troops captured numerous enemy posts. The battle lasted several days and some localities changed hands several times. The offensive ended on 12 December 1971with emphatic victory for our forces.

6.    The experience gained during these wars i.e. Indo-Pakistan Wars of 1947-48; 1965 and 1971 and the Indo-China War 1962reinforced the belief that the Northern Theatre needed a separate command. Northern Command was
raised on 17 June 1972, the legendary Lieutenant General PS Bhagat, VC, PVSM  was appointed the First Commander-in-Chief of Northern Command.

7.    Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield was captured by the valiant troops of Northern Command during Operation Meghdoot, on13 April 1984, to establish control over Indian territories in the icy heights of the Saltoro ridge line. In an unimaginable feat of grit and bravery, the troops of Northern Command gained control over the dominating heights on the main passes of the Saltoro ridge, Sia La and Bilafond La; this feat of valour has no parallels in the annals of military history.

8.    In the 1989-90s, Northern Command experienced a covert proxy war waged by Pakistan by infiltrating thousands of terrorists through the Line of Control. The command was involved in combating a challenging    internal security situation to quell Pakistan backed terrorism and armed insurrection. Pakistani backed terrorists attacked security forces and committed numerous heinous crimes on the Kashmiri population. Northern Command has since been involved in a long drawn proxy war which is still ongoing.

9.    In June 1999, Pakistan forced India into war when it attempted to intrude the Kargil Area. Indian Army responded quickly and pushed back Pakistani intruders in most inhospitable terrain. The courage and indomitable spirit of Indian soldiers in a short, swift and  brutal war are part of military folklore today.

10.    In May 2020, Northern Command was involved in clashes with China on the Line of Actual Control, due to unilateral intrusion by the PLA. The situation is being resolved bilaterally through military and diplomatic engagements.

11.    The Northern Command fosters a spirit of resilience, professionalism and an indomitable spirit that prevails amongst all ranks. The Command has been embroiled in proxy war since the last 33 years and has been defeating the evil designs of Pak abetted terrorism & other subversive forces in J&K.

TERRAIN NORTHERN COMMAND	1965 OPERATIONS
1971 OPERATIONS	1999 : KARGIL OPERATIONS
2020 : CLASHES WITH CHINA