Jammu: The Indian Army's 16 Corps, also known as the White Knight Corps, commemorated the 50th anniversary of its raising on Wednesday with its officiating General Officer Commanding (GOC) Maj Gen J S Bindra remembering the gallant soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, a defence spokesman said. The General Officer paid floral tributes to the bravehearts in a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the "Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal" in Nagrota Military Station and complimented all ranks for the high standards achieved while discharging operational as well as administrative duties, the spokesman said. The White Knight Corps is one of the finest operational corps of the Army looking after the extent of Pir Panjal Ranges to the Shivalik Ranges and also the plains of Jammu and Akhnoor.
Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh have three corps 14th (Ladakh), 15th (Kashmir) and 16th (Ladakh) looking after the operational areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and parts of the hinterland along with five counter-insurgency divisions. The White Knight Corps was raised on this day in 1972 as part of Udhampur-based Northern Command and Lt Gen J F R Jacob was its first Corps Commander. Maj Gen Bindra recounted the rich history and motivated all ranks to rise to the occasion to ensure the corps flag keeps flying high.
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"Besides the gallant actions in war, the corps has also reduced the terrorist activities in the region by relentless efforts. The corps has also been taking painstaking efforts in nation building through a wide range of projects under Operation Sadbhavana (goodwill)," he said. The General Officer exhorted all ranks to continue discharging the assigned tasks with utmost professionalism and dedication while maintaining the high standards set by the predecessors and also congratulated all ranks as the White Knight Corps stepped on to a historical landmark of the glorious 50 years of its raising. The spokesman said the corps has a rich history and a saga of valour and bravery in all wars including Counter Insurgency Operations.
The corps has the honour of participating in all operations since its raising, he said, adding operation Blue star in 1984, Operation Trident in 1987, Operation Rakshak since 1985 and Operation Vijay in 1999 are a few major operations in which the gallant soldiers of the corps have etched their name in the history in golden letters by their bravery and dedication to duty. "Today on the 50th Raising Day, the White Knight Corps continues its pursuit towards professional excellence with renewed vigour and perseverance," the spokesman said. (PTI)
