10 Corps of the Indian Army/ Chetak Corps, Bathinda
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A backgrounder
Man Aman Singh Chhina, April 14, 2023: The Indian Express
Headquarters of the 10 Corps of the Army, better known as Chetak Corps, the military station is a vital operational as well as logistics base for the Army units responsible for the defence of southern Punjab and adjoining Rajasthan.
Headquarters of the 10 Corps of the Army, better known as Chetak Corps, the military station is a vital operational as well as logistics base for the Army units responsible for the defence of southern Punjab and adjoining Rajasthan.
Originally, the area that now falls under 10 Corps was the responsibility of 11 Corps, headquartered in Jalandhar. But reorganisation of Army assets in the years after the 1971 war saw a new Corps HQ being raised in Bathinda. Lt Gen ML Tuli was the first General officer commanding (GOC) 10 Corps, and he raised the Corps HQs in July 1979.
Over the years, the military station has grown in size. Apart from the organisation set-up of the Corps HQs and the attendant units, the military station has a number of units from infantry, armoured, artillery, army aviation, engineers, signals and other divisions located across its vast area. An Army Sub Area, a logistical Headquarters, is located here.
A vital ammunition dump is also part of the Bathinda military station, whose location was originally picked as it was far from the city. However, as the city spread, the station is now surrounded by civilian areas.
Bathinda’s military history is far older — it was always an important post when it came to invaders from the west, and a fort in the city’s heart is a standing reminder of the historic past. Qila Mubaraq is believed to have been built in the 6th century as a defence against the invading Huns. Successive rulers made a number of additions and alterations to it.
During the British rule, Bathinda and its surrounding areas remained under the British flag and away from the Khalsa Raj of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In the early 1900s, the British expanded their military footprint in Bathinda. During World War 1, it served as an important recruitment hub, feeding thousands of youth into the military supply chain for the British war machine.
Gradually, Bathinda also became an important transit point for military forces focussed on the north western frontiers of undivided India.
In recent years, the Bathinda military station has undergone rapid modernisation, with new accommodations coming up for married officers and jawans. Despite the massive construction activity that has taken place over the past decades inside the station, a vast stretch of land is still uninhabited, serving as home for varied flora and fauna.
The Army has taken pains to beautify the areas in which its units are located, and thus, a number of civic facilities, such as shopping areas, restaurants and cafes, parks and green belts have come up inside the station, making it stand apart from the rest of the city.
With a national highway bifurcating the military station, security measures here have always been very stringent. Various checkpoints, manned by Army personnel and military police, exist on the highway and on the several gates which lead into the station.
