The 54th Infantry Division is an Infantry division of the Indian Army. The Division was raised as an Infantry Division, but was converted into a Reorganised Amphibious Formation (RAMFOR) in 2011. It is currently the only division of the Indian Army which carries out Amphibious warfare.[2] The division is headquartered at Secunderabad in Telangana and is a part of XXI Corps. The Division is commanded by an Officer of the rank of Major General titled General Officer Commanding (GOC).
The 54th Infantry Division was raised at Secunderabad on 1 October 1966. Major General SS Maitra, AVSM was the first General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division. At the time of its raising, the division had three Infantry Brigades and one Artillery Brigade. 47 Infantry Brigade was raised by Brigadier B D Man Singh at Golconda Fort, 91 Infantry Brigade by Brigadier K P Lahiri, VrC at Bolarum and the 54 Artillery Brigade was raised by Brigadier N V Subramaniam at Bowenpally.[3]
In the event of a war, the 54th Infantry Division was to be part of I Corps, then the only Strike Corps of the Indian Army. The division was commanded by Major General WAG Pinto, the 3rd General Officer Commanding (GOC).[4] The division moved from its peacetime location in Secunderabad to its operational location in the Punjab and was ready by mid-September 1971.
The ORBAT of the division during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was:[5]
The tasks allotted to the Division were:
The Pakistani forces opposite the Division consisted of elements of the 8th Infantry Division. The 24 Infantry Brigade with four battalions (11 Baloch which held the Supwal ditch, 40 Punjab which was deployed east of the Karir Nadi, 24 Punjab which was defending the Basantar Nala), a brigade in Zafarwal area and Reconnaissance elements of 21 Baloch. Apart from these infantry units, Pakistani armour consisted of the 8 Armoured Brigade which had 13th Lancers, 31 Cavalry and 27 Cavalry under it, equipped with M47 Patton and M48 Patton tanks.[9]
The Division crossed the border as planned at 2000 hrs on 6 December and captured the border outposts at Chamnakhurd, Danadout, Galar Tanda, Chak Jangu, Dhandhar, Mukhwal and Buru Chakby 0230 hrs 7 December.[10]
"At 2000 hrs that night, the ceasefire was honoured by both sides and became effective. The guns were silent and an eerie calm pervaded over the bitterly cold night. It was a strange feeling, the sudden peace and quiet after the unending din and noise of the past fourteen days. Most of us were taken aback and felt lost. But, we couldn't waste time on this. We still had our hands full and soon got busy in dominating and securing every inch of the 388 square kilometers, which we had captured and over which the National Flag as well as the Divisional Flag proudly flew."
[11]
The Battle of Basantar was among the most vital battles in the war. It was one of the greatest tank battles fought by the Indian Army.[12] The Division had the 47 Infantry Brigade, 91 Infantry Brigade and the 74 Infantry Brigade, Poona Horse, one squadron of Hodson's Horse and 75 Medium Regiment. The date for the Basantar crossing was fixed for night 14/15 December, but was postponed by 24 hours by Gen Pinto.[13] The Battle of Basantar was a decisive Indian victory.
The 47 Infantry Brigade was christened Basantar Brigade after the war.[14]
In what is an Indian Army record, the 54th Infantry Division won as many as 196 gallantry medals in just 14 days of fierce fighting. These include 2 Param Vir Chakras, 9 Mahavir Chakras[15] and 4 Vir Chakra. The GOC, Major General WAG Pinto was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
The Division remained in Pakistan until the Simla Agreement, after which it moved back to Secunderabad in March 1973. A war trophy - a disabled Pakistani M47 Patton Tank was gifted by the Division to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and had it installed on the Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad.[16]
The Division, led by Major General Harkirat Singh, was the first formation to be inducted into Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). The Division was grouped with a Mechanised Infantry battalion, a Squadron of Armour and an Air Operation Flight.[3]
The Division was in Sri Lanka for over two and a half years and was de-inducted on 20 March 1990.
During Operation Pawan, the Division earned a total of 471 awards including 1 Param Vir Chakra, 3 Mahavir Chakras, 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 32 Vir Chakras.[3][32]