Lt Gen Harinder Singh, face of LAC negotiations with China, to lead IMA; 14 Corps gets new chief

In a major reshuffle of top Army commanders for Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant General Harinder Singh is all set to get replaced by Lt Gen PGK Menon as the latter is all set to take over the 14 Corps in Leh. Lt Gen Harinder Singh will be taking over as the commandant of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.

The Indian Army was represented at military meetings by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, who is the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. 

Lt Gen Harinder Singh is an expert in counter-insurgency and took over the command of the 14 Corps in October last year. He has held several crucial positions, including the posts of Director General of Military Intelligence, Director General of Military Operations, and Director General of Operational Logistics and Strategic Movement.

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Army's Maratha Light Infantry. He graduated from the prestigious Defence Service Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington.

PGK Menon to take over 14 Corps in Leh

Lt Gen Menon has been considered for this position because he has already had a stint as a Brigade Commander in 14 Corps and commanded a Division, responsible to guard the India-China border.

Lt Gen Menon was a part of the Commander-level meet to discuss India and China, which was held recently.

He is currently posted as the Additional Director General of the Complaints Advisory Board (CAB) at Army HQ and is in charge of the service redressal mechanism and reports directly to Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane. He has also been Colonel of the Regiment (senior-most serving officer) of the Sikh Regiment since January this year.

About two years back, Lt Gen Menon had led Maj General-level talks between India and China at Bum La on the Arunachal Pradesh-Tibet border as the GOC of the Assam-headquartered 71 Infantry Division. The talks had taken place following the India-China standoff at Doklam in Sikkim.

The 14 Corps or Fire and Fury Corps is currently facing a rather tense situation as things had heated up between the two countries. Until now, both the sides have seen about six round of talks to discuss the almost five-month-long standoff and military tussle in Ladakh.

It should also be noted that Nagrota-based 16 Corps might also see a new General Officer Commanding (GOC) as Lt Gen MV Suchitra Kumar is likely to be new Corps Commander of the White Knight Corps.

For the first time, there were two Lt Generals and a representative from the Ministry of External Affairs, who were a part of the previous Corps Commander-level meeting as Joint Secretary Navin Srivastava had also attended the talks.

The talks led to an agreement between the two sides that no additional troops will be sent to the forward areas at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

If sources are to be believed then Lt Gen Menon will head the Indian delegation for the next talks between the two countries.