6 Mountain Division History and summary

Mountain Division

During the 1971 war with Pakistan, 6 Mountain Division was kept in the north for Bhutan. Lieutenant General Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob, who masterminded the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 begged for troops from that division, but was told that he was not going to get them, because the Chinese were likely to attack.

A martyr's orchard was inaugurated in mid-2000 at Maharajke Park of Pithoragarh. It is constructed and dedicated to the memory of the martyrs of operation Vijay. Maj Gen AK Hukku, General Officer Commanding, 6 Mountain Division planted the first sapling. Sixty plants of almonds and a pricots were planted. The orchard is developed by 69 Mountain Brigade. 17 Garhwal Rifles of 69 Mountain Brigade captured Bump I, II, III and Pt 5285 posts on Jubar Ridge complex from the enemy. To achieve this success the unit sacrificed one officer, one JCO and 19 0 Rs. Eight more ORs from other units of the brigade viz 5/3 GR and 4/3 GR laid down their lives during the entire operation in the Batalik Sector. To make the supreme sacrifice memorable, this Shaheed Vatika has another group song was also presented by the girls from class 7 and 12. The prizes were distributed to the students by Brig TS Chauhan, the Chairman of the Vidyalaya Management Committee.

In 2006 Army major general Gur Iqbal Singh was dismissed from service, stripped of his major general's rank and jailed for three years for illegally selling defence liquor in the civilian market. Singh commanded the Bareilly-based 6 Mountain Division when the scam was detected in 2005. This came after a truck full of Army liquor he had allegedly dispatched to his hometown in Punjab was intercepted by military intelligence and police authorities near Dehradun, prompting him to be dubbed "booze-general" in some quarters. The court martial found Maj-Gen Gur Iqbal Singh Multani guilty of "illegal activities pertaining to misuse of funds and canteen stores". Liquor sales, incidentally, account for almost 40% of the Rs 5,200-crore turnover of the around 3,500 defence canteens, servicing 4.5 million serving and retired defence personnel. There have been many cases of officers and other ranks being caught for illegally selling the much-cheaper military liquor in the civilian market.

In mid-2007 two brigadiers were tried on similar charges that also involved the dismissed officer. The general court martial (GCM) was against Brigadiers G. Illangovan and D.S. Grewal, who were charged with misappropriation of funds.Illangovan commanded the 99 Mountain Brigade at Chaubatia and Grewal commanded the 69 Mountain Brigade in Pithoragarh, both in Uttarakhand. Both brigadiers reported to Singh. Army investigators found that Illangovan had received two cheques for Rs.60,000 and Rs.70,000 from the division headquarters, apparently to be used for intelligence gathering purposes. Instead, he cashed the cheques and passed on the money to Singh. Grewal acted in similar fashion, enchasing a cheque of Rs.140,000 and handing over the money to Singh.

To promote and foster the spirit of adventure in Army, the Army White Water Adventure Sports Nodal Centre, Raiwala conducted Central Command Adventure Cup 2007. A total of eight teams comprising 6 Mountain Division, 50(I) Para Brigade, BEG and Centre Roorkee, Garhwal Rifle Regimental Centre (GRRC), Kumaon Regiment Centre (KRC), 39 Gorkha Training Centre (GTC), Sikh LI Regimental Centre and Rajput Regimental Centre participated in the event. This was the maximum participation in the tournament till date. In a glittering ceremony, Brig Rajiv Johri, Commander 6 Mountain Artillery Brigade, flagged off the teams at Vir Bhadra Barrage, Rishikesh. The competitions included a triathlon of mountain cycling, hill running and white water rafting in the River Ganges. The event was conducted and coordinated by Garud Mountain Division. Maj Gen SP Tanwar, GOC 6 Mountain Division was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, he complimented the participants for displaying zeal and enthusiasm during the difficult and physically demanding route. He praised the efforts put in by participants for improving the timings compared to the previous years. He also lauded the efforts of 6 Mountain Artillery Brigade in organising the event in a smooth, transparent and flawless manner. BEG & Centre bagged the first position while 6 Mountain Division and Rajput Regimental Centre were on second and third position respectively. Best cyclist of the event was Nk Mohamed Ziaur Rahman of BEG & Centre, Roorkee and best runner was L/Nk Digember Singh of Garhwal Rifle Regimental Centre.