Yogesh Kumar Joshi

Lieutenant General Yogesh Kumar Joshi, UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM, ADC is a serving General Officer in the Indian Army. He is the current General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command, assuming office from Lt Gen Ranbir Singh on 1 February 2020.[3][4] He last served as the Chief of staff of the Northern Command, assuming the office from Lt Gen SK Sharma.[5] Previously, he was the commander of Leh based Fire & Fury Corps.

Lieutenant General

Y K Joshi

UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM, ADC
Nickname(s)Joe
Born (1962-01-05) January 5, 1962:[1]
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service1982-present[2]
Rank Lieutenant General
Service numberIC-40500A[2]
Unit13 JAK Rif
Commands heldNorthern Command
XIV Corps
13 JAK Rif
Battles/warsKargil War
Operation Vijay
Battle of Tiger Hill
Awards Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vir Chakra
Sena Medal

Early life and education

Gen Joshi hails from Faridabad, Haryana and is the son of R P Joshi.[6] He is a graduate of the 60th course and was allotted Kilo "K" squadron at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra.[7] Then he attended Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

Career

He was commissioned into 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.[8][9][10] He has also served as the Director General of Infantry and ADG of Military Operations Branch in the Army HQ prior to his appointment as DG Infantry and subsequently GOC of XIV corp. He is the colonel of the regiment of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles & the Ladakh Scouts. He was the 17th Commander, XIV Corps of the Indian Army and assumed the post on 31 August 2018, This was General Joshi's fourth tenure dealing with Chinese troops.[11] He assumed the post from Lt General Santosh Kumar Upadhya.[12][8]

Kargil War

He was a Lt colonel during Kargil War. He led 13th Battalion of the JAK Rif in Dras. His battalion launched four successful attacks, including the one to Pt 4875 which is now called Batra Top after Capt. Vikram Batra who laid down his life and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra. The Battalion was also conferred with the title of the 'Bravest Of the Brave'[11] His battalion was awarded a total of seven Gallantry medals during Kargil War including two Param Vir Chakras, eight Vir Chakras (including him) and fourteen Sena Medals. He was the commanding officer of Param Vir Chakra awardees Captain Vikram Batra and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar.[13][12]

An expert on China

The uniqueness that Gen Joshi brings to his office is not only his knowledge of the Chinese language but also the fact that he has served thrice before in the eastern Ladakh sector and has commanded a Brigade and a Division before taking over as commander of Fire & Fury Corps. He also served as a Defence Attache to China (2005-2008) and negotiated the technicalities of the first India-China joint exercise “Hand-in-Hand” in Kunming in 2007 and led Army talks with China.[14][12][15][11]

Vir Chakra Citation

The citation for the Vir Chakra reads as follows[16]

Gazette Notification: 18 Pres/2000,15-8-99

Operation: - Date of Award: 15 Aug 1999

CITATION

LIEUTENANT COLONEL YOGESH KUMAR JOSHI

13 JAMMU AND KASHMIR RIFLES

Lieutenant Colonel Yogesh Kumar Joshi, 13 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, was tasked to capture the strategically vital Point 5140 in Drass Sector during "Operation Vijay". Lieutenant Colonel Joshi conceived a brilliant plan catering for coordinated action to achieve total surprise and psychological dominance over the tactically better positioned enemy. He also personally supervised all preliminary actions before the attack. During the attack on 20 June 1999, Lieutenant Colonel Joshi kept motivating his company commanders and kept staging himself forward with utter disregard to his personal safety. Displaying exceptional presence of mind, he responded to changing battle situations in a most competent manner, his leading from the front and being well forward in battle acted as a morale booster to the attaching troops. Drawing inspiration from him, the attacking companies surmounted the heavy odds, rugged in-hospitable terrain and enemy fire to close in and capture the objective, important peak of Point 5140.

Lieutenant Colonel Yogesh Kumar Joshi displayed exemplary leadership, outstanding command and control and valour beyond the call of duty, leading to killing of six enemy intruders and recapturing of the strategically vital Point 5140 in Drass Sector.

Awards and Decorations

During his career, he has been awarded with Uttam Yudh Seva Medal for commanding the Fire & Fury Corps (Republic Day 2020), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (Republic Day 2016), the Vir Chakra (Independence Day 1999) for his part in the Operation Vijay and the Sena Medal.[17][16][18][19]

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Vir Chakra
Sena Medal
Samanya Seva Medal
Special Service Medal
Operation Vijay Star
Siachen Glacier Medal
Operation Vijay Medal
Operation Parakram Medal
Sainya Seva Medal
High Altitude Service Medal
Videsh Seva Medal
50th Anniversary of Independence Medal
30 Years Long Service Medal
20 Years Long Service Medal
9 Years Long Service Medal
UNAVEM III Medal

Dates of rank
InsigniaRankComponentDate of rank
Second LieutenantIndian Army12 June 1982[2]
LieutenantIndian Army12 June 1984[20]
CaptainIndian Army12 June 1987
MajorIndian Army12 June 1993[21]
Lieutenant-ColonelIndian Army16 December 1999[22]
ColonelIndian Army1 March 2006[23]
BrigadierIndian Army1 February 2010 (substantive, with seniority from 17 January 2009)[24]
Major GeneralIndian Army1 April 2015 (substantive, with seniority from 8 June 2012)[25]
Lieutenant-GeneralIndian Army20 May 2017[26]

In the movie LOC Kargil, he was portrayed by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt.[27]

See also

References
  1. "Lt Col Yogesh kumar Joshi, VrC". THE WAR DECORATED INDIA. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 September 1984. p. 1667.
  3. "Lt Gen YK Joshi, UYSM, AVSM, VrC, SM will assume the appointment of #ArmyCdrNC on 01 Feb 2020. The General officer caught the attention of the nation during Kargil war with his outstanding leadership under the nickname 'Joe' & led his unit 13 JAK RIF to unprecedented success.pic.twitter.com/Lr54A5JapD". @proudhampur. 31 January 2020.
  4. Negi, Manjeet Singh (24 January 2020). "Kargil fame Lt Gen YK Joshi appointed Northern Army Commander". India Today. London. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. Defence, PRO Udhampur, Ministry of (2019-10-25). "Lt Gen YK Joshi assumed the appointment of Chief of Staff, Northern Command at Udhampur today. He relieves Lt Gen SK Sharma. In a solemn ceremony Lt Gen SK Sharma and the incoming Chief of Staff paid tributes to the martyrs at Dhruva Shahid Samarak, Udhampur.pic.twitter.com/iXRaI0ayRS". @proudhampur. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  6. "YOGESH KUMAR JOSHI | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  7. "Vir Chakra". nda.nic.in.
  8. "Kargil war hero Lieutenant General YK Joshi takes charge of Ladakh's defence". CatchNews.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  9. "Back in the barracks, I'm Sanju Baba". Mid-Day Infomedia Ltd. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  10. KRISHNAN, ANANTH (11 May 2013). "Boundary tensions challenge Li Keqiang's visit". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  11. "Kargil War hero Lieutenant General YK Joshi takes charge of Ladakh's defence". zeenews.india.com.
  12. "Kargil hero Lt-Gen Joshi takes charge of 14 corps - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  13. "Legendary tale of 'Captain Vikram Batra': The 'Sher Shah' of Indian Army". India TV Buzz. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  14. KRISHNAN, ANANTH (27 April 2013). "Amid Ladakh tensions, India, China discuss joint military exercises". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  15. "Why Modi govt & Army picked this general to protect borders with China & Pakistan". theprint.in. 3 September 2018.
  16. "Vir Chakra (VrC) Awardee: Lt Col Yogesh kumar Joshi, VrC". THE WAR DECORATED INDIA. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  17. "President approves 409 Gallantry and other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day (2020)". PIB India.
  18. "Press Information Bureau". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  19. "Press Information Bureau Government of India Republic Day Gallantry". Press Information Bureau. Press Information Bureau. 2014-01-25. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 8 June 1985. p. 780.
  21. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 10 September 1994. p. 1685.
  22. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 October 2005. p. 1894.
  23. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 April 2007. p. 635.
  24. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 16 February 2013. p. 273.
  25. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 May 2016. p. 1309.
  26. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 February 2019. p. 393.
  27. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347416/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
Military offices
Preceded by
Ranbir Singh		 General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command
1 February 2020- Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
SK Sharma		 Chief of Staff Northern Command
25 October 2019- Present		 Succeeded by
Preceded by
Santosh Kumar Upadhya		 General Officer Commanding XIV Corps
31 August 2018 - 10 October 2019		 Succeeded by
Harinder Singh
Preceded by
 Director General of Infantry
2017 - 30 August 2018		 Succeeded by
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