General Bipin Rawat, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM
The origin of the Territorial Army can be traced back to 1857. It was raised as “Volunteers” and were recruited only from the Europeans & Anglo-Indians.
On 01 October 1920, the Indian Territorial Force Bill was passed resulting in the reorganization of the Territorial Army into two separate wings, namely, the Auxiliary Force & the Indian Territorial Force. While the former was meant only for the Europeans and Anglo-Indians, the latter for the Indians.
After Independence in 1947, the Territorial Army Act was enacted on 18 August 1948 by the Constituent Assembly resulting in the constitution of the present Territorial Army.