In a move to eliminate colonial practices and symbols from the Indian Armed Forces, Fort William in Kolkata, the headquarter of the Eastern Command, has been renamed Vijay Durg.
Additionally, Kitchener House inside Fort William has been renamed Manekshaw House, and South gate, formerly known as St. George’s Gate, is now Shivaji Gate.
According to Defence Spokesman, Eastern Region ,Wg.Cdr. Himanshu Tiwari – the decision was made in mid-December and all communications have since ceased using “Fort William,” adopting the new name instead. However, the official announcement is still pending.
“The order came in the second week of December but is yet to be formally announced. In our internal communication, we have stopped using Fort William,” Wing Commander Tiwari added.
Renaming of Fort William to VIJAY DURG is a tribute to Indian Army’s finest military victory in post-independent India in 1971 that was spearheaded by Fort William (VIJAY DURG) based Eastern Command.
This lightening military campaign, that saw the creation of Bangladesh as also unconditional surrender of over 93,000 Pakistani troops, is celebrated on 16 December every year as VIJAY DIWAS, to honour the historic victory and the sacrifices of Indian soldiers.
In 1971, the Indian Army brought Pakistani army to its knees and gave 75 million people of Bangladesh their independence.
The war, which continued for 13 days, ended with the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers — the largest surrender by an Army since World War-II. India won the war decisively — splitting Pakistan into two, with the creation of Bangladesh.
It however, came at a price for India — 3,900 Indian soldiers were also killed and nearly 10,000 others injured, with many left to suffer from life-long disabilities.
Every year a military delegation from Bangladesh takes part in these joint celebrations, reinforcing the deep military ties between the two nations.
The recently held Vijay Diwas celebrations in December 2024 saw the Governor of WB Shri CV Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Ms Mamta Banerjee also participate wholeheartedly, marking the occasion with great reverence.
(Inputs from Eastern Command Official Facebook and edited by Pratyusha Mukherjee)
