Fort William, the Oriental Headquarters of the Army, renowned vijay durg

Archive film of officials of the Indian army that act in the War Memorial in Fort William in Kolkata | Photo credit: PTI

In the last step to eliminate colonial practices and mentalities within the Armed Forces, Fort William in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Eastern Army Command, Vijay Durg has been renamed. In addition, Kitchener House within Fort William has been renamed Manekshaw House, and South Gate, previously known as St. George’s Gate, is now Shivaji Gate.

According to WG CDR Himanshu Tiwari, the defense public relations officer in Kolkata, the decision was made in mid -December and all communications have stopped using “Fort William”, adopting the new name. However, the official announcement is still pending.

Fort William, called by King William III of England, was built by the British in 1781. The new name, Vijay Durg, is derived from the oldest fort along the coast of Sindhudurg in Maharashtra and served as a naval base for The marathas under Chhatrapati Shivajii.

In recent years, there have been a series of measures aimed at eliminating “vestiges of the colonial era” and “Indian” of military traditions and customs, an initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called as “Gulami Ki Mansikta is mukti (Freedom of the mentality of slavery) “.

In March 2022, while heading to the main military leadership in Kevadia in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of deceiving indigenization in national defense, not only in terms of supplying equipment and weapons, but also in The doctrines, procedures and customs practiced by the Armed Forces. He urged the three services to “get rid of the inherited systems and practices that have survived usefulness and relevance.”

In September 2022, the Navy adopted a new Naval Ensign that moves away from its colonial past, with a new octagonal design inspired by the Chhatrapati Shivaji seal.

The measures taken include replacing musical melodies that are reproduced during the removal ceremony of beats with Indian compositions and reviewing several ceremonial practices and attire.

At the joint conference of commanders in Lucknow in September 2024, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh had published a publication about ‘Colonial practices and armed forces: a review‘.