Fort William, Army’s Eastern HQ, renamed Vijay Durg

File picture of Indian Army officials performing at the war memorial at Fort William in Kolkata
| Photo Credit: PTI

In the latest step toward eliminating colonial practices and mindsets within the armed forces, Fort William in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Eastern Army 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 Wg Cdr Himanshu Tiwari, the Defence Public Relations Officer in Kolkata, 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.

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

In recent years, there have been a series of measures aimed at removing “vestiges of the colonial era” and “Indianising” military traditions and customs — an initiative Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed as “gulami ki mansikta se mukti (freedom from the mentality of slavery)“.

In March 2022, while addressing top military leadership at Kevadia in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of engancing indigenisation in national defence — not just in terms of sourcing of equipment and weapons but also in the doctrines, procedures and customs practised by the armed forces. He urged the three services to “rid themselves of legacy systems and practices that have outlived utility and relevance”.

In September 2022, the Navy adopted a new naval ensign that moves away from its colonial past, featuring a new octagonal design inspired by the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Measures taken include replacing musical tunes played during the Beating Retreat ceremony with Indian compositions and reviewing various ceremonial practices and attire.

At the Joint Commanders’ Conference in Lucknow in September 2024, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had released a publication on ‘Colonial Practises and the Armed Forces – A Review’.