Eastern Command of the Indian Army celebrated its 104th Raising Day at its headquarters in Fort William on Wednesday.

On this special day, Lieutenant General Ram Chander Tiwari, GOC-in-C Eastern Command, conveyed his best wishes to all officers, troops and defence civilian employees of Headquarters Eastern Command and assured that the Command is operationally ready at all times and continues to develop its capabilities to face any present or future challenges. Commending the tireless efforts of all personnel of the headquarters on the occasion, he called upon everyone to continue working with dedication and devotion in the true traditions of the Indian Army. Lieutenant General RC Srikanth, headquarters Eastern Command laid a wreath at Vijay Smarak to pay tribute to bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the service to the nation.

Headquarters Eastern Command was raised on 1 November, 1920. The Command was raised at Lucknow under General Sir H Hudson, with territorial jurisdiction over Delhi, UP, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam. Thereafter, owing to the operational commitments, Command Headquarters shifted to Barrackpore, Ranchi and Lucknow before permanently settling down in Fort William, Kolkata in the immediate wake of 1962 Sino – Indian War.

Eastern Command covers the geographical area spread over eight states, overseeing 8350 km of land borders of India. The Command is responsible for guarding borders with five countries, a task it has carried out with distinction. It has also actively participated in all major wars fought by the Country. However, its crowning glory was the 1971 War which led to the creation of a new nation “Bangladesh”. Over the years, the “Warriors of the East” have time and again proved themselves as a formidable professional force capable of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the Nation and leading highly successful counter insurgency operations in the affected regions of North East.

Eastern Command as the guardians of East has been involved at every level to bring in meaningful changes in the lives of the people through Operation Sadbhavana and Operation Samaritan schemes which have left an indelible impact on the lives of the local population. Be it humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations or restoring law and order, the Command has acquitted itself in an exemplary manner reinforcing the Nation’s faith in its Army.