Active 1920–Present Branch Indian Army Garrison/HQ Kolkata | Country India Type Command | |
 | ||
Current
commander Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi, AVSM, VSM | ||
The Eastern Command of the Indian Army is one of the seven operational commands of the army. It is headquartered in Fort William in the city of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal. Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi is the current commander.
Contents
History
The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 when the three Presidency armies became the Indian Army. The Indian Army was divided into four Commands (Bengal Command, Bombay Command, Madras Command and Punjab Command) each under a lieutenant general.
In 1908, the four commands were merged into two Armies (Northern Army and Southern Army): this system persisted until 1920 when the arrangement reverted to four commands again (Eastern Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Western Command).
Prior to 1 May 1963 Lucknow was the headquarters of the Eastern Command; when Central Command was re-established on that date, due to the Chinese aggression of 1962, Lucknow became HQ of Central Command instead.
Components
Commanders prior to Independence
Commanders included:
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Army
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Army
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command