Eastern Army Command Chief: Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita Appointed As GOC In Kolkata

Eastern Army Command Chief: Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita is the new General Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Command at Fort Lewis in Kolkata.

Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita appointed as GOC in Kolkata (ANI photo)

Kolkata: Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita, who was commissioned in the 9 Kumaon Regiment in 1984, has been appointed as the new Chief of Eastern Army Command headquartered in Kolkata.

Lieutenant General RP Kalita appointed as the new Eastern Army Command chief in Kolkata. He would be succeeding Lt Gen Manoj Pande who is moving to Army Headquarters as the new Vice Chief ofthe Army. pic.twitter.com/2dN9yGBg3B

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2022

General Kalita hails from Rangia, Assam, and will succeed Lt. Gen. Manoj Pande who will join Army Headquarters as the new Vice Chief of the Army.

While extending his congratulatory message, Director-General of Police, Assam, Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta tweeted for Kalita, "My heartfelt congratulation and best wishes to Lt. Gen. Rana P. Kalita on taking over as General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC in C), Eastern Command, Fort Williams, Kolkata. A first for any Assamese or a North-Easterner.We are very proud of your achievement and wish for many such milestones in your career ahead".

Congratulations and best wishes to Lt. Gen. Rana P. Kalita on taking over as General Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Command, Fort Williams, Kolkata. A first for any Assamese or a North-Easterner.

We're proud of your achievement & wish for many such milestones ahead. pic.twitter.com/bKeuHALU9d

— DGP Assam (@DGPAssamPolice) January 25, 2022

General Kalita, who is a recipient of UYSM, AVSM, SM, and VSM, became the first Assamese to hold the charge of General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command.

In 2018, he had commanded the 19th infantry division at Baramulla LoC and was awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal. Kalita is an alumnus of the National Defense academy. He had also coordinated the funeral of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was posted in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi has been appointed as the new Northern Army Commander. He is presently the Deputy Chief of Army Staff and would be succeeding Lt Gen YK Joshi in Udhampur, Jammu, and Kashmir.

Lt Gen Upendra commanded a Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Battalion in Kashmir as well as Deserts and Assam Rifles Sector in Manipur. He has been the Inspector General of Assam Rifles (East) in North East India and Director General of Infantry at Army Headquarters.    

His articles have been published in Infantry Journal, Army War College Journal, Military Training Review-Journal, and South Asia Defence Strategic Review. He has pioneered the first-ever compendium on Indo-Myanmar Border Management.