Indian Army begins review of customs, policies to erase British colonial legacy

New Delhi: In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directions, the Indian Army has initiated the process to do away with some colonial practices. The Army Chief General Manoj Pande has taken the initiative to befit Indian heritage and remove the British colonial past in the armed force by changing the names of the regiments and units.

"Some of the legacies, practices which require a review like customs and traditions from the colonial and pre-colonial era, army uniforms and accouterment, regulations, laws, rules, policies, unit establishment, institutes of colonial past, English names of some units, renaming the name of buildings, establishments, roads, parks, and institution like Auchinleck or Kitchener House," an Army document said.

An Army headquarters official said, "While doing away with the British colonial legacy, it is essential to move away from the archaic and ineffective practices."

He said the Indian Army also needs to review these legacy practices to align with the national sentiment in consonance with the five vows that the Prime Minister had asked the people to take.

The list of items being reviewed includes the "pre-independence theatre/battle honors, awarded by British to quell the Indian states and freedom and affiliation with Commonwealth Graves Commission," Army officials said.

This includes practices like the grant of honorary commissions and ceremonies like beating the retreat and the regimented system.

The names and Insignia in Unit, Crest of Colonial times, along with officers' mess procedures and traditions and customs, would also be reviewed.