Lt General Rana Pratap Kalita joined as the COS of the Eastern Command of Indian Army

by Mayukh Goswami

Mangaldai : Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita on Friday  has joined as the Chief of Staff (COS) in the Eastern Command of Indian army at Fort William in Kolkata. Kalita , a worthy son of the Assam and the second Lieutenant General from the State is the  first from the soil   to be appointed as the COS in the Eastern Command which looks after the entire North eastern region besides other areas. The information has been received here from very close circles of  Lieutenant General Kalita . Lieutenant General Kalita an alumnus of Sainik School, Goalpara (SSG) in Assam and of National Defence Academy (NDA) was earlier awarded ‘Sena Medal’ and ‘Vishisht Seva Medal’ (twice) for his outstanding service.  He was also conferred with the prestigious ‘Ati Vishisht Seva Medal’ for his outstanding performance and service to the nation during his tenure as the General Officer Commanding of XIX Infantry Division at Baramulla in the aftermath of the ‘fedayeen attack’ in Uri sector in Kashmir valley.

Born to Jogendra Kalita , an ideal and widely respected teacher  and  Renu Kalita of Shantipur of Rangiya town in Kamrup (Rural) district, Lieutenant General Kalita got commissioned in 9 Kumaon Regiment on June of 1984.He was also entrusted to coordinate the funeral of former Prime Minister AB Bajpayee which was conducted by the Indian Army in almost  flawless manner thereby proving his high degree of skill and management ability. He was appointed in the coveted posts to command 13 Rashtriya Rifles in Kasmir, 71 Infantry Brigade at Lucknow and strategically important XV Corps at Srinagar.  He also rendered his service in Officer Training Academy (OTA) besides his deputation to United Nations twice.

His  family comprises of his wife Nisha kalita  , son Captain Nishanta and daughter Ruchi . It need to be mentioned here that his son Captainn Nishanta ,carrying forth the tradition to the second generation has also got commissioned in the 9 Kumaon Regiment, which was once commanded by Lieutenant General Kalita himself . Just few days back Rana Pratap Kalita lost his mother Renu Kalita .