Barrackpore is a green and well laid out Cantonment on the banks of Hooghly River 22 Kms north of Kolkata and has the distinction of being the oldest in the country, indeed the Sub continent. The military station of Barrackpore came into being in 1765 and Warren Hastings took over as the first Governor General on 20th October, 1774, Gradually the importance of Barrackore grew and as an adjunct to Calcutta, the then capital of British India, it remained the symbolic seat of military power till 23 November 1910 when the capital was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi.