PORT Blair, the capital city of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has been renamed Sri Vijaya Puram, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Friday. Shah said the decision was taken to free the nation from colonial imprints as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands had an “unparalleled place” in the country’s freedom struggle and history. “Inspired by the vision of Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, to free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as‘SriVijaya Puram’,” Shah said on X. While the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in India’s freedom struggle and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ unique role in it, the Home Minister said.

 

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have an “unparalleled place” in the freedom struggle and history, and the island territory that once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is now poised to be the critical base for India’s strategic and developmentaspirations,he added. “It is also the place that hosted the first unfurling of our Tiranga by Netaji SubhashChandraBosejiand alsothe cellular jailinwhich Veer Savarkar ji and other freedom fighters struggled for an independent nation,” Shah said. Being a Union Territory, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under the directadministrativecontrol of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The Andamans is world renownedforitspristinenatural beauty, rich marine life, flora and fauna spread around836islands,isletsand rocks. The islands present picturesque views with rich culture and heritage.

 

The archipelago, located in the east of the Indian mainland geographically, floats in splendidisolationintheBay of Bengal. Once a hill range extending from Myanmar to Indonesia,thesepicturesque undulatingislandsandislets are coveredwithdense rainfed, damp and evergreen forests and endless varieties of exotic flora and fauna. Mostoftheseislands (550) are in the Andaman Group, 28ofwhichareinhabited.The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands (10 inhabited). The Andaman and Nicobars are separated by the Ten Degree Channel, whichis150kilometreswide, according to the Union Territory’s tourism department. SRI VIJAYA PURAM REFLECTS COMMITMENT TO BREAK FREE FROM COLONIAL MINDSET: PM: PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the renaming of Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram and said it reflects the Government’s commitment to break free from the colonial mindset and celebrate our heritage. In a post on X, Modi said, “The name Sri Vijaya Puram honours the richhistory and heroic people of Andaman and Nicobar islands. It also reflects our commitment to break free from the colonial mindset and celebrate our heritage,” the Prime Minister said.