NEW DELHI: The central government on Friday announced to rename Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar as “Sri Vijaya Puram” in an effort to shed the “colonial legacy“.
Union home minister Amit Shah, while sharing the government’s decision, said “Andaman & Nicobar Islands have an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history.”
“Inspired by the vision of PM Narendra Modi Ji, to free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram,” Shah wrote on X.
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He said that Vijaya Puram “symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same”.
The home minister said the island territory that “once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is today poised to be the critical base for our strategic and development aspirations”.
“It is also the place that hosted the first unfurling of our Tiranga by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ji and also the cellular jail in which Veer Savarkar Ji and other freedom fighters struggled for an independent nation,” Shah wrote on X.
In 2018, PM Modi renamed three islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as a tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep, Modi said during a speech amidst thunderous applause from the audience here. The three islands are major tourist spots.
Union home minister Amit Shah, while sharing the government’s decision, said “Andaman & Nicobar Islands have an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history.”
“Inspired by the vision of PM Narendra Modi Ji, to free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram,” Shah wrote on X.
Read more: PM Modi, Amit Shah among BJP’s 40 star campaigners for Haryana polls
He said that Vijaya Puram “symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same”.
The home minister said the island territory that “once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is today poised to be the critical base for our strategic and development aspirations”.
“It is also the place that hosted the first unfurling of our Tiranga by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Ji and also the cellular jail in which Veer Savarkar Ji and other freedom fighters struggled for an independent nation,” Shah wrote on X.
In 2018, PM Modi renamed three islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago as a tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep, Modi said during a speech amidst thunderous applause from the audience here. The three islands are major tourist spots.