Port Blair Renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram to Erase Colonial Legacy

On September 13, 2024, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the renaming of Port Blair to Sri Vijaya Puram. The announcement was made through a social media post emphasizing the decision as a step towards removing colonial imprints, aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to Mr. Shah, the new name, Sri Vijaya Puram, represents the triumphs achieved in India’s freedom struggle and acknowledges the unique role of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in this history. These islands hold significant historical value as they were the site of the first unfurling of the Indian national flag by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and home to the cellular jail where freedom fighters, including Veer Savarkar, were imprisoned.

Mr. Shah elaborated that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands served as a naval base for the Chola Empire and now stand as a strategic and developmental asset for the nation. The renaming emphasizes the islands’ crucial historical and cultural importance beyond their colonial past attributed to British captain Archibald Blair.

The Andaman Islands are known for their natural beauty, housing diverse marine life, flora, and fauna. The archipelago, consisting of about 836 islands, is separated into inhabited and uninhabited groups with the Andaman grouping comprising most of the islands.