Indian Government Renames Port Blair

Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs, India, has announced the government’s decision of renaming the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Island.

Port Blair Renamed

Shah has announced that Port Blair will be called Sri Vijaya Puram from now on.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Union Minister stated, “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. While the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same. Andaman & Nicobar Islands have an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history. 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.”

This isn’t the first time that places in Andaman and Nicobar have seen a title change. In 2018, PM renamed three islands in the union territory. The changed names paid tribute to the history of the Indian independence movement: Ross Island was renamed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island was renamed Shaheed Dweep, and Havelock Island was named Swaraj Dweep.