The central government announced on Friday that Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will be renamed "Sri Vijaya Puram" as part of a broader effort to shed colonial legacies.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah shared the decision, stating that the renaming aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to remove colonial imprints from the nation's history.
“Inspired by the vision of PM @narendramodi 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,” Shah wrote on X.
“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,” he added.
This move follows the 2018 renaming of three islands in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago by Prime Minister Modi. Ross Island was renamed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Neil Island became Shaheed Dweep, and Havelock Island was changed to Swaraj Dweep, as a tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.