Government renames Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram

Amit Shah. File Pic/PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that the central government has decided to rename Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram.

The name Port Blair had colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises victory through freedom struggle, and Andaman and Nicobar's role in India's Independence, Amit Shah said in a statement on X.

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Port Blair is the capital city of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Located on the east coast of the Andaman Islands, Port Blair is a significant hub for the archipelago, serving as its administrative and commercial center.

Amit Shah also said that the decision has been taken to free the nation from the colonial imprints as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have an "unparalleled place" in the country's freedom struggle and 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"," Amit Shah wrote on 'X'.

The home minister said 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, according to the PTI.

Amit Shah said that 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 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 said.

Further details will be updated.

(with PTI inputs)