New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Friday that the central government has decided to rename Port Blair as “Sri Vijaya Puram”, stating that the decision was taken to “free the nation from colonial imprints”.
Port Blair is the capital of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
“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”,” Shah said in a post on X.
The Home Minister explained that the previous name had a “colonial legacy”, while the new name, Sri Vijaya Puram, symbolises the victory achieved in our struggle for freedom.
“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,” he added.
Shah further highlighted: “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.”
