21 islands of Andaman & Nicobar renamed after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees

Hyderabad: On Parakram Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi named the 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees.

The largest unnamed island will be named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, the second largest unnamed island will be named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee, and so on.

The islands have been named after these Param Vir Chakra awardees—Major Somnath Sharma; Subedar and Hony Captain (then Lance Naik) Karam Singh, MM; 2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane; Nayak Jadunath Singh; Company Havildar Major Piru Singh; Capt. G.S Salaria; Lieutenant Colonel (then Major) Dhan Singh Thapa; Subedar Joginder Singh; Major Shaitan Singh; CQMH. Abdul Hamid; Lt. Col. Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore; Lance Naik Albert Ekka; Major Hoshiar Singh; 2nd Lt. Arun Khetrapal; Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon; Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran; Naib Subedar Bana Singh; Captain Vikram Batra; Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey; Subedar Major (then Rifleman) Sanjay Kumar; and Subedar Major Retd. (Hony Captain) Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav.

During the renaming programme, which was done via video conferencing, the Prime Minister also unveiled the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.

Historical significance of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands

In 2018, keeping in mind the historical significance of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and to honour the memory of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Ross Islands was renamed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep by the Prime Minister. Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep.

Throwing light on the history of Andaman and Nicobar islands, the Prime Minister informed that the Tricolour was hoisted for the first time here and the first independent government of India was formed. He further added that Veer Savarkar and many other heroes like him had touched the pinnacle of penance and sacrifice for the country on this very land. He said, “The voices of that unprecedented passion along with immense pain are still heard from the cells of the Cellular Jail today.” The Prime Minister lamented that the identity of Andaman was associated with the symbols of slavery instead of the memories of the freedom struggle and said, “Even the names of our islands had the imprint of slavery.”

Mr. Modi recalled his visit to Port Blair four-five years ago to rename the three main islands and informed, “Today Ross Island has become Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Havelock and Neil Islands have become Swaraj and Shaheed Islands.” He noted that the names, Swaraj and Shaheed were given by Netaji himself but no importance was given even after independence. The Prime Minister interjected, “When the Azad Hind Fauj government completed 75 years, our government reinstated these names.”

He added, “Like the sea connects different islands, the feeling of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ unites every child of Mother India. From Major Somnath Sharma, Piru Singh, Major Shaitan Singh to Captain Manoj Pandey, Subedar Joginder Singh and Lance Naik Albert Ekka, from Veer Abdul Hameed and Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran to all 21 Paramveers, everyone had only one resolve—Nation First! India First! This resolution has now become immortal forever in the name of these islands. A hill in Andaman is also being dedicated in the name of Captain Vikram Batra from the Kargil war.”

The Prime Minister underlined that the naming of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar is not only dedicated to the Paramveer Chakra awardees but also to the Indian armed forces.

Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Admiral D.K Joshi, and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan were present on the occasion among others.