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Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India
Lieutenant Archibald Blair, British naval officer from the 18th century, after whom Port Blair was named | Image/X@aaipblairport
Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will now be called Sri Vijaya Puram, announced the Central government on Friday.
Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will now be called Sri Vijaya Puram, announced the Central government on Friday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it was done to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to ‘free the nation from the colonial imprints’. The name Port Blair carried a colonial legacy.
Announcing the move to rename Port Blair, Shah said, “Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same. The 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,” added Shah.
While the new name echoes the city’s involvement and leading role in the Indian Independence movement, the old name- Port Blair- was derived from a British naval officer from the 18th century, named Lieutenant Archibald Blair.
The Blair Of Port Blair: All You Need to Know
Port Blair was named after Lieutenant Archibald Blair, a British naval officer and surveyor in the Bombay Marine who served in the Royal Navy during the early 18th century. The then Government of Bengal established a penal colony on Chatham Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and named it in honour of Archibald Blair in 1789.
During his career, Blair considerably contributed to British colonial efforts as his presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was a part of the border strategy to establish British control in the strategically key region.
Blair largely contributed to the island region when the British authorities launched an initiative to explore and develop the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He led the initiative to survey the islands and established early administration in the region for British colonial rule.
The naming of Port Blair after his name reflected his key contribution to the British colonial expansion in the eastern Bay of Bengal. Later, the port became a crucial point for several activities including military, administrative and trade in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It served as the operational centre for the British authorities, who once had a vision to exert control and manage the island region more effectively.
Port Blair’s development under Blair’s supervision helped transform the remote and strategically important region in the British maritime network. While personal detailed records linked with Blar’s life are limited, his professional records in the islands left a massive impact, such that the town was named after him.
While the history showed how a fishing village was named Port Blair in tribute to a British naval officer, the new name–Vijaya Puram, reflects the government’s vision to honour the city’s contribution to the freedom movement of India.