The Centre on Friday renamed Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah made the announcement through a message posted on platform X.
Inspired by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as "Sri Vijaya Puram," he said in the post.
"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," he noted.
"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," Shah said.
"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.