Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug 15 (IANS) The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India’s only Tri‑Services Command, celebrated Independence Day on the high seas with a spectacular ‘Parade of Sails’ led by Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, Commander‑in‑Chief, ANC. The event took place off the iconic Flag Point, Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair).
“The National Tricolour was proudly flown as sailboats and watercraft manoeuvred in formation against the backdrop of the majestic National Flag and naval ships adorned with colourful signal flags, a stirring display of seamanship, maritime pride and patriotic fervour,” the ANC posted on X.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands hold a special place in India’s freedom movement. The infamous Cellular Jail, where hundreds of revolutionaries were imprisoned by the British, stands at Sri Vijaya Puram and is now a tourist attraction. It was also here that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose first hoisted the National Flag on December 30, 1943.
The ceremony took place at the Gymkhana Ground (present Netaji Stadium) at Sri Vijaya Puram, where Bose announced that the Islands had been freed from British rule. At the time, the islands were under Japanese control, having been captured during World War II. Underground bunkers and other infrastructure built by the Japanese can still be seen.
Bose landed at Port Blair airport on December 29, 1943, accompanied by Sarvashri Anand Mohan Sahay, Captain Rawat, ADC, and Col D.S. Raju, his personal physician. He was received by the Japanese admiral in charge of the island chain. Enthusiastic Indians and residents of Burma (now Myanmar) also accorded him a warm welcome.
It was Bose who named the Andaman Island as Shaheed and Nicobar Island as Swaraj, and appointed Indian National Army (INA) general A.D. Loganathan as governor. The Azad Hind Government was no longer merely a Government in Exile but had its own land, currency, civil code and stamps. Bose, head of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind, fulfilled his promise that the INA would stand on Indian soil by the end of 1943.
More than 80 years later, in 2024, the government renamed Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram and the nearby Rosa Island as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep. The popular tourist destinations of Neil Island and Havelock Island were renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively.
–IANS
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