The central government has changed the name of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to 'Sri Vijaya Puram'. Union Home Minister Amit Shah took to microblogging website X (formerly Twitter) on Friday to announce the decision, stating that the new name symbolises the victory achieved in the country's struggle for freedom while the earlier name had a colonial legacy. He also wrote that the decision was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision. 

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"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," the Union Minister wrote. 

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands have "an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history" and the 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 wrote. 

'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," Shah added.