Sri Vijaya Puram: Port Blair Renamed — Complete UPSC Guide

On 13 September 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the renaming of Port Blair — the capital of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands — to Sri Vijaya Puram. The change was formalised through a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, marking one of the most significant decolonisation-driven place-name changes in recent years.

Port Blair had been named after Lieutenant Archibald Blair of the British Royal Navy, who surveyed the Andamans in 1789 and established the first colonial settlement. The new name Sri Vijaya Puram — "City of Victory" — invokes the maritime legacy of the ancient Sri Vijaya Empire and the Chola navy's eastward expedition that anchored in the Andaman archipelago in the 11th century CE.

For UPSC aspirants, this topic is a high-yield intersection of GS Paper 1 (Modern History, Art & Culture, Geography) and GS Paper 2 (Polity — renaming procedure, UT administration).

Key Facts at a Glance

Why the Rename?

In his announcement, the Home Minister cited three principal reasons:

1. Shedding colonial legacy — Port Blair carried the name of a British colonial officer.
2. Honouring India's maritime heritage — recalling the Sri Vijaya Empire that dominated South-East Asian seas.
3. Recognising the Chola Dynasty‘s naval expedition — Rajendra Chola I‘s 1025 CE campaign that reached Sri Vijaya via the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The move aligns with the larger "Panch Pran" vision outlined by PM Narendra Modi in August 2022, which includes "removing any trace of colonial mindset" from Indian public life.

The Historical Reference: Who Was Sri Vijaya?

Sri Vijaya (also spelled Srivijaya) was a Buddhist maritime empire based in Sumatra (present-day Indonesia) that flourished between the 7th and 13th centuries CE. At its peak, Sri Vijaya controlled the Malacca and Sunda Straits — the most strategic maritime chokepoints in pre-modern global trade.

Indian Connections

• Chola–Sri Vijaya Relations: Initially friendly; the Sri Vijaya king Maravijayottungavarman built the Chudamani Vihara at Nagapattinam under Rajaraja Chola I.
• Chola Naval Expedition (1025 CE): Rajendra Chola I launched the most famous overseas naval campaign in Indian history, crossing the Bay of Bengal and occupying Sri Vijaya ports including Kadaram (Kedah, Malaysia), Pannai (Sumatra) and Tambralinga (Thailand).
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are mentioned as "Ma-Nakkavaram" in the Thanjavur (Tiruvalangadu) plates of Rajendra Chola — believed to be a staging post for the fleet. The word "Nicobar" is thought to derive from this.

Thus, "Sri Vijaya Puram" links modern Port Blair to both Cholas and Sri Vijaya, restoring a forgotten chapter of Indian maritime history.

Port Blair: The Colonial Past

Establishment

• 1789: Lt. Archibald Blair surveyed the Andamans on behalf of the British East India Company and set up the first settlement at Chatham Island.
• The settlement was abandoned in 1796 due to disease and revived in 1858.

Penal Colony (Post-1857)

After the 1857 First War of Independence, the British established a penal settlement at Port Blair to deport Indian freedom fighters. It became synonymous with "Kala Pani" — the dreaded transportation across the "Black Waters".

Cellular Jail (1906)

• Completed in 1906, the Cellular Jail at Port Blair housed 696 solitary cells across seven radial wings (three remain today).
• Imprisoned legends include Veer Savarkar, Batukeshwar Dutt, Yogendra Shukla, the Alipore Bomb Case prisoners, and Sachindra Nath Sanyal.
• Declared a National Memorial in 1979 by PM Morarji Desai.

Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)

• The islands were occupied by Imperial Japan from March 1942 to October 1945.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited Port Blair on 29 December 1943 and hoisted the first Indian tricolour on Indian soil the next day at Gymkhana Ground, Ross Island, declaring the islands part of Azad Hind. He renamed the Andamans as Shaheed and the Nicobars as Swaraj.

Island Renaming: The Larger Decolonisation Drive

The renaming of Port Blair continues a series of earlier decolonial renamings in the archipelago:

30 December 2018 (on the 75th anniversary of Netaji's flag hoisting)

23 January 2023 (Parakram Diwas)

• 21 unnamed islands named after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees by PM Narendra Modi.
• The largest unnamed island named after Major Somnath Sharma, the first PVC awardee.

13 September 2024

• Port Blair → Sri Vijaya Puram.

Geography of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Strategic Location

• Situated near the Malacca Strait, through which ~60% of China's trade and ~80% of its oil imports pass.
• Headquarters of India's only tri-service command — the Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) — since 2001.
• Home to INS Baaz (Campbell Bay) and planned expansion of naval infrastructure.

Constitutional and Procedural Aspects of Renaming

Renaming a City/Place — The Process

1. State / UT government sends the proposal.
2. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeks No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) from:

• Ministry of Railways
• Department of Posts
• Survey of India
• Registrar General of India

1. Once cleared, MHA notification is issued.
2. Constitutional renaming of a state (not a city) requires Parliament action under Article 3.

Since Andaman & Nicobar is a Union Territory without legislature, the renaming of its capital Port Blair was administratively driven by the MHA — no Parliamentary law was required.

Other Major Decolonial Renamings

Tourism and Economic Significance

Sri Vijaya Puram is the administrative, economic and tourism hub of the Andamans.

• Cellular Jail National Memorial — evening light-and-sound show on the freedom struggle.
• Ross Island (NSC Bose Dweep) — ruins of British administrative buildings.
• Corbyn's Cove Beach, Chidiya Tapu.
• Anthropological Museum, Fisheries Museum.
• Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ) — new integrated terminal inaugurated July 2023.

UPSC Relevance

GS Paper 1 (Modern History):

• Cellular Jail and "Kala Pani" transportation of freedom fighters.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Azad Hind Fauj, first flag hoisting on Indian soil.
• Chola maritime expansion; Sri Vijaya Empire.

GS Paper 1 (Geography):

• Andaman & Nicobar geography — Ten Degree Channel, Indira Point, Saddle Peak, Barren Island volcano.

GS Paper 2 (Polity):

• Procedure for renaming of cities/UT capitals (administrative vs constitutional).
• UT administration without legislature (Article 239).

GS Paper 3 (Security): Andaman & Nicobar Command, strategic importance of the Malacca chokepoint.

Key Prelims Facts:

• New name: Sri Vijaya Puram (announced 13 September 2024).
• Old name origin: Lt. Archibald Blair (1789).
• Sri Vijaya Empire: 7th–13th century CE, capital at Palembang (Sumatra).
• Rajendra Chola I's naval expedition: 1025 CE.
• Cellular Jail: Completed 1906; 7 wings, 696 cells; National Memorial 1979.
• Netaji's first flag hoisting: 30 December 1943, Ross Island (now NSC Bose Dweep).
• 2018 renamings: Ross → NSC Bose Dweep, Neil → Shaheed Dweep, Havelock → Swaraj Dweep.
• 2023: 21 islands named after Param Vir Chakra awardees.
• Capital population: ~1.08 lakh.
• Airport: Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ).
• UT area: 8,249 sq km; 572 islands (38 inhabited).

Prelims Tip: Do not confuse Sri Vijaya Puram (new name of Port Blair) with the Sri Vijaya Empire (ancient Sumatran maritime polity). The first is a modern Indian city; the second is the historical empire the city is named after.

Mains Angle: Evaluate how place-name changes like Sri Vijaya Puram serve the twin purposes of decolonising public memory and reclaiming civilisational maritime history. Reflect on the limits and possibilities of such renaming as an instrument of cultural nationalism.