Context: Recently, the Central government announced that Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will now be known as Sri Vijaya Puram. 

Key highlights

• The new name, Sri Vijaya Puram, symbolizes the victory achieved in India’s freedom struggle and highlights the unique role the Andaman and Nicobar Islands played in it.

• Port Blair has been renamed Sri Vijaya Puram to shed the colonial imprints.

• It was named after Blair as a recognition of his role in British colonial expansion.

• This has been done to remove the colonial imprints of the earlier name. But who was the Blair after whom Port Blair was named?

Origin of the Name Port Blair

• Port Blair was named after Archibald Blair, a naval surveyor and lieutenant in the Bombay Marine. Blair led a thorough survey of the Andaman Islands, making him the first officer to do so.

• After joining the Bombay Marine in 1771, Blair participated in various survey missions along the coasts of India, Iran, and Arabia.

• In 1778, Blair embarked on his first survey of the Andaman Islands from Calcutta, along with two ships, Elizabeth and Viper. Initially, Blair named the natural harbor he discovered Port Cornwallis, after Commodore William Cornwallis, but it was later renamed Port Blair in his honor.

• Colonial Importance of the Andaman Islands: The East India Company (EIC) decided to colonize the Andaman Islands in the late 18th century, mainly to check the activities of Malay pirates. The island served as a penal colony, with several convicts being transported there for unpaid labor.

• In 1792, the penal colony was shifted to Port Cornwallis, but severe disease and death led to its abandonment by 1796.

• The port's development under Blair’s oversight helped transform the area into a key node in the British maritime network.

• While detailed personal records about Blair’s life are sparse, his professional achievements in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands left a lasting impact, resulting in naming the town after him.

• This is the history of how a fishing village got named Port Blair as a tribute to a British naval officer. Renaming it to Sri Vijaya Puram is a fitting tribute to the city's contribution in the making of the new Independent India

Connection to the Imperial Cholas and Srivijaya

• Chola Naval Expedition: Historical records suggest that the 11th-century Chola emperor, Rajendra I used the Andaman Islands as a strategic naval base during his campaign against the Srivijaya Empire (modern-day Indonesia). An inscription from Thanjavur (1050 CE) refers to the Andaman Islands as “Ma-Nakkavaram land” (great open land), which may have influenced the later British name, Nicobar.

• Reasons for the Chola Attack on Srivijaya: Historian Nilakanta Sastri proposed that the Cholas attacked Srivijaya to secure trade routes or expand their empire. American historian G W Spencer interpreted the expedition as part of Chola expansionism, which involved conflicts with other empires in South India and Sri Lanka.

• Aftermath of the Attack: Rajendra I captured King Sangrama Vijayottunggavarman of Srivijaya and looted treasures, including the jewelled war gate, Vidhyadara Torana, from the Buddhist empire.

• Role of Port Blair in India’s Independence Struggle: After the Revolt of 1857, Port Blair was re-established as a penal colony for Indian prisoners, many of whom were freedom fighters.

• It also mark the place where Subhash Chandra Bose first unfurl the Tiranga.

• The Cellular Jail, also known as Kala Pani is also located here. It was built by 1906, housing several prominent freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar.