On Netaji's birth anniv, PM names 21 Andaman islands after PVC awardees

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 23

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underlined the importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and said this was the land where the Tricolour was hoisted for the first time and where the government of independent India was formed for the first time.

The 21 bravehearts

Major Somnath Sharma

Naik Jadunath Singh

Second Lt Rama Raghoba Rane

Company Havildar Major Piru Singh

Lance Naik Karam Singh

Capt Gurbachan Singh Salaria

Major Dhan Singh Thapa

Subedar Joginder Singh

Major Shaitan Singh

Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore

Lance Naik Albert Ekka

Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid

Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon

Major Hoshiar Singh

Second Lt Arun Khetarpal

Naib Subedar Bana Singh

Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran

Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav

Rifleman Sanjay Kumar

Capt Vikram Batra

Modi was addressing a programme to name 21 Andaman and Nicobar islands after Param Vir Chakra awardees through video-conferencing to mark the occasion of Parakram Diwas, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He also unveiled a model of a national memorial dedicated to Netaji, which will be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.

Ross Island, part of the Andaman islands, was renamed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep by Modi in 2018, while Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively.

The proposed memorial will have a museum, a cable car ropeway, a laser-and-sound show, a guided heritage trail through historical buildings and a theme-based children’s amusement park, besides a restro lounge, officials said. “I pay my tributes to Netaji and Param Vir Chakra awardees. The land where Netaji first unfurled the flag of India is all praise today for the parakram of the Azad Hind Fauz,” said Modi.

“This is the land where the Tricolour was hoisted for the first time, where the government of independent India was formed for the first time,” he said. “These 21 islands will now be known by the names of Param Vir Chakra awardees, and the Netaji memorial will be a site for inspiration for the future generations,” Modi said. “Unfortunately, the sites of the Independence struggle, Andaman’s identity, were tied to the reminders of colonisation. Even the names of our islands were imprinted with the past of colonisation,” Modi said recalling his visit to the islands in 2018 when he renamed Ross Island.

The PM also spoke about the newly inaugurated statue of Netaji here and said the statue of Netaji on Kartavya Path reminded us of our duties. “I believe these initiatives should have been taken before in the interests of the nation,” the PM said, adding that nations that had tied their leaders to the public conscience progressed fast.

Modi said there were many messages in the naming of the 21 islands. “The message of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ reflects the bravery of our armed forces.” Just like an ocean connects different islands, the feeling of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ ignites the spirit of “Bharat Mata and India First,” he noted. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was physically present at the event, said, “PM Modi’s initiative to name the islands after Param Vir Chakra awardees will ensure they are remembered forever.”

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