New Delhi:
Three islands in Andaman and Nicobar will be renamed by the Narendra Modi government, a source in the home ministry said. The three islands in Andaman & Nicobar - Ross Island as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Neil Island as Shahid Dweep and Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep - coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Netaji Bose having hoisted the national flag in Port Blair. Sources also added that the formalities for renaming the islands were almost complete and would be announced by the prime minister during his visit to the island territory on December 30. PM Modi, who will be accompanied by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will also hoist a 150 metre-high flag at Port Blair, apart from releasing a commemorative stamp and coin on the occasion.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader LA Ganesan had placed a demand in the Rajya Sabha in March to change the name of the popular tourist destination Havelock Island in the Andaman and Nicobar. Ganesan said naming a place after a person who had fought Indian patriots in 1857 was a matter of shame. Havelock Island is named after British general, Sir Henry Havelock, who served in India during the British administration. It is the largest island in the union territory.
It was in Andaman and Nicobar that freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose established a provisional government of Free India or Azad Hind in 1943, when it was captured by Japanese forces.
