Port Blair Renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram & Relation with Cholas | UPSC Notes

The Central Government in yet another move to remove India from the shadows of colonial past and thus Port Blair renamed as Sri Vijaya Puram. This move has highlighted and recognized the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' crucial role in India's freedom struggle. 

Earlier, the Government of India renamed different islands in Andaman & Nicobar. It is to be noted that Ross Island was rechristened as Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep or island, Neil Island was renamed as Shaheed Dweep and Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.

What is the Process to Rename a State? 

These are the following process and provisions through which a state is renamed:

• Constitutional Provision: Indian constitution gives the parliament power to lay down a procedure to alter the area, boundaries, or name of a state. 
• Proposal: The state legislature passes a resolution and then sends it to the Central government. It is to be noted that the bill for renaming cannot be presented without a recommendation from the President of India, who then refers it to the state legislature for their views. 
• Procedure: As per the constitution of India, the State Legislature may present its views on the bill within the prescribed time period. At this stage, it is the parliament which has the power to decide whether to accept the opinion of the state legislature or not. After receiving and scrutinisation of the suggestions made by the State Legislative Assembly or after the expiration of the limited time period the bill goes back to the Parliament.
• Passing of the Bill: This bill like any other ordinary bill must be passed with a simple majority. After this, the bill is sent to the President of India for approval and if it gets approved, then it becomes a law and the name of the state stands modified. 

Colonial History of Port Blair

Port Blair is named after Lieutenant Archibald Blair. Blair embarked on his first surveying expedition to the Andaman Islands from Calcutta with two ships, Elizabeth and Viper in December 1778. It took Blair around the west and east coasts of the islands, where he found a natural harbor. Initially, this island was named Port Cornwallis, after Lord William Cornwallis. However, it was later renamed as Port Blair in his honor. 

In 1789, a penal colony was established by the Government of Bengal on Chatham Island, in the Great Andaman southeast bay, naming it after Blair. However, the Britishers abandoned it by 1796 because of disease. 

Cellular Jail was built by Britishers in 1906. This is also known as Kala Pani meaning Black Waters. Here, harsh punishment was given to Indian convicts and they were forced to live in solitary confinement. 

Connection Between Port Blair, Imperial Cholas and Srivijaya 

The recent naming of the island has opened debate in the political discourse about the relationship between Cholas, Port Blair and Sri Vijaya. These are the following facts related to historical background and connection between Cholas and Andaman & Nicobar island:

• Strategic Importance: Srivijaya was an empire based in Sumatra. They had their base there. The island of Andaman group of islands were used as a strategic naval base by the Chola Kingdom. Rajendra I of Chola dynasty in the 11th century established a base there. This was used as a base to launch an attack on the Srivijaya Empire which is located in present-day Indonesia. Srivijaya used to obstruct Chola trade and Rajendra I’s ambition with Southeast Asia under their Look East Policy. It is to be noted that Nagapattinam was established as a trade center. Apart from that, the Bay of Bengal was also transformed as ‘Chola lake’.
• Inscription at Thanjavur: An inscription was found at Thanjavur dated back to around 1050 CE. In this inscription, the Cholas referred to the island as “Ma-Nakkavaram” land which means great open or great naked land. This might have led to the modern name of Nicobar under the British. 

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