21 Unnamed Islands of Andaman & Nicobar Named After Param Vir Chakra Awardees

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi named 21 largest unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands via video conferencing on Monday. During the ceremony, he also unveiled the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep island. This coincided with the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on January 23, observed as ‘Parakram Diwas’.

Ross Island was renamed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep by PM Modi during his visit to the Island in 2018. Neil Island and Havelock Island were renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively.

There were several other unnamed islands in Andaman and Nicobar islands. From today they will make Indians remember the valour of Param Veer Chakra awardees.

The islands have been named after Major Somnath Sharma, Subedar and Honorary Captain Karam Singh, Second Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane, Nayak Jadunath Singh, Company Havildar Major Piru Singh, Capt GS Salaria, Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa, Subedar Joginder Singh, Major Shaitan Singh, Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid and Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore.

The other Param Vir Chakra awardees after whom islands are being named are Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Major Hoshiar Singh, Second Lt. Arun Khetrapal, Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, Naib Subedar Bana Singh, Captain Vikram Batra, Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey, Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar, and Subedar Major (retd) Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the largest unnamed island was named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, the second largest unnamed island was named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee, and so on.

This renaming of islands is a tribute to the country’s heroes, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the nation, PM’s office added.