Going ahead with the spirit of giving due respect to the real-life heroes of the country it has now been decided to name the 21 largest unnamed islands of the island group after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. PM Modi participated in the ceremony on Monday through video conferencing.
During the programme PM unveiled a model of National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep. On this historic occasion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah participated in a special function organized at Port Blair.
जिन 21 परमवीर चक्र विजेताओं के नाम पर अंडमान-निकोबार के इन द्वीपों को अब जाना जाएगा, उन्होंने मातृभूमि के कण-कण को अपना सब-कुछ माना था। pic.twitter.com/lrCK2C69qc
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 23, 2023
In 2018, during the Prime Minister’s visit to the island, Ross Islands was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and in recognition of the historical significance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep were also given to Neil Island and Havelock Island, respectively.
The first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra will be honoured by the naming of the largest unidentified island, followed by the recipient of the second Param Vir Chakra, and so on. This action will serve as a lasting memorial to our warriors, some of whom gave their lives to preserve the integrity and sovereignty of the country.
Highlighting the unique message of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ behind naming the 21 islands, the Prime Minister said that it is a message of the immortality of the sacrifices made for the country and the bravery and valour of the Indian Army.
The Prime Minister underlined that the 21 Paramveer Chakra winners had sacrificed everything to protect Mother India and noted that the brave soldiers of the Indian Army were from different states, spoke different languages, and dialects and lived different lifestyles but it was the service of Maa Bharti and unwavering devotion for the motherland that united them. “Like the sea connecting different islands, the feeling of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ unites every child of Mother India”, the Prime Minister remarked. “From Major Somnath Sharma, Piru Singh, Major Shaitan Singh to Captain Manoj Pandey, Subedar Joginder Singh and Lance Naik Albert Ekka, from Veer Abdul Hameed and Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran to all 21 Paramveers, everyone had only one resolve- Nation First! India First! This resolution has now become immortal forever in the name of these islands. A hill in Andaman is also being dedicated in the name of Captain Vikram Batra from the Kargil war”, he said.
These islands have been named after the 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. Major Somnath Sharma; Subedar and Hony Captain (then Lance Naik) Karam Singh, MM; 2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane; Nayak Jadunath Singh; Company Havildar Major Piru Singh; Capt GS Salaria; Lieutenant Colonel (then Major) Dhan Singh Thapa; Subedar Joginder Singh; Major Shaitan Singh; CQMH. Abdul Hamid; Lt Col Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore; Lance Naik Albert Ekka; Major Hoshiar Singh; 2nd Lt. Arun Khetrapal; Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon; Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran; Naib Subedar Bana Singh; Captain Vikram Batra; Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey; Subedar Major (then Rifleman) Sanjay Kumar; and Subedar Major Retd (Hony Captain) Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav.