Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of the Andaman and Nicobar islands on Monday, saying that Andaman is the place where the tricolour was first hoisted and the government of independent India was created for the first time.
Prime Minister Modi was speaking at a virtual event to name 21 Andaman and Nicobar Islands islands after Param Vir Chakra recipients.
“This land of Andaman is the land where the tricolour was hoisted for the first time. Where the government of independent India was formed for the first time. Today is the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Bose. The country celebrates this day as Parakram Diwas,” said PM Modi.
PM Modi also highlighted that Veer Savarkar and many other heroes who fought for the country were incarcerated in this land of the Andamans.
“Veer Savarkar and many other heroes who fought for the country were incarcerated in this land of the Andamans. When I visited Port Blair 4-5 years ago, I dedicated Indian names to the 3 main islands there,” he said.
Addressing the virtual program, PM Modi said that Netaji’s memorial in the Andaman and Nicobar islands will now infuse yet more patriotism in the hearts of the people.
“I pay my tributes to Neta Ji Subhas and Param Vir Chakra Awardees. The land, where Neta Ji first unfurled the flag of India is all praises today for the Parakram of Azad Hind Fauz,” said PM Modi.
“The place where Netaji first hoisted the tricolor in Andaman, there today the skyscraper tricolor is praising the might of the Azadi Hind Army. Seeing the tricolor waving on the seashore, the thrill of patriotism increases among the people coming here,” PM Modi added.
Netaji, who was born on January 23, 1897, was a pivotal figure in India’s liberation struggle.
The Azad Hind Fauj was founded by Subhash Chandra Bose. While there is still debate over Bose’s death in a plane accident in Taipei on August 18, 1945, the Central Government acknowledged his death in an RTI (Right to Information) request in 2017.
On the 125th anniversary of Netaji’s birth, the Prime Minister inaugurated a holographic statue of the freedom warrior at India Gate in Delhi last year.
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