Islands named after Param Vir Chakra awardees

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Prime Minister named 21 largest unnamed islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after Param Vir Chakra awardees.

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• The naming was done on the occasion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 126th birth anniversary, which is officially observed as Parakram Diwas (Day of Valor). 
• A proposed memorial will be set up on Ross Island, which was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep in 2018.
• Neil Island and Havelock Island were also renamed Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep.

Significance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India’s Independence

• The islands were first controlled by the Dutch, then by the British, and were taken over by the advancing Japanese military during World War II for three years (1942-45).
• The islands were formally handed over to Bose’s Azad Hind government in 1943, although effective control remained with Japan.
• It is the land where Subhas Chandra Bose unfurled the national flag for the first time in 1943.
• Before his departure, he renamed Andaman as Shaheed (“Martyrs”) Island, and Nicobar as Swaraj (“Freedom”) Island.”

Param Vir Chakra

• It is India’s highest military decoration instituted on 26 Jan 1950, as a Gallantry Medal with retrospective effect from 15 August 1947 by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India.
• The award is granted for “most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy”.
• The medal was designed by Mrs. Savitri Khanolkar. The designer drew inspiration from sage Dadhichi, a vedic rishi. 
• The medal is cast in bronze. In the centre, is the state emblem, surrounded by four replicas of Indra’s Vajra, flanked by the sword of Shivaji and is held by a 32 mm purple ribbon.

Parakram Diwas 

• It is celebrated on 23rd of January, on this day in 1897, Neta Ji was born in Cuttack, Odisha. 
• It was first observed in 2021 on the 124th birth anniversary of Netaji.

Source: IE