Netaji's birth anniversary: PM to name 21 Andaman islands after Param Vir Chakra Awardees

On the occasion of Parakram Diwas, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, PM Narendra Modi will name 21 unnamed islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Monday.

On the 126th birth anniversary of the freedom fighter, Modi will name the islands after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees, via video conferencing.

Modi will also unveil the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep.

To honour Netaji's memory, Ross Island was renamed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep by PM Modi during his visit to the Island in 2018.

The memorial will have a museum, a cable car ropeway, a laser-and-sound show, a guided heritage trail through historical buildings and a theme-based children's amusement park, besides a restro lounge, according to reports.

Of the 21 islands that will be named on Monday, 16 are located in North and Middle Andaman district, and five in South Andaman.

The largest unnamed island will be named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, Major Somnath Sharma, who was martyred in action on November 3, 1947 in a face-off with Pakistani infiltrators near Srinagar Airport.

The second largest unnamed island will be named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee, Subedar and Hony Captain (then Lance Naik) Karam Singh.

He earned his Param Vir Chakra in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 where battles were fought for control of the Tithwal sector.