Twenty one unnamed islands in India's Andaman and Nicobar island groups in the Bay of Bengal will be named after 21 men of Indian armed forces decorated with Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest military decoration, meaning the 'wheel of the ultimate brave'. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the ceremony to name the islands on January 23, the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose marked as 'Parakram Diwas', literally meaning the Bravery Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also unveil the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, formerly known as Ross Islands.

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In 2018, Ross islands, Neil island and Havelock island were renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively.

"Giving due respect to the real-life heroes of the country has always been accorded highest priority by the Prime Minister," an official statement said.&nbsp;

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"Going ahead with this spirit, it has now been decided to name the 21 largest unnamed islands of the island group after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. The largest unnamed island will be named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, the second largest unnamed island will be named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee, and so on. This step will be an everlasting tribute to our heroes, several of whom had made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the nation," the statement added.

The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration. It is awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. The award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy".

The unnamed Andaman and Nicobar islands will be named after the 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees, as following: Major Somnath Sharma; Subedar and Hony Captain (then Lance Naik) &nbsp;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.

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Twenty one unnamed islands in India's Andaman and Nicobar island groups in the Bay of Bengal will be named after 21 men of Indian armed forces decorated with Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest military decoration, meaning the 'wheel of the ultimate brave'.

Twenty one unnamed islands in India's Andaman and Nicobar island groups in the Bay of Bengal will be named after 21 men of Indian armed forces decorated with Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest military decoration, meaning the 'wheel of the ultimate brave'. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the ceremony to name the islands on January 23, the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose marked as 'Parakram Diwas', literally meaning the Bravery Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also unveil the model of the National Memorial dedicated to Netaji to be built on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, formerly known as Ross Islands. ALSO READ | Countering China: The strategic importance of Andaman and Nicobar In 2018, Ross islands, Neil island and Havelock island were renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively. "Giving due respect to the real-life heroes of the country has always been accorded highest priority by the Prime Minister," an official statement said. ALSO WATCH | Indian navy to conduct joint exercise with US warships; Strong strategic signal to China? × "Going ahead with this spirit, it has now been decided to name the 21 largest unnamed islands of the island group after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. The largest unnamed island will be named after the first Param Vir Chakra awardee, the second largest unnamed island will be named after the second Param Vir Chakra awardee, and so on. This step will be an everlasting tribute to our heroes, several of whom had made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the nation," the statement added. The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration. It is awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. The award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". The unnamed Andaman and Nicobar islands will be named after the 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees, as following: 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. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

India to name 21 islands of Andaman Nicobar after Param Vir Chakra awardees

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (July 10) inaugurated the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair, via video conferencing.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates submarine optical fibre cable connecting Port Blair and Chennai

Three of seven fishermen who were arrested earlier in the day in connection with the alleged killing of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/family-pays-tribute-to-american-john-allen-chau-who-was-christian-missionary-wilderness-emt-killed-by-sentinelese-tribe-in-andaman-island-178684">American preacher John Allen Chau</a>&nbsp;in Andaman were taken into police&nbsp;custody on Thursday.

Police will interrogate the accused to investigate various aspects of the case including the sequence of events, the sea route followed for North <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/us-tourist-killed-by-isolated-tribe-in-andaman-and-nicobars-north-sentinel-island-7-arrested-178559">Sentinal Island</a>, the location where the victim landed and the place of incidence, the location where John Allen Chau was last seen.

Further, the personal journal of Chau will be analysed afresh accordingly.

It will also be ascertained whether the victim had taken the help of the fishermen or others to venture to the North Sentinal Island on an earlier occasion.

To make the picture clearer, one another police team is being sent to the North Sentinal Island waters.

As the case pertains to the ultra-sensitive tribal group-Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), the police are also taking help of Anthropologists, Academics, Forest department experts etc to guide and assist the police during the investigation of the case.

The deceased was allegedly killed in North Sentinel Island of Andaman which is home to the Sentinelese, a native tribe which is completely against outsiders` intervention in their life.

"On the basis of the information received by an email of the US Consulate, Chennai on 19 November, the Andaman and Nicobar police immediately lodged a missing report.

The police have apprehended seven people who supported John Allen Chau and actively facilitated him to go to north Sentinelese Island," said Andaman and Nicobar Director General of Police Deependra Pathak.

Two cases have been registered in the connection.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Three of seven fishermen who were arrested earlier in the day in connection with the alleged killing of American preacher John Allen Chau in Andaman were taken into police custody on Thursday.

Three of seven fishermen who were arrested earlier in the day in connection with the alleged killing of American preacher John Allen Chau in Andaman were taken into police custody on Thursday. Police will interrogate the accused to investigate various aspects of the case including the sequence of events, the sea route followed for North Sentinal Island, the location where the victim landed and the place of incidence, the location where John Allen Chau was last seen. Further, the personal journal of Chau will be analysed afresh accordingly. It will also be ascertained whether the victim had taken the help of the fishermen or others to venture to the North Sentinal Island on an earlier occasion. To make the picture clearer, one another police team is being sent to the North Sentinal Island waters. As the case pertains to the ultra-sensitive tribal group-Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), the police are also taking help of Anthropologists, Academics, Forest department experts etc to guide and assist the police during the investigation of the case. The deceased was allegedly killed in North Sentinel Island of Andaman which is home to the Sentinelese, a native tribe which is completely against outsiders` intervention in their life. "On the basis of the information received by an email of the US Consulate, Chennai on 19 November, the Andaman and Nicobar police immediately lodged a missing report. The police have apprehended seven people who supported John Allen Chau and actively facilitated him to go to north Sentinelese Island," said Andaman and Nicobar Director General of Police Deependra Pathak. Two cases have been registered in the connection.

US national's death in Andaman: 3 accused taken into police custody

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India to name 21 islands of Andaman Nicobar after Param Vir Chakra awardees

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates submarine optical fibre cable connecting Port Blair and Chennai

US national's death in Andaman: 3 accused taken into police custody