Port Blair

Map of Port Blair

Port Blair (पोर्ट ब्लेयर) is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal.

Variants

• Port Cornwallis

Location

Port Blair serves as the entry point for visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port Blair is connected with mainland India by both air and sea. It is a 2-3 hour flight from mainland India to Port Blair's Airport, and 3–4 days by sea to reach Kolkata, Chennai, or Visakhapatnam from Haddo Wharf in Port Blair.

History

In 1789 the Government of Bengal established a penal colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman, named Port Blair in the honour of Archibald Blair of the East India Company. After two years, the colony moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis.

Baban Phaley writes.....Governor General of India Lord Cornwallis was very much interested to establish colony in these Islands. The East India Company decided to establish a colony on the Andamans. In the year 1788 A.D. Lt. Archibold Blair was appointed by the East India Company to survey the Andaman Sea. Lt. Archibald Blair reached Andamans in the year 1789 A.D. He

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[p.9]: stayed here along with many peoples and named the Port after the name of the present Governor General Lord Cornwallis.

In the 1790 A.D. Admiral Cornwallis brother of Governor General Lord Cornwallis found the Islands suitable for the establishment of permanent Naval headquarters. Capt. Archibald Blair was also himself lonely interested by this beautiful and natural safe harbour to establish naval unit at this juncture. Capt. Kid of the Engineering Department of the Army was appointed as a Superintendent at this place. Capt. Kid went to this Head Office of the East India Company at Calcutta and returned with some prisoners for colony.

Due to very bad weather conditions and the existence of damp dense forest breeding of mosquitoes was in abundance it resulted to cause malaria and many people lost their life. By 1796 A.D. the situation was so worst that the people were bound to leave the place. In spite of these difficulties British Empire were very keen to retain their sovereignty over these Islands. There was proposal for making it a Penal Settlement and study of the Mineral Wealth of the Islands.

After revolt of 1857 against the British Empire, the Britishers started to establish this sectors. British Government has decided to shift the revolutionaries in such remote Islands as open prisoners. It is now an established fact that the Penal Settlement was established only for the Freedom Fighters.

Port Cornwallis had been renamed Port Blair by the end of the Eighteenth Century in recognition of the services rendered by Capt. Archibald Blair.

Capt. Henery Man, executive Engineer and Jail Superintendent in Meulmein (Burma) was specially sent to Port Blair to formally inaugurate the Penal Settlement. Accordingly on 22nd January 1858 he hoisted the Union Jack of British Empire on the Andaman Islands. Dr. James Petition Walker was, the first Jail Superintendent, an Indian Doctor, an overseer, 50 Sailors and 200 prisoners, the ship sailed from Calcutta on 4th March, 1858 and reached Port Blair on 10th March 1858. There was no proper arrangement for the boarding and lodging of the prisoners. However, the food and other material etc. reached Port Blair on 20th March by the ship 'Semirarni'. Dr. Walker started cleaning operations on the small Islands of Chatham. There was acute problem of drinking water. Dr. Walkar set his headquarter on Ross Island. Small scale deforestation was carried on to establish headquarter on Ross Island. The task of cutting and clearing such jungles was given to the revolutionary freedom fighters of 1857.

In World War II the islands were occupied by the Japanese on 23 March 1942 without opposition from the garrison. British forces returned to the islands in October 1945.

From 1943–44 during World War II, Port Blair served as the headquarters of the Azad Hind government under Subhash Chandra Bose.

Major attractions

It is home to several museums and a major naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, along with sea and air bases of the Indian Coast Guard, Andaman and Nicobar Police, Andaman and Nicobar Command, the first integrated tri-command of the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Air Force.

Port Blair is also famous for the historic Cellular Jail and other small islands like Corbyn's Cove, Wandoor, Ross Island, Viper Island etc. which were once home to British colonists.