Port Blair

History

The indigenous inhabitants of the region were the Andamanese, who may have been isolated from other populations during the Paleolithic era, which ended 30,000 years ago. The islands are referred to by various historians and travellers such as Ptolemy in the first century CE, Marco Polo in the 13th century CE, Friar Odoric in 14th century CE, and Cesare Federici in 16th Century CE.

In 1789, Archibald Blair of the Royal Indian Navy colonised the Andaman Islands, and established a naval base. In 1794, a penal colony was established on the Chatham island and the first batch of 100 prisoners were sent to the island. The prisoners were used for labour, and worked under a civil contract. After two years, the colony was abandoned. On 22 February 1858, the British re-established a colony at Port Blair, named after Archibald Blair. A new penal colony was established on the Ross Island near Port Blair, mainly to house the prisoners of the Indian rebellion of 1857, and the first set of 200 convicts arrived at the island in March 1858. The prisoners were used for hard labour and the clearing of forests led to frequent confrontation with the native Andamanese people. Many of the prisoners died in conflict, while some were hanged for trying to escape, apart from deaths due to disease and starvation. Between 1864 and 1867, a penal establishment was also built on the nearby Viper Island using prison labour. In 1872, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were united under a single command and administered by a chief commissioner based out of Port Blair. The construction of the Cellular Jail started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The jail was used to house political prisoners and independence activists away from the Indian mainland.

During Second World War, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were invaded by Japan. The Japanese captured Port Blair on 23 March 1942. Japan gave provisional control to the Azad Hind organisation of Subhash Chandra Bose on 29 December 1943. Bose had limited power while the real control of the islands remained with the Japanese, with reports of widespread looting, arson, rape, and extrajudicial killings during the Japanese occupation. On 7 October 1945, the territory was officially handed back to the British in a ceremony at the Gymkhana Ground in Port Blair.

During the Partition of India, the British announced their intention to retain possession of Port Blair and use them to resettle Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on these islands. The islands were claimed by the Indian National Congress by both India and Pakitan during the partition negotiations. After the Indian Independence in 1947, the islands became part of the Dominion of India, and as per the Constitution of India, the islands were to be administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the Government of India. The islands became a separate union territory administered by the Government of India, following the re-organisation in 1956 with the capital at Port Blair. It has been developed into a key defence establishment since the 1980s due to its strategic location in the Bay of Bengal across the Strait of Malacca.

On 26 December 2004, the coasts of the islands experienced 10 m high tsunami waves following an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The locals and tourists on the islands suffered the greatest casualties while the indigenous people largely survived unscathed due to movement to high grounds. Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands. In 2017, Port Blair was selected as one of the cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission. On 13 September 2024, the Government of India officially renamed the city to Srivijayapuram.

Climate

Port Blair has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am).

| Jan record high C = 33.0 | Feb record high C = 34.6 | Mar record high C = 36.0 | Apr record high C = 36.8 | May record high C = 36.4 | Jun record high C = 35.6 | Jul record high C = 32.8 | Aug record high C = 32.7 | Sep record high C = 35.4 | Oct record high C = 35.6 | Nov record high C = 34.0 | Dec record high C = 35.4 |year record high C = 36.8 | Jan record low C = 14.8 | Feb record low C = 15.9 | Mar record low C = 16.2 | Apr record low C = 17.3 | May record low C = 17.1 | Jun record low C = 18.8 | Jul record low C = 18.0 | Aug record low C = 19.8 | Sep record low C = 16.8 | Oct record low C = 17.8 | Nov record low C = 17.3 | Dec record low C = 16.2 |year record low C = 14.6 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205040301/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%20%28STATWISE%29.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | access-date = 10 February 2020}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205042509/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | access-date = 10 February 2020}} | access-date = 10 February 2020}} | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205042602/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/Daily%20Normals%20of%20Global%20&%20Diffused%20Radiations%20%201971_2000.pdf | archive-date = 5 February 2020 | access-date = 10 February 2020}} ), Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020) | access-date = 1 March 2020}}

Demographics

|1951 | 7789 |1961 | 14075 |1971 | 26218 |1981 | 49634 |1991 | 74955 |2001 | 99984 |2011 | 108058

As per the 2011 census, Port Blair had a population of 108,058 of which 57,761 are males while 50,297 are females. There were 10,699 (9.9%) children under the age of six years. The sex ratio was 871 against the territory average of 876. The literacy rate was 90.28 %, which was higher than the territory average of 86.63 %. The male literacy was 93.16% while the female literacy rate was 86.94%. Post the expansion of the city limits in 2015, the population was estimated to be 140,572 as per the 2011 census.

Tamil is the most spoken language with 40,323 native speakers, followed by Telugu (32,628), Hindi (31,520), Bengali (28,063), Malayalam (13,670), Sadri (3,479), Kurukh (3,459), and Necobarese (2,308). Hinduism was the majority religion with 74.37% adherents, with Christianity (12.43%) and Islam (12.43%) being the other religions.

Administration

The Port Blair Municipal Council is the civic body administering the city of Port Blair. The council came into existence on 2 October 1957 after the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Municipal Board's) Regulation Act was enacted on 11 March 1957. Initially covering an area of 14.14 km2 demarcated into nine wards, which were increased into 18 wards later. The first election to the municipal council was held in September 1995 and the council consisted of 18 elected and three nominated members. The city limits were expanded to 41.22 km2 in 2015. The council consists of 24 wards, each represented by a councilor elected through direct election.

Transportation

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are served by Veer Savarkar International Airport near Port Blair which has regular flights to major cities in India. The airport operates as a civil enclave, sharing airside facilities with INS Utkrosh of the Indian Navy. The airport has a single runway of 3290 m in length, with the civilian terminal operated by the Airports Authority of India with air traffic operations managed by the Indian Navy. It is home to the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only integrated tri-command of the Indian Armed Forces, which operates the air base of INS Utkrosh, and the nearby naval facility of INS Jarawa. The Port Blair Port is a major maritime gateway to the islands. The 230.7 km long National Highway 4 connects Port Blair and Diglipur.

Education

Major educational institutions include Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences, Andaman Law College, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Institute of Technology, and Jawaharlal Nehru Government College.

Notes

References

References

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