The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), India's only Tri-Services Command, celebrated Independence Day 2025 on the high seas with a 'Parade of Sails' off Flag Point, Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair) on 15 August. The event was led by Vice Admiral Vineet McCarty, Commander-in-Chief, ANC, and showcased sailboats and watercraft manoeuvring in formation against a backdrop of naval ships dressed in colourful signal flags.

The Parade at Sea

The National Tricolour was flown proudly as the ANC's watercraft executed precision formations off the iconic Flag Point. According to the ANC's post on X, the display was 'a stirring display of seamanship, maritime pride and patriotic fervour,' with naval ships adorned in signal flags forming a vivid maritime tableau. The choice of the high seas as the venue underscores the ANC's unique identity as India's only joint Tri-Services Command, integrating the Army, Navy, and Air Force under a single operational structure.

Why Sri Vijaya Puram Holds Special Significance

Sri Vijaya Puram carries deep resonance in India's freedom movement. The Cellular Jail, where hundreds of independence fighters were imprisoned under British colonial rule, stands in the city and remains one of the most visited historical sites in the country. More significantly, it was here that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose first hoisted the National Flag on 30 December 1943 — at the Gymkhana Ground, now known as Netaji Stadium — declaring that the islands had been liberated from British rule.

At the time, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were under Japanese control, having been captured during World War II. Remnants of that era — underground bunkers and Japanese-built infrastructure — can still be found across the islands.

Netaji's Historic Visit and the INA's First Indian Territory

Bose landed at what was then Port Blair airport on 29 December 1943, accompanied by Anand Mohan Sahay, Captain Rawat (his ADC), and Col D.S. Raju, his personal physician. He was received by the Japanese admiral commanding the island chain, and was welcomed warmly by Indian residents and those from Burma (present-day Myanmar).

Bose renamed the Andaman Island as Shaheed and the Nicobar Island as Swaraj, and appointed Indian National Army (INA) general A.D. Loganathan as governor. The move transformed the Azad Hind Government from a Government in Exile into one with its own territory, currency, civil code, and postage stamps — fulfilling Bose's pledge that the INA would stand on Indian soil before the end of 1943.

The 2024 Renaming and Continued Legacy

More than eight decades later, the government in 2024 renamed Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram and the nearby Rosa Island as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep. The popular tourist destinations of Neil Island and Havelock Island were also rechristened Shaheed Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, respectively — names that echo Bose's own designations from 1943. This year's Parade of Sails, held against that layered historical backdrop, adds a maritime dimension to the islands' enduring place in India's national memory.