On January 23, the N D Modi government named 21 uninhabited islands in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar after recipients of Param Vir Chakra, the country's highest wartime gallantry award.
The first uninhabited island numbered 'INAN370' in North and Middle Andaman was named after Major Somnath Sharma.
'INAN370' will now be known as 'Somnath Dweep'. Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra.
Of the 21 islands, 16 are located in the North and Middle Andaman district, while five islands are in South Andaman.
IMAGE: Home Minister Amit A Shah felicitates Honorary Captain Bana Singh (retd) during the naming ceremony of the islands. All Photographs: ANI Photo
IMAGE: 'Bana Dweep' has been named after Honorary Captain Bana Singh, about whose courage you can read more about in the feature below.
IMAGE: Amit Shah felicitates Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar.
IMAGE: 'Sanjay Dweep' has been named after Subedar Major (then Rifleman) Sanjay Kumar, about whose courage you can read more about in the feature below.
IMAGE: Amit Shah felicitates Subedar Major (Honorary Captain, retd) Yogendra Singh Yadav.
IMAGE: 'Yogendra Dweep' has been named after Subedar Major (Honorary Captain, retd) Yogendra Singh Yadav, about whose courage you can read more about in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Somnath Dweep' has been named after Major Somnath Sharma, about whose courage you can read more about in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Karam Singh Dweep' has been named after Honorary Captain Karam Singh.
IMAGE: 'Rane Dweep' has been named after 2nd Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane.
IMAGE: 'Piru Dweep' has been named after Company Havildar Major Piru Singh.
IMAGE: 'Shaitan Singh Dweep' has been named after Major Shaitan Singh, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Dhan Singh Dweep' has been named after Lieutenant Colonel (then Major) Dhan Singh Thapa.
IMAGE: 'Salaria Dweep' has been named after Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria.
IMAGE: 'Joginder Dweep' has been named after Subedar Joginder Singh, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Tarapore Dweep' has been named after Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Abdul Hamid Dweep' has been named after Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Sekhon Dweep' has been named after Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Albert Ekka Dweep' has been named after Lance Naik Albert Ekka, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Khetrapal Dweep' has been named after 2nd Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Parameswaran Dweep' has been named after Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran.
IMAGE: 'Manoj Pandey Dweep' has been named after Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
IMAGE: 'Vikram Batra Dweep' has been named after Captain Vikram Batra, about whose bravery you can read in the feature below.
Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
