The Andaman island named after man who fought Indians in 1857

British General Henry Havelock had fought against Indians during 1857 revolt led by leaders such as Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.

A demand was made in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to change the name of Havelock island in the Andamans with a Bharatiya Janata Party member saying that naming a place after a person who had fought Indian patriots in 1857 was a matter of shame.

BJP member L A Ganesan raised the matter during the zero hour, saying that British General Henry Havelock had fought against Indians during 1857 revolt led by leaders such as Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. He said there was a statue of him in the Trafalgar Square in London for his role in crushing the forces of Indian patriots. Ganesan questioned that over 60 years after Independence, there is still an island named after such a person.

"Can there be a greater insult than this to our patriots," Ganesan asked. He also said that Andaman islands is a place where people like Veer Savarkar had been jailed. After Ganesan raised questions about an island being named after an East India Company's general, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said it was a good suggestion which the government should examine.

Let us know more about this island:

The recapture of Cawnpore

Havelock Island is named after a British general, Sir Henry Havelock, who served in India, and is associated with his recapture of Cawnpore (now Kanpur) from rebels during the 1857 revolt. The siege was a major episode in the rebellion. He died a few days after a siege in Lucknow.

Image:A natural rock formation in Laxmanpur beach in Neil Island. Photo credit:andamans.gov.in

Diving in Andaman waters

The Havelock island is a picturesque natural paradise with beautiful white sandy beaches, rich coral reefs and lush green forest. It is one of the populated islands in the Andaman group with an area of 113 sqkm, and is located 39 km of north-east of Port Blair.

The island's population consists of mainly Bengali settlers. Many of these settlers have Bangladeshi origin as these people were given settlement by the Indian government after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan.

Image: The costal belt surrounding these islands is the abode of one of the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.

Untouched by the Tsunami

It is one of the few places that the Andaman and Nicobar administration union territory of India has permitted and encouraged development of tourism, with a focus on promoting eco-tourism. It avoided most of the devastation in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and its resulting tsunami, with no documented casualties.

Image: The Bharatpur beach.

With its own airport

This island, with beautiful sandy beaches fringed with green canopy of the rain-fed forests beckons everyone to enjoy the frolic and fun at the azure sea. The island has its own airport. There are many beaches on the island - Elephant, Kalapathar, with the Radhanagar beach named the ‘Best beach in Asia' by the Time magazine in 2004.

Image: The Radhanagar beach.

PTI