The Indian government has officially announced the renaming of Port Blair to Sri Vijaya Puram, a move aimed at shedding colonial legacies and reconnecting with the nation’s historical roots. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah articulated the decision: “To free the nation from the colonial imprints, today we have decided to rename Port Blair as ‘Sri Vijaya Puram.’”

In 2014, commenting on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory under Narendra Modi, The Guardian published an editorial that remarked: “Today … may well go down in history as the day when Britain finally left India.” The author read the writing on the wall accurately. The process began in 2014, but Modi outlined it eight years later in his 2022 Independence Day speech, Modi introduced the concept of Panchpran (Five Resolutions), outlining India’s vision over the next 25 years. One of the key resolutions is to rid the country of any remaining “colonial mindset.”

This renaming is not merely a symbolic act but represents a fundamental rethinking of policy-making and the nation’s role on the global stage. The decision reflects a significant shift in mindset, moving away from colonial-era thinking towards a renewed emphasis on India’s historical and cultural identity.

In keeping with this goal, the Home Ministry has recently renamed several locations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to honor Indian heroes and freedom fighters. One notable change is the renaming of a hill previously named after a British army officer’s wife to Mount Manipur, commemorating the resistance of Indian fighters exiled by the British.

The politics of symbolism

Renaming places is not a new phenomenon; throughout history, conquerors have imposed their names on cities, often erasing indigenous identities. Similar efforts are evident in other countries as well. For instance, in the United States, historic sites have been renamed to reflect their original cultural significance, such as Fort San Marcos, renamed Castillo de San Marcos to acknowledge its Spanish heritage. Likewise, in China, streets and areas have been renamed to reinforce a national narrative.

For a former colony like India, renaming places is a form of symbolic decolonization. It serves as a means of reinforcing a collective memory that honors resistance to oppression and celebrates autonomy. Yes, the decision to rename Port Blair to Sri Vijaya Puram is a symbolic gesture, but symbolism is not just words without effect. In politics, psychology and history matter.

This name change is part of India’s effort to reconnect with its maritime history. The Andaman Islands command a key choke point between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. This places it close to the vital Strait of Malacca, the second busiest oil chokepoint in the world after the Strait of Hormuz.

Well before the oil trade, the islands were significant in maritime trade. They once served as a base for the Great Chola Empire, which extended its influence across Southeast Asia. In his book The Ocean of Churn, Sanjeev Sanyal highlights how the islands were connected to the broader history of maritime trade and power projection in the Indian Ocean. The islands’ geographical location made them pivotal for controlling sea routes, and they were home to thriving port cities, interacting with traders from across the Bay of Bengal and beyond. The renaming reflects a recognition of the islands’ historic and strategic role..

Moreover, Sri Vijaya Puram holds a crucial place in India’s struggle for independence. In the latter years of the colonial period, the city housed the notorious Cellular Jail where numerous freedom fighters were imprisoned. This site not only represented British oppression but also the indomitable spirit of those striving for freedom. One such figure, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, foresaw that the islands would be critical to India’s defense.

India develops the islands’ strategic potential

The 2004 tsunami brought international attention to the vulnerabilities of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands but also showcased India’s capacity for disaster response and regional cooperation. In the aftermath, India led rescue efforts and initiated a tsunami early warning system, solidifying its role in maritime security.

In recent years, the government has launched substantial infrastructural projects aimed at transforming the islands into economic and strategic hubs. The introduction of undersea fiber-optic cables has improved connectivity, while the modernization of the local airport is expected to enhance tourism. Initiatives in eco-tourism and the development of deep-sea ports further underline the islands’ growing significance.

Sri Vijaya Puram is not yet the fully-fledged maritime stronghold that Savarkar envisioned, although India took an important first step in this direction in 2001, when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee established the first tri-service theater command in the region. However, the renaming is a statement of purpose. It signals a commitment to India’s maritime heritage while also highlighting ongoing efforts to enhance the Andaman and Nicobar Islands economically. This transformation under current leadership aims to position the islands as pivotal assets for India’s future.

[Anton Schauble edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

A TRAVEL expert has uncovered the secrets of fancy hotel toiletries and revealed why you should never trust them.

Holidaymakers love to horde tiny bottles of high-end shampoos and lotions but you might not be getting what you think you’re paying for.

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Plenty of hotels sign exclusive agreements with luxury cosmetics brands to carry miniature versions of their signature products.

These can add a touch of class to an en suite, but bosses are keen not to give away too much for free.

And, according to travel whizz Jessica Sulima, they don’t.

Writing for Thrillist, she claimed that when it comes to hotel toiletries most of the value is in the name on the bottle.

Jessica said: “These days, it’s rare to find a generic, unheard-of brand lining your bathroom sink or shower caddy.

“As far as luxury hotels go, expect to find D.S. and Durga at The Carlyle, Bamford at The Palace Hotel, or Diptyque at the Ritz-Carlton.

“The trend is a win-win — the hotels get to amplify their prestige, and the cosmetic companies get to spread brand awareness.

“It was probably naive of me, however, to think that such products are exact replicas of what you can find in stores.

“In practice, hotels typically work with these brands to create custom formulations that reasonably approximate their product at scale.

“These samples are designed to be as close to the real deal as possible, and in a perfect world, guests wouldn’t be able to sniff out the substitute.”

Her suspicions were backed up by Anna Ableson, a professor at the Tisch Insitute of Hospitality at NYU.

The industry insider said: “Some hotel toiletries may look like retail name-brand products, but they’re often formulated and sourced differently to meet hospitality industry needs.

“This can cause variations in quality and composition compared to store-bought versions.”

And Ian Ginsburg, president of beauty brand C.O. Bigelow, added: “The north star is to do it exactly as it is.

“But it’s a balance of cost. Sometimes the cost is too much, so we’ll try to modify the fragrance.”

It comes after a Brit who has gone on more than 50 cruises revealed the one item he never leaves home without.

Tropical Storm Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday, has left a trail of devastation across the southeastern U.S., leaving millions without power and dozens dead.

As the media covers the catastrophic damage caused by Helene, one reporter took matters into his own hands on Friday, Sept. 27.

Fox Weather meteorologist Bob Van Dillen broadcasted live, reporting on flash flooding in Atlanta, Georgia. Behind him, a woman whose car was submerged in floodwater shouted for help. Van Dillon called emergency services and yelled back to let her know help was on the way, but the woman continued to call out.

Read More: Dozens Dead and Millions Without Power After Helene’s Sweep Across Southeastern U.S.

Recognizing her panic, Van Dillen turned to the camera. “Oh man, it’s a situation,” he said, pausing his reporting. “We will get back to you in a little bit. I’m going to go see if I can help this lady out a little bit more, you guys.”

Van Dillen then ventured into the floodwater, approached the woman in the car, unbuckled her seatbelt, and carried her out of the water on his back. In the video, viewers can see the water reach up to Van Dillen’s chest at its highest point.

A later part of the broadcast showed the woman and her husband reunited, at which point her husband hugged and thanked Van Dillen for helping.

On Friday, Atlanta was placed on a Flash-Flood Emergency and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens officially declared a State of Emergency for the city. Early that morning, the city reported 22,000 power outages, 25 downed power lines, and 15 downed trees. 

Read More: A Look at Damage From Hurricane Helene

After some time, Dillen returned to his live broadcast, telling the co-hosts of his mindset before saving the woman. It can often be dangerous to enter into floodwater due to potential exposure to chemicals and pathogens, as well as injury from objects swept under by rushing water.

“I was obviously worried about the water temperature. I was worried about the current, but as soon as I started going there, I was like, ‘Screw it, I’m getting her,” Van Dillen said. “Everything worked out fine.”

On a beautiful recent fall morning, I was sitting on my porch watching the wind blow through the tree in front of my apartment. The leaves were shaking fiercely on their branches, and every now and then one would succumb, slowly falling to the ground. I was struck by the graceful motion with which they fell and the sense of accompanying peace.

Autumn is such a glorious season, but it’s also a time that’s rich with the symbolism of mortality. And the longer I sat there, the more I thought about how we shy away from talking about or reflecting on death as an inevitable stage of life. It is not an easy topic to confront, especially when there are people in our lives who are seriously ill or grieving a loss. But if we had more courage to broach this taboo topic, I wonder if it could open up an opportunity for us to consider what we might gain by recognising the interwoven state of life and death.

There is a lot happening in the 18th-century painting “An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump” by Joseph Wright of Derby. Ten people occupy a room lit only by a candle and the glow of a full moon. The group are gathered around a table to observe what happens when a bird trapped in a glass jar is deprived of air.

The onlookers’ responses seem to offer an insight into the ways we approach death when it’s before us. The couple to the left, in the throes of young love, focus only on themselves, as if the consideration of mortality might seem morbid or even unreal. The boy seated beside the couple looks on with rapt curiosity, wondering, as a child would, what happens when something living dies. Of the two gentlemen seated at the table, neither has his gaze on the bird, as if reluctant to contemplate the question of mortality. The young boy at the back glances across to see the fate of the bird, his expression almost sad. To the left of him, a little girl looks up at the bird with both curiosity and fear, clinging to her older sister, who covers her face with her hands while their father calmly points at the air pump, as if trying to draw her attention to what is happening.

The suffering of the bird is something I imagine many of us would turn away from. Yet there is something about acknowledging mortality and the process leading to it that forces us to recognise what a thin threshold lies between life and death. I will never forget the experience of having to put down my beloved dog. We had been together for 11 years, from the time she was eight weeks old. I held her head in my lap and stroked her face as the tears poured down mine. But at the same time, I felt a clear and indescribable sense of relief from my dog. And as painful as it was, it felt an honour to share her last hours, remembering her as a puppy and as a wild, vibrant dog who would tear through the yard before showing up at the kitchen door, panting and exuberant.

I do not have Buddha-like words of wisdom about death. But if we took a minute to imagine where we might insert ourselves into Wright’s painting, it could lead us to surprising trains of thought or offer feelings to explore about where we find ourselves in our own lives. That itself seems to me of value.

In “Sleep and His Half-Brother Death” (1874) by John William Waterhouse, the artist references the Greek mythological story of Hypnos, god of sleep, and Thanatos, god of death, who were twin brothers. A boy dozes on a chaise, his head resting on the shoulder of his brother, who sits shadowed beside him in the dark. In many ancient stories, sleep and death are likened to one another. When we’re asleep, it’s as if we have temporarily left the world; there’s no certainty that any of us will see the dawn. Waterhouse’s painting offers a visceral reminder of that: how easy, it seems to say, for life and death to rest against one another.

And yet, in my experience it can be a challenge to recognise and accept how close we all are to death — something that becomes painfully apparent when we struggle to stay close to someone we know when they lose a loved one or are themselves dealing with looming mortality. I have been in that heartbreaking and heart-expanding situation a few times in my life, when I have felt ill-equipped to walk compassionately with the other person. I wonder if we might be better at supporting one another if we were more practised in sharing our thoughts, beliefs or questions about the end of life.

Recently I was in conversation with the Ghanaian-German artist Zohra Opoku, as part of Berlin Art Week. We were talking about her 2020-22 body of work, “The Myths of Eternal Life”, which she began while receiving treatment for breast cancer in her early forties. Opoku naturally turned to thinking about her own mortality, and was moved by an encounter with ancient Egyptian artefacts at a museum. She began to research the “Spells for Coming Forth by Day” (more commonly known as the Book of the Dead), an ancient collection of spells meant to protect and help those passing from this life to the afterlife.

Many of the works in Opoku’s series have portions of the ancient spells as their title. Her 2023 piece “I am the terror in the storm who guards the great one [in] the conflict. Sharp Knife strikes for me. Ash god provides coolness for me” is an embroidered screen print in which the artist is shown striding forward. Her body, however, is not whole: her head, torso and legs are detached from each other, and the limbs and hands multiplied. It is as if she has come undone from the illness and the treatment it entailed, but the work also speaks in some way to her awareness of the different parts of herself — even parts she may be losing — and her efforts to come to terms with this.

Images of her cupped hands are spread across the top half of the canvas, simultaneously releasing things from her life and receiving new realities. Bare winter trees in the background reference her experience of finding spiritual and emotional succour in nature. It is an artistic representation of a woman celebrating the life she still has while navigating the reality of a sick body over which she has little control. Opoku’s work invites us to consider what it is to be both living and dying at once, a phenomenon heightened by a diagnosis and yet true for all of us every day. When I asked Opoku what had surprised her about her experience of illness, she said it taught her to live with more self-respect, to be more intentional about her art-making and her relationships.

I do not think any of us can fully imagine what our own response might be when faced with the vivid possibility of our own death or that of someone dear to us. But I know that on the occasions when I do confront the prospect of my mortality, I am led to think about how to live now, the state of my relationships, and the value I’m placing on any number of things or experiences. If contemplating our mortality can lead us to stop and ask ourselves if we are content with the way we are living, isn’t it worth the courage to look life and death in the face every now and then?

enuma.okoro@ft.com

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Average pay for UK journalists has kept pace with the wider economy with those using AI paid more, according to a new survey.

The average salary for a journalist in the UK is now £34,500, according to the NCTJ’s Journalists at Work report. The average salary goes up to £45,547 for those working in London.

The NCTJ-commissioned Journalists at Work research, authored by consultant Mark Spilsbury, is the fourth of its kind, following previous studies in 2018, 2012 and 2002. It is based largely on an online survey filled in by 1,025 journalists between January and March. Some UK government data is also included.

The average salary has grown in line with the rest of the economy, the report said, following a period of stagnation. Previously the average UK journalist salary had stayed at £27,500 for at least six years between 2012 and 2018.

The highest average salaries are for those working in TV (£50,000) with the lowest for those working in radio (£32,045) and newspapers (£32,213).