(Hin/Skt): स्वराज द्वीप svarāj dvīp
‘Independence Island’ [Havelock Island]
From Skt: svarāj, ‘self-rule’, ‘independence’; and Skt: dvīpa, ‘ island’.
Sir Henry Havelock was a British General famous for recapturing Kanpur (Cawnpore) during the 1857 Indian Rebellion. He was later caught behind the blockade in the Siege of Lucknow and died of dysentery a few days after the city was relieved.
The island was renamed in 2018 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the raising of the Indian flag on the Islands by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose when the islands were controlled by the Japanese.
For related place names see Indian Place names and Andaman & Nicobar Islands place names.
Netaji Commemoration Stamp 1964