Port Blair - Definition and Overview

Port Blair is the largest town in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. It lies on the east coast of South Andaman Island and is the main entry point to the islands.

The town is named for Archibald Blair of the East India Company, who founded a nearby penal colony in 1789. Port Blair was founded by the British in 1858, the Cellular Jail surviving from this period.

For a time during 1943 and 1944, Port Blair was the headquarters of the Indian National Army government under Subhash Chandra Bose.

The town is a port, with ferries sailing to mainland India, and home to an airport. It is also home to several museums and a major base for the Indian Coast Guard. Although damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands.