Ladakh

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 571 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.^[3] The territory is about 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar by the Andaman Sea. It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands (partly) and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 150 km (100 mile) wide Ten Degree Channel (on the 10°N parallel), with the Andaman islands to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobar islands to the south (or by 179 km; 111 miles). The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west. The island chains are thought to be a submerged extension of the Arakan Mountains.^[4]

The territory's capital is the city of Port Blair. The total land area of the islands is approximately 8,249 km² (3,185 sq mi). The territory is divided into three districts: the Nicobar District with Car Nicobar as its capital, the South Andaman district with Port Blair as its capital, and the North and Middle Andaman district with Mayabunder as its capital.

The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.^[5] Hinduism is the predominant religion in the union territory, with a significant Christian minority.

The Andaman Islands are also home to the Sentinelese people, an uncontacted tribe. The Sentinelese are considered to be the only people currently known to not have reached further than a Paleolithic level of technology;^[6] however, this is disputed, as evidence of metalwork was found on their island.^[7]

Etymology[edit]

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History[edit]

First inhabitants[edit]

The earliest archaeological evidence documents some 2,200 years. However, genetic and cultural studies suggest that the indigenous Andamanese people may have been isolated from other populations during the Middle Paleolithic, which ended 30,000 years ago.^[8] Since that time, the Andamanese have diversified into linguistically and culturally distinct territorial groups.

The Nicobar Islands appear to have been populated by people of various backgrounds. By the time of European contact, the indigenous inhabitants had coalesced into the Nicobarese people, speaking an Austroasiatic language, and the Shompen, whose language is of uncertain affiliation. Neither language is related to Andamanese.

Chola Period[edit]

Rajendra II (1051–1063 CE), used the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a strategic naval base to launch an expedition against the Srivijaya Empire on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia).^[9][10] The Cholas called the island Ma-Nakkavaram ("great open/naked land"), found in the Thanjavur inscription of 1050 CE.^[11][12] European traveller Marco Polo (12th–13th century) also referred to this island as 'Necuverann' and an ancient form of the Tamil name Nakkavaram would have led to the modern name Nicobar during the British colonial period.^[13]

Danish colonial period and British rule[edit]

The history of organised European colonisation on the islands began when settlers from the Danish East India Company arrived in the Nicobar Islands on 12 December 1755. On 1 January 1756, the Nicobar Islands were made a Danish colony, first named Nye Danmark (New Denmark),^[14] and later (December 1756) Frederick's Islands (Frederiksøerne).^[15]: 7 During 1754–1756 they were administered from Tranquebar (in continental Danish India).^[15]: 8 The islands were repeatedly abandoned due to outbreaks of malaria between 14 April 1759 and 19 August 1768, from 1787 to 1807/05, 1814 to 1831, 1830 to 1834 and gradually from 1848 for good.^{[citation needed]}

From 1 June 1778 to 1784, Austria mistakenly assumed that Denmark had abandoned its claims to the Nicobar Islands and attempted to establish a colony on them,^[16] renaming them Theresa Islands.^[17]

In 1789, the British set up a naval base and penal colony on Chatham Island next to Great Andaman, where now lies the town of Port Blair. Two years later the colony was moved to Port Cornwallis on Great Andaman, but it was abandoned in 1796 due to disease.

In 1858, the British again established a colony at Port Blair, which proved to be more permanent. The primary purpose was to set up a penal colony for criminal convicts from the Indian subcontinent.^[18] The Cellular Jail, which was used to house political prisoners, was constructed on the islands.^[19][20]

Italy made an attempt at buying the Nicobar Islands from Denmark between 1864 and 1865. The Italian Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Luigi Torelli started a negotiation that looked promising, but failed due to the unexpected end of his office and the second La Marmora Cabinet. The negotiations were interrupted and never brought up again.^[21]

Denmark's presence in the territory ended formally on 16 October 1868 when it sold the rights to the Nicobar Islands to Britain,^[16] which made them part of British India in 1869.

In 1872, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were united under a single chief commissioner at Port Blair.

World War II[edit]

During World War II, the islands were practically under Japanese control, only nominally under the authority of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose visited the islands during the war and renamed them as "Shaheed-Dweep" (Martyr Island) and "Swaraj-dweep" (Self-rule Island).

General Loganathan, of the Indian National Army, was made the Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 22 February 1944 he along with four INA officers—Major Mansoor Ali Alvi, Sub. Lt. Md. Iqbal, Lt. Suba Singh, and stenographer Srinivasan—arrived at Lambaline Airport in Port Blair. On 21 March 1944, the Headquarters of the Civil Administration was established near the gurdwara at Aberdeen Bazaar. On 2 October 1944, Col. Loganathan handed over the charge to Maj. Alvi and left Port Blair, never to return.^[22]

Japanese Vice Admiral Hara Teizo and Major-General Tamenori Sato surrendered the islands to Brigadier J A Salomons, commander of 116th Indian Infantry Brigade, and Chief Administrator Noel K Patterson, Indian Civil Service, on 7 October 1945, in a ceremony performed on the Gymkhana Ground, Port Blair.

After independence[edit]

During the independence of both India (1947) and Burma (1948), the departing British announced their intention to retain possession of the island chain, and use them to resettle Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on these islands, to form their own nation, although this never materialised. The islands, as a possession of the British Indian Empire, claimed as an asset to allocated, by both the Congress Party and Muslim League, during partition negotiations.^[23] The Islands were later used to resettle peoples displaced by the partitions of the British Indian Empire, with a substantial number of displaced East Bengali families offered land on the islands, in exchange for clearing forests and establishing agricultural colonies.^[24] Responsibility for the administration of the islands was transferred from Viceroy Mountbatten, to President Rajendra Prasad, in 1950, and was declared as a union territory of the India, in 1956.^[25]

India has been developing defence facilities on the islands since the 1980s. The islands now have a key position in India's strategic role in the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait.^[26]

2004 tsunami[edit]

On 26 December 2004, the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 10 m (33 ft) high tsunami following an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean. More than 2,000 people died, 4,000 children were orphaned or suffered the loss of one parent, and at least 40,000 people were rendered homeless. More than 46,000 people were injured.^[27] The worst affected Nicobar islands were Katchal and Indira Point; the latter subsided 4.25 metres (13.9 feet) and was partially submerged in the ocean. The lighthouse at Indira Point was damaged but has been repaired since. A significant portion of the union territory was submerged and subsequently lost to sea. The territory which measured 8,073 km² (3,117 sq mi) before the tsunami now stands at 7,950 km² (3,070 sq mi).^[28]

While the locals and tourists on the islands suffered the greatest casualties from the tsunami, most of the aboriginal people survived on account of oral traditions passed down over generations that warned them to evacuate from the large waves that follow earthquakes.^[29]

Geography[edit]

There are 572 islands^[30] in the territory having an area of 8,249 km² (3,185 sq mi). Of these 38 are permanently inhabited. The islands extend from 6° to 14° North latitudes and from 92° to 94° East longitudes. The Andamans are separated from the Nicobar group by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km (93 mi) wide. The highest point is located in North Andaman Island (Saddle Peak at 732 m (2,402 ft)). The Andaman group has 325 islands which cover an area of 6,170 km² (2,382 sq mi) while the Nicobar group has only 247 islands with an area of 1,765 km² (681 sq mi).^[25]: 33

The capital of the union territory, Port Blair, is located 1,255 km (780 mi) from Kolkata, 1,200 km (750 mi) from Visakhapatnam and 1,190 km (740 mi) from Chennai.^[25]: 33 They are grouped with South India.^{[citation needed]} The northernmost point of the Andaman and Nicobars group is 901 km (560 mi) away from the mouth of the Hooghly River and 280 km (170 mi) from Myanmar Mainland. Indira Point at 6°45’10″N and 93°49’36″E at the southern tip of the southernmost island, Great Nicobar, is the southernmost point of India and lies only 200 km (120 mi) from Sumatra island in Indonesia.

The only volcano in India, Barren Island, is located in Andaman and Nicobar. It is an active volcano and had last erupted in 2017. It also has a mud volcano situated in Baratang Island. These mud volcanoes have erupted sporadically, with recent eruptions in 2005 believed to have been associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The previous major eruption recorded was on 18 February 2003. The locals call this mud volcano Jalki. There are other volcanoes in the area. This island's beaches, mangrove creeks, limestone caves, and mud volcanoes are some of the physical features.

In December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, renamed three of the islands as a tribute to Subhas Chandra Bose. Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island; Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep Island; and Havelock Island as Swaraj Island. The PM made this announcement during a speech at the Netaji Stadium, marking the 75th anniversary of the hoisting of the Indian flag by Bose there.^[31][32]

Flora[edit]

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a tropical rainforest canopy, made of a mixed flora with elements from Indian, Myanmar, Malaysian and endemic floral strains. So far, about 2,200 varieties of plants have been recorded, out of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India.

The South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns, and orchids. The Middle Andamans harbours mostly moist deciduous forests. North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers. The North Nicobar Islands (including Car Nicobar and Battimalv) are marked by the complete absence of evergreen forests, while such forests form the dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. Grasslands occur only in the Nicobars, and while deciduous forests are common in the Andamans, they are almost absent in the Nicobar. The present forest coverage is claimed to be 86.2% of the total land area.

This typical forest coverage is made up of twelve types, namely:

1. Giant evergreen forest
2. Andamans tropical evergreen forest
3. Southern hilltop tropical evergreen forest
4. Canebrakes
5. Wet bamboo brakes
6. Andamans semi-evergreen forest
7. Andamans moist deciduous forest
8. Andamans secondary moist deciduous forest
9. Littoral forest
10. Mangrove forest
11. Brackish water mixed forest
12. Submontane forest

Fauna[edit]

This tropical rain forest, despite its isolation from adjacent landmasses, is surprisingly rich with a diversity of animal life.

About 50 varieties of forest mammals are found to occur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Some are endemic, including the Andaman wild boar. Rodents are the largest group with 26 species, followed by 14 species of bat. Among the larger mammals there are two endemic^{[citation needed]} varieties of wild boar, Sus scrofa andamanensis from Andaman and Sus scrofa nicobaricus from Nicobar, which are protected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (Sch I). The Saltwater crocodile is also found in abundance. The State Animal of Andaman is the dugong, also known as the sea cow, which can be found in Little Andaman. Around 1962 there was an attempt to introduce the leopard, which was unsuccessful because of unsuitable habitat. These were ill-considered moves as exotic introductions can cause havoc to island flora and fauna. Elephants also can be found in forested or mountainous areas of the islands; they were brought over from the mainland to help with timber extraction in 1883.^[33]

About 270 species of birds are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 14 species of which are endemic. The islands' many caves are nesting grounds for the edible-nest swiftlet, whose nests are prized in China for bird's nest soup.^[34] The islands also serve as a stopover site for several migratory birds such as Horsfield's bronze cuckoo, Zappey's flycatcher and Javan pond heron.^[35]

The territory is home for about 225 species of butterflies and moths. Ten species are endemic to these Islands. Mount Harriet National Park is one of the richest areas of butterfly and moth diversity on Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The islands are well known for prized shellfish, especially from the genera Turbo, Trochus, Murex and Nautilus. Earliest recorded commercial exploitation began during 1929. Many cottage industries produce a range of decorative shell items. Giant clams, green mussels and oysters support edible shellfishery. The shells of scallops, clams, and cockle are burnt in kilns to produce edible lime.

There are 96 wildlife sanctuaries, nine national parks and one biosphere reserve in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.^[36]

Demographics[edit]

As of 2011 Census of India, the population of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands was 379,944, of which 202,330 (53.25%) were male and 177,614 (46.75%) were female. The sex ratio was 878 females per 1,000 males.^[38] Only 10% of the population lived in Nicobar islands.

150 years ago, the original population of the islands – the Great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawa and the Sentinelese, were estimated to be around 5,000. The population of islands increased massively due to the policies of Govt of India into islands under Jawaharlal Nehru in the late 1960s, that brought settlers from other parts of the country.^[39]

The areas and populations (at the 2001 and 2011 Censuses) of the three districts^[40] are:

There remain approximately 400–450 indigenous Andamanese in the Andaman islands, the Jarawa and Sentinelese in particular maintaining steadfast independence and refusing most attempts at contact. In the Nicobar Islands, the indigenous people are the Nicobarese, or Nicobari, living throughout many of the islands, and the Shompen, restricted to the hinterland of Great Nicobar. More than 2,000 people belonging to the Karen tribe live in the Mayabunder tehsil of North Andaman district, almost all of whom are Christians. Despite their tribal origins, the Karen of Andamans have Other Backward Class (OBC) status in the Andamans.

Languages[edit]

Indigenous to the Nicobar Islands are the five Nicobarese languages, which form part of the Austroasiatic language family and are spoken by about 29,000 people,^[41] or 7.6% of the population of the union territory. The Andaman Islands are home to about a dozen endangered or extinct Andamanese languages, which constitute at least two families that are unrelated to each other or to any other language group.

The majority of the population, however, are speakers of immigrant languages. These include Bengali (the first language of 28.5% of the inhabitants of the union territory), Tamil (15.2%), Telugu (13.2%), Hindi (12.9%), Malayalam (7.2%). Sadri (5.5%), and Kurukh (4%).^[41]

Hindi is the official language of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while English is declared an additional official language for communication purposes.^[42]

Religion[edit]

The majority of people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Hindus (69.45%), with Christians forming a large minority of 21.7% of the population, according to the 2011 census of India. There is a significant Muslim (8.51%) minority.

Administration[edit]

In 1874, the British had placed the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in one administrative territory headed by a Chief Commissioner as its judicial administrator. On 1 August 1974, the Nicobar islands were hived off into another revenue district with district headquarters at Car Nicobar under a Deputy Commissioner. In 1982, the post of Lieutenant Governor was created who replaced the Chief Commissioner as the head of administration. Subsequently, a "Pradesh council" with Councillors as representatives of the people was constituted to advise the Lieutenant Governor.^[25] The Islands sends one representative to Lok Sabha from its Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Kuldeep Rai Sharma since 2019.

Administrative divisions[edit]

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is divided into three districts:

1. North and Middle Andaman (Capital: Mayabunder)
2. South Andaman (Capital: Port Blair)
3. Nicobar (Capital: Car Nicobar)

Each district is further divided into sub-divisions and taluks:

Sub-divisions and taluks of North and Middle Andaman district[edit]

• Diglipur Sub-Division
  • Diglipur taluk
• Mayabunder Sub-Division
  • Mayabunder taluk
  • Rangat taluk

Sub-divisions and taluks of South Andaman district[edit]

• Port Blair Sub-Division
  • Port Blair taluk
  • Ferrargunj taluk
  • Jirkatang taluk (native Jarawa reservation)
• Ritchie's Archipelago Sub-Division
  • Ritchie's Archipelago taluk (Havelock Island)
• Little Andaman Sub-Division
  • Little Andaman taluk (Hut Bay)

Sub-divisions and taluks of Nicobar district[edit]

• Car Nicobar Sub-Division
  • Car Nicobar taluk
• Nancowrie Sub-Division
  • Nancowrie taluk
  • Kamorta taluk
  • Teressa taluk
  • Katchal taluk
• Great Nicobar Sub-Division
  • Little Nicobar taluk
  • Great Nicobar taluk (Campbell Bay)