Andaman Islands
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of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman Islands (
The Andaman Islands are home to the Andamanese, a group of indigenous people made up of a number of tribes, including the Jarawa and Sentinelese.[1] While some of the islands can be visited with permits, entry to others, including North Sentinel Island, is banned by law. The Sentinelese are generally hostile to visitors and have had little contact with any other people. The Indian government and coast guard protect their right to privacy.[2]
History
Etymology
In the 13th century, the name of Andaman appears in Late
Early inhabitants
The oldest archaeological evidence for the habitation of the islands dates to the 1st millennium BC. Genetic evidence suggests that the indigenous Andamanese peoples share a common origin, and that the islands were settled sometime after 26,000 years ago, possibly at the end of the Last Glacial Period, when sea levels were much lower reducing the distance between the Andaman Islands and the Asian mainland,[6] with genetic estimates suggesting that the two main linguistic groups diverged around 16,000 years ago.[7] Andamanese peoples are a genetically distinct group highly divergent from other Asians.[8][9]
Chola empire
British colonial era
In 1789, the
In 1824, Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the
The Battle of Aberdeen was fought on 17 May 1859 between the Great Andamanese tribe and the British. Today, a memorial stands in Andaman water sports complex as a tribute to the people who died in the battle. Fearful of British intentions and with help from an escaped convict from Cellular Jail, the Great Andamanese attacked the British settlement, but they were outnumbered and soon suffered heavy casualties. Later, it was identified that an escaped convict named Dudhnath Tewari had changed sides and informed the British about the tribe's plans.[16][17][18]
In 1867, the merchantman Nineveh was wrecked on the reef of North Sentinel Island. The 86 survivors reached the beach in the ship's boats. On the third day, they were attacked with iron-tipped spears by naked islanders. One person from the ship escaped in a boat and the others were later rescued by a British Royal Navy ship.[19]
For some time, sickness and mortality were high, but
From the time of its development in 1858 under the direction of James Pattison Walker, and in response to the mutiny and rebellion of the previous year, the settlement was first and foremost a repository for political prisoners. The Cellular Jail at Port Blair, when completed in 1910, included 698 cells designed for solitary confinement; each cell measured 4.5 by 2.7 m (15 by 9 ft) with a single ventilation window 3 metres (10 ft) above the floor.[citation needed]
The Indians imprisoned here referred to the island and its prison as Kala Pani ("black water");
The Viper Chain Gang Jail on Viper Island was reserved for extraordinarily troublesome prisoners and was also the site of hangings. In the 20th century, it became a convenient place to house prominent members of India's independence movement.[24][25][26]
Japanese occupation
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were
Post-World War II
At the close of World War II, the British government announced its intention to shut down the penal settlement. The government proposed to employ former inmates in an initiative to develop the island's fisheries, timber, and agricultural resources. In exchange, inmates would be granted return passage to the Indian mainland, or the right to settle on the islands. J H Williams, one of the Bombay Burma Company's senior officials, was dispatched to perform a timber survey of the islands using convict labor. He recorded his findings in 'The Spotted Deer' (published in 1957 by Rupert Hart-Davis).
The penal colony was eventually closed on 15 August 1947 when India gained independence. It has since served as a museum to the independence movement.[29]
Most of the Andaman Islands became part of the Republic of India in 1950 and was declared as a union territory of the nation in 1956, while the Preparis Island and Coco Islands became part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar in 1948.[30]
Late 20th Century – 21st century
Outside visits
In April 1998, American photographer John S. Callahan organised the first surfing project in the Andamans, starting from
In November 2018, John Allen Chau, an American missionary, traveled illegally with the help of local fishermen to the North Sentinel Island off the Andaman Islands chain group on several occasions, despite a travel ban to the island. He is reported to have been killed.[32] Despite some relaxation introduced earlier in 2018 to the stringent visit permit system for the islands, North Sentinel Island was still highly protected from outside contact. Special permission to allow researchers and anthropologists to visit could be sought.[33] Chau had no special clearance and knew that his visit was illegal.[33][32]
Although a less restrictive system of approval to visit some of the islands now applies, with non-Indian nationals no longer required to obtain pre-approval with a Restricted Area Permit (RAP), foreign visitors must still show their passport at Immigration at Port Blair Airport and Seaport for verification. Citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan, or other foreign nationals whose origin is any of these countries, are still required to obtain a RAP to visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Similarly, citizens of Myanmar who wish to visit Mayabunder or Diglipur must also apply for a RAP. In these cases, the permits must be pre-approved prior to arrival in Port Blair.[34]
Natural disasters
On 26 December 2004, the coast of the Andaman Islands was devastated by a 10-metre-high (33 ft) tsunami following the
Geography and Geology
The Andaman Archipelago is an oceanic continuation of the Burmese Arakan Yoma range in the north and of the Indonesian Archipelago in the south. It has 325 islands which cover an area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi),[38] with the Andaman Sea to the east between the islands and the coast of Burma.[13] North Andaman Island is 285 kilometres (177 mi) south of Burma, although a few smaller Burmese islands are closer, including the three Coco Islands.
The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andamans from the Nicobar Islands to the south. The highest point is located in North Andaman Island (Saddle Peak at 732 m (2,402 ft)).[38]: 33
The geology of the Andaman islands consists essentially of
Climate
The climate is typical of tropical islands of similar latitude. It is always warm, but with sea breezes. Rainfall is irregular, usually dry during the north-east monsoons, and very wet during the south-west monsoons.[42]
Flora
The Middle Andamans harbour mostly moist
The natural vegetation of the Andamans is tropical forest, with
The Andaman forests are largely unspoiled, despite logging and the demands of the fast-growing population driven by immigration from the Indian mainland. There are protected areas on
Scientists discovered a new species of green algae species in the Andaman archipelago, naming it Acetabularia jalakanyakae. "Jalakanyaka" is a Sanskrit word that means "mermaid".[44]
Timber
Andaman forests contain 200 or more timber producing species of trees, out of which about 30 varieties are considered to be commercial. Major commercial timber species are Gurjan (
- Marble wood (Diospyros marmorata)
- Padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides)
- Silver grey (a special formation of wood in white utkarsh)
- Chooi (Sageraea elliptica)
- Kokko (Albizzia lebbeck)
Padauk wood is sturdier than teak and is widely used for furniture making.
There are
The Rudraksha (Elaeocarps sphaericus) and aromatic Dhoop-resin trees also are found here.
Fauna
The Andaman Islands are home to a number of animals, many of them endemic. Andaman & Nicobar islands are home to 10% of all Indian fauna species.[45] The islands by ratio is only 0.25% of country's geographical area, has 11,009 species, according to a publication by the Zoological Survey of India.[45]
Mammals
The island's endemic mammals include
- Andaman spiny shrew (Crocidura hispida)
- Andaman shrew (Crocidura andamanensis)
- Jenkins's shrew (Crocidura jenkinsi)
- Andaman horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus cognatus)
- Andaman rat (Rattus stoicus)
The
Interview Island (the largest wildlife sanctuary in the territory) in Middle Andaman holds a population of feral elephants, which were brought in for forest work by a timber company and released when the company went bankrupt. This population has been subject to research studies.
Birds
Endemic or near endemic birds include
- Spilornis elgini, a serpent-eagle
- Rallina canningi, a crake (endemic; data-deficient per IUCN 2000)
- Columba palumboides, a wood-pigeon
- Macropygia rufipennis, a cuckoo dove
- Centropus andamanensis, a subspecies of brown coucal (endemic)
- Otus balli, a scops owl
- Ninox affinis, a hawk-owl
- Rhyticeros narcondami, the Narcondam hornbill
- Dryocopus hodgei, a woodpecker
- Dicrurus andamanensis, a drongo
- Dendrocitta bayleyii, a treepie
- Sturnus erythropygius, the white-headed starling
- Collocalia affinis, the plume-toed swiftlet
- Aerodramus fuciphagus, the edible-nest swiftlet
The islands' many
Reptiles and amphibians
The islands also have a number of endemic reptiles, toads and frogs, such as the Andaman cobra (Naja sagittifera), South Andaman krait (Bungarus andamanensis) and Andaman water monitor (Varanus salvator andamanensis).
There is a sanctuary 72 km (45 mi) from
Demographics
As of 2011[update], the population of the Andaman was 343,125,
A small minority of the population are the
The Andaman Islands are home to the
Due to their isolated island location, the Andaman people have mostly avoided contact with the outside world. Their languages are a great reflection of this, with distinct linguistics that have strong morphological features – root words, prefix, suffixes – with very little relation to surrounding geographic regions.[52]
Figures from the end of the 20th century estimate there remain only approximately 400–450 ethnic Andamanese still on the island, and as few as 50 speakers The Jangil are extinct. Most of the Great Andamanese tribes are extinct, and the survivors, now just 52, speak mostly Hindi.[53] The Onge are reduced to less than 100 people. Only the Jarawa and Sentinelese still maintain a steadfast independence and refuse most attempts at contact; their numbers are uncertain but estimated to be in the low hundreds.
The indigenous languages are collectively referred to as the Andamanese languages, but they make up at least two independent families, and the dozen or so attested languages are either extinct or endangered.
Religion
Most of the tribal people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands believe in a religion that can be described as a form of
Andamanese Mythology held that human males emerged from split bamboo, whereas women were fashioned from clay.
Other religions practiced in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are, in order of size, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and Baháʼí Faith.[60][61]
Government
Port Blair is the chief community on the islands, and the administrative centre of the Union Territory. The Andaman Islands form a single administrative district within the Union Territory, the Andaman district (the Nicobar Islands were separated and established as the new Nicobar district in 1974).
Transportation
The only commercial airport is
Due to the length of the routes and the small number of airlines flying to the islands, fares have historically been relatively expensive, although cheaper for locals than visitors. Fares are high during the peak seasons of spring and winter, although fares have decreased over time due to the expansion of the civil aviation industry in India. Private flights are also allowed to land in Port Blair airport with prior permission.
There is also a ship service from Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata. The journey requires three days and two nights, and depends on weather.
Cultural references
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
The islands are prominently featured in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes 1890 mystery The Sign of the Four.[63][64] The magistrate in Lady Gregory's play Spreading the News had formerly served in the islands.[65]
M. M. Kaye's 1985 novel Death in the Andamans[66] and Marianne Wiggins' 1989 novel John Dollar are set in the islands.[67] The latter begins with an expedition from Burma to celebrate King George's birthday, but turns into a grim survival story after an earthquake and tsunami.
Island's End is a 2011 novel by
See also
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- List of endemic birds of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- List of trees of the Andaman Islands
- Lists of islands
References
Notes
- ^ "Police face-off with Sentinelese tribe as they struggle to recover slain missionary's body". News.com.au. 26 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Andaman & Nicobar". The Internet Archive. A&N Administration. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ a b Chau Ju-kua: His Work on the Chinese And Arab Trade in the Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries, Entitled Chu-fan-chï. Translated by Friedrich Hirth; William Woodville Rockhill. St. Petersburg, Printing office of the Imperial academy of sciences. 1911. p. 147.
When sailing from lan-wu-li to si-lan, if the wind is not fair, ships maybe driven to a place called Yen-to-man. This is a group of two islands in the middle of the sea, one of them being large, the other small; the latter is quite uninhabited. ... The natives on it are of a colour resembling black lacquer; they eat men alive, so that sailors dare not anchor on this coast.
- ^ Cordier, Henri; Yule, Henry (1920). Ser Marco Polo : notes and addenda to Sir Henry Yule's edition, containing the results of recent research and discovery. London: John Murray. p. 109.
- ^ "Wu Bei Zhi Map 17". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- PMID 24297224.
- .
- ISSN 1061-4036.
- PMID 28854687.
- from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ Government of India (1908). "The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Local Gazetteer". Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta.
... In the great Tanjore inscription of 1050 CE, the Andamans are mentioned under a translated name along with the Nicobars, as Nakkavaram or land of the naked people.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 957–958.
- ^ a b Blaise, Olivier. "Andaman Islands, India". PictureTank. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 958.
- ^ Kingston, W.H.G. (1873) Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea. George Routledge and Sons, London.
- ^ "The Rise and Fall of the Great Andamanese". Confessions of a Linguist!. 8 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ "Who are heroes of Battle of Aberdeen?". oneindia.com. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ sanjib (15 May 2012). "Tribute at the Memorial of "Battle of Aberdeen" Today". andamansheekha.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ "The Last Island of the Savages". American Scholar. 22 September 2000. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
- ^ "History of Andaman Cellular Jail". Andamancellularjail.org. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Kala Pani (1996)". Imdb.com. 12 April 1996. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Andaman Islands Political Prisoners". Andamancellularjail.org. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Opinion / News Analysis: Hundred years of the Andamans Cellular Jail". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 21 December 2005. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Discover the dark history of Viper Island : Where punishment was harsh and retribution was swift". ExploreAndaman. Explore Andaman. 13 April 2023 [13 April 2023 is from HTTP Last-Modified header; webpage says "Feb 25" with no year specified anywhere]. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Viper Chain Gang Jail In Andaman And Nicobar". India Tourism > Andaman And Nicobar Tourism > Places to visit in Andaman And Nicobar. Thomas Cook. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Jail at Viper Island". Mountain Edge Tours and Holidays Pvt. Ltd. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- ^ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "The capture of the Andaman Islands, March 1942". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-7658-0352-8. p. 102.
- ^ "How India's Cellular Jail was integral in the country's fight for freedom". The Independent. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-81-7188-652-4. Archivedfrom the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ "Surfer Explores The Andaman Islands". Surfermag.com. Surfer Magazine. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Indian authorities struggle to retrieve US missionary feared killed on remote island". CNN. 25 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ a b Jain, Bharti (23 November 2018). "US National Defied 3-tier Curbs & Caution to Reach Island". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ Andaman and Nicobar Police (29 June 2018). "For Foreign Tourists". police.andaman.gov.in. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
... no RAP is required by foreigners to visit these islands, till 31.12.2022
- ISBN 978-1-908843-15-9.
- ^ Bhaumik, Subir (20 January 2005). "Tsunami folklore 'saved islanders'". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ISBN 9780784409510. Archived from the originalon 24 October 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-7188-652-4. Archivedfrom the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ ISBN 81-89422-31-6
- ^ "Andaman Tourism – Science Centre". Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ "Global Volcanism Program – Barren Island". Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ Chisholm 1911, p. 956.
- ^ "Andaman Islands rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Indian scientists discover new 'mermaid' plant species in Andamans archipelago". The Independent. 17 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021.
- ^ from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ISBN 9781461434498.
- ^ Sankaran, R. (1998), The impact of nest collection on the Edible-nest Swiftlet in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Archived 4 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India.
- ^ Sacks, Ethan (6 May 2010). "NJ woman killed by crocodile attack while snorkeling off Indian coast". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- ^ "Andaman & Nicobar Islands". india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ "Andaman & Nicobar Islands at a glance". Andamandt.nic.in. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ "Everything We Know About The Isolated Sentinelese People Of North Sentinel Island". Forbes. 30 November 2018.
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- ^ Malekar, Anosh (April 2010). "The case for a linguistic survey". InfoChange News & Features. India. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-107-62556-3. Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ "People of Andaman and Nicobar Islands". Webindia123.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 [1906]. p. 192
- ^ Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 [1906]. p. 220
- ^ Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 [1906]. p. 216
- ^ Witzel, Michael E.J. (2012). The Origin of The World's Mythologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 309-312
- ^ "Population by religious communities". censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ Baháʼí. "Baháʼí Community of Andaman and Nicobar Islands". Baháʼí Community. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ Roy, Sanjib Kumar; Sheekha, Andaman, eds. (21 January 2016). "Maiden night flight arrives in Isles". Andaman Sheekha. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ^ "LitCharts". LitCharts. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- S2CID 224924041.
- ^ Gregory, Lady (1909). Spreading the News. Putnam.
- ISBN 978-1-250-08926-7.
- ISBN 978-0-06-091655-8.
- ^ "Kaala Paani, a Malayalam film banks on lavish budget, freedom movement and multilingual cast". India Today. 15 June 1995. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
Sources
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Andaman Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 955–958. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- History & Culture. The Andaman Islands with destination quide
- L, Klemen (2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942".
- India Home Dept (1859). The Andaman Islands: With Notes on Barren Island. C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press.
- Suresh Vaidya (1960). Islands of the Marigold Sun. Robert Hale.
- Raleigh Trevelyan (1987). The Golden Oriole: Childhood, Family and Friends in India. Secker & Warburg.
External links
- Official Andaman and Nicobar Tourism Website
- Sorenson, E. Richard (1993), "Sensuality and Consciousness:Psychosexual Transformation in the Eastern Andaman", Anthropology of Consciousness, 4 (4): 1–9,
- Sen, Satadru (2009), "Savage Bodies, Civilized Pleasures: M. V. Portman and the Andamanese", American Ethnologist, 36 (2): 364–379,