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{{short description|Archipelago in the Bay of Bengal}} | |||
<b>Andaman Islands</b>, a group of islands in the ], part of ]. Large and small, there are 204 islands. There are five chief islands, known collectively as "the great Andaman." The five islands are from north to south: North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island. | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} | |||
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} | |||
{{Verification|date=October 2023}} | |||
{{Infobox islands | |||
| name = Andaman Islands | |||
| native_name = <!-- or local name to remove the "native name:" prefix --> | |||
| sobriquet = <!-- or nickname --> | |||
| image_name = | |||
| image_size = | |||
| image_caption = | |||
| image_alt = | |||
| image_map = Andaman Islands.PNG | |||
| image_map_caption = Location in the Indian Ocean | |||
| location = ] | |||
| coordinates = {{Coord|12|30|N|92|45|E|region:IN_type:isle|display=inline,title}} | |||
| archipelago = ] | |||
| total_islands = 572 | |||
| major_islands = ], ], ], ] | |||
| area_km2 = 6,408 | |||
| area_footnotes = | |||
| rank = | |||
| length_km = <!-- or length m --> | |||
| length_footnotes = | |||
| width_km = <!-- or width m --> | |||
| width_footnotes = | |||
| coastline_km = <!-- or coastline m --> | |||
| coastline_footnotes = | |||
| elevation_m = 732 | |||
| elevation_footnotes = | |||
| highest_mount = ] | |||
| country = {{IND}} | |||
| country_admin_divisions_title = Union territory | |||
| country_admin_divisions = ] | |||
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = | |||
| country_admin_divisions_1 = | |||
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = | |||
| country_admin_divisions_2 = | |||
| country_capital = ] | |||
| country_largest_city = | |||
| country_largest_city_population = | |||
| country_leader_title = | |||
| country_leader_name = | |||
| country1 = {{MMR}} | |||
| country1_admin_divisions_title = Administrative region | |||
| country1_admin_divisions = ] | |||
| country1_admin_divisions_title_1 = | |||
| country1_admin_divisions_1 = | |||
| country1_capital_type = | |||
| country1_capital = ] | |||
| demonym = | |||
| population = | |||
| population_as_of = 2011 | |||
| density_km2 = 48 | |||
| density_footnotes = | |||
| ethnic_groups = ]<br /> ]<br>]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | |||
| timezone1 = ] | |||
| utc_offset1 = +5:30 | |||
| timezone1_DST = {{nowrap|not observed}} | |||
| utc_offset1_DST = +5:30 | |||
| website = {{URL|http://www.andaman.nic.in}} | |||
| additional_info = | |||
}} | |||
] | |||
The '''Andaman Islands''' ({{IPAc-en|'|æ|n|d|@|m|@|n}}) are an ], made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern ] about {{cvt|130|km}} southwest off the coasts of ]'s ]. Together with the ] to their south, the Andamans serve as a ] between the ] to the west and the ] to the east. Most of the islands are part of the ], a ] of ], while the ] and ] are part of the ] of ]. | |||
Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait, between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South | |||
Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going vessels. | |||
The Andaman Islands are home to the ], a group of indigenous people made up of a number of tribes, including the ] and ].<ref name="trained_news.au">{{cite news |title=Police face-off with Sentinelese tribe as they struggle to recover slain missionary's body |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/police-faceoff-with-sentinelese-tribe-as-they-struggle-to-recover-slain-missionarys-body/news-story/a88d3780059939a5e11ebcfb556327ac |access-date=26 November 2018 |work=News.com.au |date=26 November 2018 |archive-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126034539/https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/police-faceoff-with-sentinelese-tribe-as-they-struggle-to-recover-slain-missionarys-body/news-story/a88d3780059939a5e11ebcfb556327ac |url-status=live }}</ref> While some of the islands can be visited with permits, entry to others, including ], is banned by law. The Sentinelese are generally hostile to visitors and have had ] with any other people. The Indian government and coast guard protect their right to privacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andaman.gov.in/web/guest/indigenous-tribes|title=Andaman & Nicobar|website=The Internet Archive|publisher=A&N Administration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611075752/http://www.and.nic.in/archives/andaman/tribes.php|archive-date=11 June 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> | |||
=== Physical Geography === | |||
==History== | |||
The Andaman Islands lie 120 m. from Cape Negrais in Burma, the nearest point of the mainland. The extreme length of the Andaman group is 219 m. with an extreme width of 32 | |||
] | |||
m. Together with the chief islands are, on the extreme N., Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh Passage; Interview Island, separated by the navigable Interview Passage, off the W. coast of the Middle Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the S.W. coast of the South Andaman, through which is the navigable Elphinstone Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the E. coast of the South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 26 m. by 16, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 31 m. S. of Rutland Island across the Manners Strait, the main shipping route between the Andamans and the Madras coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off the shores of the main islands. The land area of the Andaman Idands is 2508 sq. | |||
m. | |||
=== |
===Etymology=== | ||
In the 13th century, the name of Andaman appears in Late ] as ''ʔˠan<sup>H</sup> dɑ mˠan'' ({{lang|zh|晏陀蠻}}, pronounced ''yàntuómán'' in modern ]) in the book '']'' by ].<ref name="ZhuFanZhi">{{cite book |title=Chau Ju-kua: His Work on the Chinese And Arab Trade in the Twelfth And Thirteenth Centuries, Entitled Chu-fan-chï |translator= Friedrich Hirth |translator2= William Woodville Rockhill |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023289345 |page= | year=1911 | publisher= St. Petersburg, Printing office of the Imperial academy of sciences | quote=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. }}</ref> In Chapter 38 of the book, ''Countries in the Sea'', Zhao Rukuo specifies that going from Lambri (]) to Ceylan, an unfavourable wind makes ships drift towards the Andaman Islands.<ref name="ZhuFanZhi" /><ref>{{cite book | |||
| title=Ser Marco Polo : notes and addenda to Sir Henry Yule's edition, containing the results of recent research and discovery | |||
| author1=Cordier, Henri | |||
| author2=Yule, Henry | |||
| year=1920 | |||
| publisher=London: John Murray | |||
| language=en | |||
| url=https://archive.org/details/sermarcopolonote00cord | |||
| page = | |||
}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=April 2019}} In the 15th century, Andaman was recorded as "Andeman Mountain" (安得蠻山, pronounced ''āndémán shān'' in modern Mandarin Chinese) during the ] in the ] of the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wu Bei Zhi Map 17 |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/g7821rm.gct00058/?sp=17 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=1 August 2019 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221105843/https://www.loc.gov/resource/g7821rm.gct00058/?sp=17 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Early inhabitants=== | |||
The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered by dense tropical jungle. The hills rise, to a considerable elevation: | |||
The oldest archaeological evidence for the habitation of the islands dates to the ]. Genetic evidence suggests that the indigenous ] share a common origin, and that the islands were settled sometime after 26,000 years ago, possibly at the end of the ], when sea levels were much lower reducing the distance between the Andaman Islands and the Asian mainland,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chaubey |first1=Gyaneshwer |last2=Endicott |first2=Phillip |date=June 2013 |title=The Andaman Islanders in a Regional Genetic Context: Reexamining the Evidence for an Early Peopling of the Archipelago from South Asia |url=https://bioone.org/journals/human-biology/volume-85/issue-1_2f_3/027.085.0307/The-Andaman-Islanders-in-a-Regional-Genetic-Context--Reexamining/10.3378/027.085.0307.full |journal=Human Biology |volume=85 |issue=1/3 |pages=153–172 |doi=10.3378/027.085.0307 |pmid=24297224 |issn=0018-7143}}</ref> with genetic estimates suggesting that the two main linguistic groups diverged around 16,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sitalaximi |first1=T. |last2=Varghese |first2=N. |last3=Kashyap |first3=V.K. |date=February 2023 |title=Genetic differentiation of Andaman Islanders and their relatedness to Nicobar Islanders |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2773044123000074 |journal=Human Gene |language=en |volume=35 |pages=201148 |doi=10.1016/j.humgen.2023.201148}}</ref> Andamanese peoples are a genetically distinct group highly divergent from other Asians.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mondal |first1=Mayukh |last2=Casals |first2=Ferran |last3=Xu |first3=Tina |last4=Dall'Olio |first4=Giovanni M |last5=Pybus |first5=Marc |last6=Netea |first6=Mihai G |last7=Comas |first7=David |last8=Laayouni |first8=Hafid |last9=Li |first9=Qibin |last10=Majumder |first10=Partha P |last11=Bertranpetit |first11=Jaume |date=September 2016 |title=Genomic analysis of Andamanese provides insights into ancient human migration into Asia and adaptation |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3621 |journal=Nature Genetics |language=en |volume=48 |issue=9 |pages=1066–1070 |doi=10.1038/ng.3621 |pmid=27455350 |hdl=10230/34401 |issn=1061-4036|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jinam |first1=Timothy A. |last2=Phipps |first2=Maude E. |last3=Aghakhanian |first3=Farhang |last4=Majumder |first4=Partha P. |last5=Datar |first5=Francisco |last6=Stoneking |first6=Mark |last7=Sawai |first7=Hiromi |last8=Nishida |first8=Nao |last9=Tokunaga |first9=Katsushi |last10=Kawamura |first10=Shoji |last11=Omoto |first11=Keiichi |last12=Saitou |first12=Naruya |date=August 2017 |title=Discerning the Origins of the Negritos, First Sundaland People: Deep Divergence and Archaic Admixture |url=http://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/9/8/2013/3952725/Discerning-the-Origins-of-the-Negritos-First |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |language=en |volume=9 |issue=8 |pages=2013–2022 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evx118 |issn=1759-6653 |pmc=5597900 |pmid=28854687}}</ref>], who were depicted in a "book of wonders" produced in Paris in the early 15th century.]] | |||
the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak (2400 ft.); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind Cuthbert Bay (1678 ft.); in the South Andaman, Koiob (1505 ft.), Mount Harriet (1193 ft.) and the Cholunga range (1063 ft.); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (1422 ft.). Little Andaman is practically flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the islands. | |||
=== |
===Chola empire=== | ||
] took over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/children/happy-in-havelock/article18376630.ece|title=Happy in Havelock|last=Krishnan|first=Madhuvanti S.|date=4 May 2017|work=The Hindu|access-date=4 November 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222085712/https://www.thehindu.com/children/happy-in-havelock/article18376630.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> He used the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a strategic naval base to launch an expedition against the ]. The ] called the island Ma-Nakkavaram ("great open/naked land"), found in the ] inscription of 1050 ]. European traveller ] (12th–13th century) also referred to this island as 'Necuverann' and a corrupted form of the Tamil name Nakkavaram would have led to the modern name Nicobar during the British colonial period.<ref name="goi1908">{{Cite journal|author=Government of India|year=1908|title=The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Local Gazetteer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrwBAAAAYAAJ|publisher=Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta|quote=''... 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.''}}</ref> | |||
===British colonial era=== | |||
The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, giving existence to a number of safe harbours, which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief harbours are (starting | |||
In 1789, the ] established a naval base and ] on ] in the southeast bay of ]. The settlement is now known as ] (after the ] lieutenant ] who founded it). After two years, the colony was moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral ]. However, there was much disease and death in the penal colony and the government ceased operating it in May 1796.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=957–958}}<ref name="olivierblaise">{{Cite journal | title=Andaman Islands, India | author=Blaise, Olivier | publisher=PictureTank | url=http://www.picturetank.com/___/series/ff5d5b4d962b08bc130471b877292c58/en/Andaman_Isl.,_India_(1).html | access-date=16 November 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715083143/http://www.picturetank.com/___/series/ff5d5b4d962b08bc130471b877292c58/en/Andaman_Isl.,_India_(1).html | archive-date=15 July 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South Andaman) on the E. coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port | |||
Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the W. coast: Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour (large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson Strait. There are many other safe anchorages about the coast. | |||
In 1824, Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the ].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=958}} In the 1830s and 1840s, shipwrecked crews who landed on the Andamans were often attacked and killed by the natives and the islands had a reputation for ]. The loss of the ''Runnymede'' and the ''Briton'' in 1844 during the same storm, while transporting goods and passengers between India and Australia, and the continuous attacks launched by the natives, which the survivors fought off, alarmed the ].<ref>Kingston, W.H.G. (1873) ''Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea''. George Routledge and Sons, London.</ref> In 1855, the government proposed another settlement on the islands, including a ], but the ] forced a delay in its construction. However, because the rebellion led to the British holding a large number of prisoners, it made the new Andaman settlement and prison urgently necessary. Construction began in November 1857 at Port Blair using inmates' labour, avoiding the vicinity of a salt swamp that seemed to have been the source of many of the earlier problems at Port Cornwallis.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} | |||
=== Geology === | |||
The ] was fought on 17 May 1859 between the ] 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 ], 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 ] had changed sides and informed the British about the tribe's plans.<ref name="Rapidiq">{{cite web|url=https://rapidiq.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/the-rise-and-the-fall-of-the-great-andamanese/|title=The Rise and Fall of the Great Andamanese|work=Confessions of a Linguist!|date=8 April 2012|access-date=16 January 2015|archive-date=17 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217192515/http://rapidiq.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/the-rise-and-the-fall-of-the-great-andamanese/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="One India">{{cite web|url=http://www.oneindia.com/2007/05/17/who-are-heroes-of-battle-of-aberdeen-1179405748.html|title=Who are heroes of Battle of Aberdeen?|work=oneindia.com|date=17 May 2007|access-date=16 January 2015|archive-date=9 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709165627/http://www.oneindia.com/2007/05/17/who-are-heroes-of-battle-of-aberdeen-1179405748.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Andaman Sheekha">{{cite web|url=http://www.andamansheekha.com/2012/05/16/tribute-at-the-memorial-of-battle-of-aberdeen-today/|title=Tribute at the Memorial of "Battle of Aberdeen" Today|author=sanjib|work=andamansheekha.com|date=15 May 2012|access-date=16 January 2015|archive-date=10 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710012822/http://www.andamansheekha.com/2012/05/16/tribute-at-the-memorial-of-battle-of-aberdeen-today/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
The Andaman Islands form part of a range of submarine mountains, 700 m. long, running from Cape Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman Sea. The older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous. The newer rocks are in Ritchie's Archipelago chiefly and contain radiolarians and foraminifera. There is coral along the coasts everywhere. | |||
In 1867, the ] ''Nineveh'' was ] 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 ] ship.<ref name="Goodheart">{{cite news | url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28578579_ITM | work=American Scholar | title=The Last Island of the Savages | date=22 September 2000 | access-date=14 June 2009 | archive-date=22 May 2015 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150522060225/https://www.questia.com/ | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
=== Climate === | |||
For some time, sickness and mortality were high, but ] and extensive forest clearance continued. The Andaman colony became notorious with the murder of the Viceroy ], on a visit to the settlement (8 February 1872), by a ] from ], ]. In the same year, the two island groups Andaman and ], were united under a chief commissioner residing at Port Blair.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=958}} | |||
the climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is warm always, but with sea-breezes; very hot when the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference for places quite close to one another. | |||
] | |||
=== Population === | |||
] | |||
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 ]s. The Cellular Jail at Port Blair, when completed in 1910, included 698 cells designed for solitary confinement; each cell measured {{convert|4.5|by|2.7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} with a single ventilation window {{convert|3|m|ft|0}} above the floor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyagi |first=Ditriksha |date=2024-09-20 |title=The Cellular Jail, Andaman and Nicobar Islands |url=https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/case-studies/a13032-the-cellular-jail-andaman-and-nicobar-islands-2/ |access-date=2024-12-27 |website=RTF {{!}} Rethinking The Future |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
The Indians imprisoned here referred to the island and its prison as ''Kala Pani'' ("black water"),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andamancellularjail.org/History.htm |title=History of Andaman Cellular Jail |publisher=Andamancellularjail.org |access-date=14 May 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209031136/http://www.andamancellularjail.org/History.htm |archive-date= 9 February 2010 }}</ref> named for ], the Hindu proscription against traveling across the open sea. Incarceration on the Andamans thus threatened prisoners with the loss of their ], and resultant social exclusion;<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bashford |first1=Alison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z72MP1zc4KgC&pg=PA37 |title=Isolation: Places and Practices of Exclusion |last2=Strange |first2=Carolyn |date=2004-06-04 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-40522-2 |language=en}}</ref> a 1996 film set on the island took that term as its title, '']''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0255289/ |title=Kala Pani (1996) |date=12 April 1996 |publisher=Imdb.com |access-date=14 May 2010 |archive-date=12 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112003713/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255289/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The number of prisoners who died in this camp is estimated to be in the thousands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andamancellularjail.org/ListOfRevolutionaries.htm |title=Andaman Islands Political Prisoners |publisher=Andamancellularjail.org |access-date=14 May 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906201654/http://www.andamancellularjail.org/ListOfRevolutionaries.htm |archive-date= 6 September 2010 }}</ref> Many more died of harsh treatment and the strenuous living and working conditions in this camp.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/21/stories/2005122107881100.htm |title=Opinion / News Analysis: Hundred years of the Andamans Cellular Jail |date= 21 December 2005|access-date=14 May 2010 |location=Chennai, India| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100511175419/http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/21/stories/2005122107881100.htm| archive-date= 11 May 2010 |newspaper=] | url-status= dead}}</ref> | |||
Historically there was a native tribal population. The estimated total at a census taken in 1901 was only 2000. There were twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese. They had neither worship nor propitiation. An ] deity, Puluga, was the | |||
cause of all things, but it was not necessary to propitiate him. | |||
The Viper Chain Gang Jail on ] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=13 April 2023 |orig-date=13 April 2023 is from HTTP Last-Modified header; webpage says "Feb 25" with no year specified anywhere |title=Discover the dark history of Viper Island : Where punishment was harsh and retribution was swift |url=https://www.exploreandaman.co.in/islands/dark-history-of-viper-island-andaman |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016195141/https://www.exploreandaman.co.in/islands/dark-history-of-viper-island-andaman |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=ExploreAndaman |publisher=Explore Andaman |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Viper Chain Gang Jail In Andaman And Nicobar |url=https://www.thomascook.in/places-to-visit/viper-chain-gang-jail-in-andaman-and-nicobar-5563 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203223913/https://www.thomascook.in/places-to-visit/viper-chain-gang-jail-in-andaman-and-nicobar-5563 |archive-date=2023-02-03 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Thomas Cook |department=India Tourism > Andaman And Nicobar Tourism > Places to visit in Andaman And Nicobar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jail at Viper Island |url=https://www.mountainedge.in/Jail-at-viper-island-andman.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016195237/https://www.mountainedge.in/Jail-at-viper-island-andman.php |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Mountain Edge Tours and Holidays Pvt. Ltd.}}</ref> | |||
=== History === | |||
===Japanese occupation=== | |||
Andaman first appears distinctly in Arab writings of the ]. The islands | |||
] | |||
are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who probably saw without visiting them, under the name Angamanain, with the exaggerated picture of the natives, as dog-faced anthropophagi. The name is probably derived from the Malay ''Handuman''. Later travellers repeat the stories, too well founded, of the ferocious hostility of the people. | |||
] | |||
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were ] during ].<ref>{{cite web|first=Klemen|last=L|url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/andaman.html|title=The capture of the Andaman Islands, March 1942|date=1999–2000|work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942|access-date=30 March 2021|archive-date=26 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726181150/https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/andaman.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The islands were nominally put under the authority of the ] (Provisional Government of Free India) headed by ], who visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as ] (Martyr) & Swaraj (Self-rule). On 30 December 1943, during the Japanese occupation, Bose, who was allied with the Japanese, first raised the flag of Indian independence. General ], of the ], was Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which had been annexed to the Provisional Government. According to Werner Gruhl: "Before leaving the islands, the Japanese rounded up and ]."<ref>Gruhl, Werner (2007) '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209011823/https://books.google.com/books?id=ow5Wlmu9MPQC&pg=PA102 |date=9 December 2015 }}'', Transaction Publishers. {{ISBN|978-0-7658-0352-8}}. p. 102.</ref> | |||
===Post-World War II=== | |||
In ]-] the government of Bengal sought to establish in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of refuge. The settlement was established by Captain Blair, in September ], on Chatham Island, in the S.E. bay of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years, urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred the colony to the N.E. part of Great Andaman, where a naval arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name of Port Cornwallis was also transferred. In ] the government put an end to the colony, owing to the great mortality and the expense of maintenance. | |||
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. ], 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 ]). | |||
The penal colony was eventually closed on 15 August 1947 when India ]. It has since served as a museum to the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/cellular-jail-india-integral-country-fight-freedom-independence-british-colony-andaman-and-nicobar-a7883691.html|title=How India's Cellular Jail was integral in the country's fight for freedom|date=11 August 2017|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-date=10 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110125549/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/cellular-jail-india-integral-country-fight-freedom-independence-british-colony-andaman-and-nicobar-a7883691.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In ] Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In ] the troop-ships "Briton" and "Runnymede" were driven ashore. The natives showed their usual hostility, killing all stragglers. Attacks on shipwrecked crews were so rife that the question of occupation was taken up again; and in ] a project was formed for such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This was interrupted by the Indian Mutiny of ], but soon after in November ], a commission, headed by Dr F. Mouat, was sent to examine and report. | |||
Most of the Andaman Islands became part of the ] in 1950 and was declared as a ] of the nation in 1956, while the ] and ] became part of the ] of ] in 1948.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Planning Commission of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujf2N5O4iKgC|title=Andaman and Nicobar Islands Development Report|publisher=Academic Foundation|year=2008|isbn=978-81-7188-652-4|edition=illustrated|series=State Development Report series|access-date=12 March 2011|archive-date=9 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209011823/https://books.google.com/books?id=ujf2N5O4iKgC|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
A new settlement named Port Blair was established in the beginning of ]. For some time sickness and mortality were excessively high, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle on an extensive scale had a beneficial effect. For a long time the islands were the final stage in the Indian penal system for life-sentence and a few long-sentence convicts. The number of convicts in ] stood at 11,947. | |||
===Late 20th Century – 21st century=== | |||
The Andaman islands were later occupied by Japan during ]. After the end of the war they briefly returned to British control, before becoming part of the newly independent state of India. | |||
====Outside visits==== | |||
In April 1998, American photographer John S. Callahan organised the first surfing project in the Andamans, starting from ] in Thailand with the assistance of Southeast Asia Liveaboards (SEAL), a UK owned dive charter company.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}} With a crew of international professional surfers, they crossed the Andaman Sea on the yacht ''Crescent'' and cleared formalities in Port Blair. The group proceeded to Little Andaman Island, where they spent ten days surfing several spots for the first time, including Jarawa Point near Hut Bay and the long right reef point at the southwest tip of the island, named Kumari Point. The resulting article in ''Surfer Magazine'', "Quest for Fire" by journalist Sam George, put the Andaman Islands on the surfing map for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surfermag.com/magazine/archivedissues/quest-for-fire |title=Surfer Explores The Andaman Islands |publisher=Surfer Magazine |website=Surfermag.com |date=22 July 2010 |access-date=28 December 2011 |archive-date=19 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819112026/http://www.surfermag.com/magazine/archivedissues/quest-for-fire/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Footage of the waves of the Andaman Islands also appeared in the film ''Thicker than Water'', shot by ]maker ].{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}} Callahan went on to make several more surfing projects in the Andamans, including a trip to the Nicobar Islands in 1999.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}} | |||
In November 2018, ], an American ], traveled illegally with the help of local fishermen to the ] off the Andaman Islands chain group on several occasions, despite a travel ban to the island. He is reported to have been killed.<ref name="cnn.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html|title=Indian authorities struggle to retrieve US missionary feared killed on remote island|date=25 November 2018|work=CNN|access-date=25 November 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125131356/https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="3tier 2018 toi">{{Cite news|last1=Jain|first1=Bharti |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/us-national-defied-3-tier-curbs-caution-to-reach-island/articleshow/66758172.cms|title=US National Defied 3-tier Curbs & Caution to Reach Island |date=23 November 2018 |work=] |access-date=31 October 2021 |language=en |archive-date=26 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126001420/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/us-national-defied-3-tier-curbs-caution-to-reach-island/articleshow/66758172.cms |url-status=live}}</ref> Chau had no special clearance and knew that his visit was illegal.<ref name="3tier 2018 toi"/><ref name="cnn.com"/> | |||
----- | |||
Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed | |||
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, {{em|are}} still required to obtain a RAP to visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Similarly, citizens of ] who wish to visit ] or ] must also apply for a RAP. In these cases, the permits must be pre-approved prior to arrival in Port Blair.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andaman and Nicobar Police |title=For Foreign Tourists |url=https://police.andaman.gov.in/index.php/en/2013-10-13-13-21-25/foreigners/for-foreign-tourist.html |website=police.andaman.gov.in |access-date=30 October 2021 |date=29 June 2018 |quote=... no RAP is required by foreigners to visit these islands, till 31.12.2022 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> | |||
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''The following extensive text appeared on a separate page "Andaman islands". I've moved the dense text here to begin the task of integrating the two versions.'' | |||
----- | |||
====Natural disasters==== | |||
The <b>Andaman Islands</b> are a group of islands in the ]. Large and small, they number 204, and lie 590 miles from the mouth of the ], 120 miles from ] in ], the nearest point of the mainland, and 340 miles from the northern extremity of | |||
On 26 December 2004, the coast of the Andaman Islands was devastated by a {{convert|10|m|ft|0|adj=mid|-high}} tsunami following the ], which is the longest recorded earthquake, lasting for between 500 and 600 seconds.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guinness Book of World Records 2014|last=Glenday|first=Craig|publisher=The Jim Pattison Group|year=2013|isbn=978-1-908843-15-9|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_r3e7/page/015}}</ref> Strong oral traditions in the area warned of the importance of moving inland after a quake and is credited with saving many lives.<ref name="folklore">{{cite news |last1=Bhaumik |first1=Subir |title=Tsunami folklore 'saved islanders' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4181855.stm |access-date=1 June 2024 |agency=BBC News |date=20 January 2005}}</ref> In the aftermath, more than 2,000 people were confirmed dead and more than 4,000 children were orphaned or had lost one parent. At least 40,000 residents were rendered homeless and were moved to relief camps.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sumatra-Andaman Islands Earthquake and Tsunami of December 26, 2004|year=2007|publisher=ASCE, Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering|location=Reston, VA|isbn=9780784409510|url=http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=5511|editor1=Strand, Carl|editor2=Masek, John|access-date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024115815/http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=5511|archive-date=24 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 11 August 2009, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck near the Andaman Islands, causing a tsunami warning to go into effect. On 30 March 2010, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck near the Andaman Islands. | |||
]. Between the Andamans and Cape Negrais intervene two | |||
small groups, ] and ]; between the Andamans and | |||
Sumatra lie the ], the whole group stretching | |||
in a curve, to which the meridian forms a tangent between Cape | |||
Negrais and Sumatra; and though this curved line measures 700 | |||
miles, the widest sea space is about 91 miles. The extreme length | |||
of the Andaman group is 219 miles with an extreme width of 32 | |||
miles. The main part of it consists of a band of five chief islands, | |||
so closely adjoining and overlapping each other that they have | |||
long been known collectively as "the great Andaman." The | |||
axis of this band, almost a median line, is 156 statute miles | |||
long. The five islands are in order from north to south: North | |||
Andaman (51 miles long); Middle Andaman (59 miles); South Andaman | |||
(49 miles); Baratang, running parallel to the east of the South | |||
Andaman for 17 miles from the Middle Andaman; and Rutland Island (11 | |||
miles). Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait, | |||
between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between | |||
Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South | |||
Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South | |||
Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland | |||
Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going | |||
vessels. Attached to the chief islands are, on the extreme | |||
north, Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh | |||
Passage; Interview Island, separated by the very narrow but | |||
navigable Interview Passage, off the west coast of the Middle | |||
Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the southwest coast of the South | |||
Andaman, through which is the safe navigable Elphinstone | |||
Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the east | |||
coast of the South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide | |||
and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait | |||
and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 26 miles by | |||
16, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 31 | |||
miles south of Rutland Island across Duncan Passage, in which lie | |||
the Cinque and other islands, forming Manners Strait, the | |||
main commercial highway between the Andamans and the Madras | |||
coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off | |||
the shores of the main islands. The principal outlying islands | |||
are the North Sentinel, a dangerous island of about 28 square miles, | |||
lying about 18 miles off the west coast of the South Andaman; the | |||
remarkable marine volcano, Barren Idand (1150 feet), quiescent | |||
for more than a century, 71 miles northeast of Port Blair; and the | |||
equally curious isolated mountain, the extinct volcano of | |||
Narcondam, rising 2330 feet out of the sea, 71 miles east of the North | |||
Andaman. The land area of the Andaman Idands is 2508 square | |||
miles. About 18 miles to the west of the Andamans are the dangerous | |||
Western Banks and Dalrymple Bank, rising to within a few fathoms | |||
of the surface of the sea and forming, with the two Sentinel | |||
Islands, the tops of a line of submarine hills parallel to the | |||
Andamans. Some 40 miles distant to the east is the Invisible Bank, | |||
with one rock just awash; and 34 miles southeast of Narcondam is a | |||
submarine hill rising to 377 fathoms below the surface of the | |||
sea. Narcondam, Barren Island and the Invisible Bank, a | |||
great danger of these seas, are in a line almost parallel | |||
to the Andamans inclining towards them from north to south. | |||
==Geography and Geology== | |||
=== Topography === | |||
The Andaman Archipelago is an oceanic continuation of the Burmese ] in the north and of the ] in the south. It has 325 islands which cover an area of {{convert|6408|km2|0|abbr=on}},<ref name="Planning Commission Report"/> with the ] to the east between the islands and the coast of Burma.<ref name="olivierblaise" /> ] is {{convert|285|km}} south of Burma, although a few smaller Burmese islands are closer, including the three Coco Islands. | |||
The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a | |||
mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered | |||
by an exceedingly dense tropical jungle. The hills rise, | |||
especially on the east coast, to a considerable elevation: | |||
the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak | |||
(2400 feet); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind | |||
Cuthbert Bay (1678 feet); in the South Andaman, Koiob (1505 | |||
feet), Mount Harriet (1193 feet) and the Cholunga range (1063 | |||
feet); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (1422 feet). Little | |||
Andaman, with the exception of the extreme north, is practically | |||
flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the | |||
islands. The scenery is everywhere strikingly beautiful and | |||
varied, and the coral beds of the more secluded bays in | |||
its harbours are conspicuous for their exquisite colouring. | |||
The ] separates the Andamans from the ] to the south. The highest point is located in North Andaman Island (] at {{convert|732|m|abbr=on}}).<ref name="Planning Commission Report">{{cite book|title=Andaman and Nicobar Islands Development Report|series=State Development Report series|author=Planning Commission of India|edition=illustrated|publisher=Academic Foundation|year=2008|isbn=978-81-7188-652-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujf2N5O4iKgC|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=9 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209011823/https://books.google.com/books?id=ujf2N5O4iKgC|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|33}} | |||
=== Harbours === | |||
The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, | |||
giving existence to a number of safe harbours and tidal creeks, | |||
which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief | |||
harbours, some of which are very capacious, are (starting | |||
northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South | |||
Andaman) on the east coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, | |||
Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port | |||
Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the west coast: | |||
Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour | |||
(large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson | |||
Strait. There are besides many other safe anchorages about | |||
the coast, notably Shoal Bay and Kotara Anchorage in the | |||
South Andaman; Cadell Bay and the Turtle Islands in the | |||
North Andaman; and Outram Harbour and Kwangtung Strait in the | |||
archipelago. The whole of the Andamans and the outlying | |||
islands were completely surveyed topographically by the Indian | |||
Survey Department under Colonel Hobday in ]-], and the | |||
surrounding seas were charted by Commander Carpenter in ]-]. | |||
The geology of the Andaman islands consists essentially of ] to ] ]s and ]s (] and algal ]s), deformed by numerous deep ] and ]s with ] ] ]s.<ref name="tsu"/> There are at least 11 ]es on the islands.<ref name="tsu">Chakrabarti, P.; Nag, A.; Dutta, S. B.; Dasgupta, S. and Gupta, N. (2006) '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209011823/https://books.google.com/books?id=5gEBfvCBclUC&pg=PA42 |date=9 December 2015 }}'', page 43. Chapter 5 in S. M. Ramasamy et al. (eds.), ''Geomatics in Tsunami'', New India Publishing. {{ISBN|81-89422-31-6}}</ref> There are two volcanic islands, ] and ], which have produced ] and ]. Barren Island is the only active volcano in the ], with the latest eruption reported in December 2022, leading to the potential for ].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.andamantourism.gov.in/capital.php| title=Andaman Tourism – Science Centre| access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=260010| title=Global Volcanism Program – Barren Island| access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref> | |||
=== Geology === | |||
The Andaman Islands, in conjunction with the | |||
other groups mentioned above, form part of a lofty range | |||
of submarine mountains, 700 miles long, running from Cape | |||
Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in | |||
Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the | |||
Andaman Sea; and it contains much that is geologically | |||
characteristic of the Arakan Yoma, and formations common also | |||
to the Nicobars and to Sumatra and the adjacent islands. The | |||
older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous but there | |||
are no fossils to indicate age. The newer rocks, common also | |||
to the Nicobars and Sumatra, are in Ritchie's Archipelago | |||
chiefly and contain radiolarians and foraminifera. There is | |||
coral along the coasts everywhere, and the Sentinel Islands | |||
are composed of the newer rocks with a superstructure of | |||
coral. A theory of a still continuing subsidence of the | |||
islanda was formed by Kurz in ] and confirmed by Oldham in | |||
]. Signs of its continuance are found on the east coast | |||
in several places. Barren Island is a volcano of the general | |||
Sunda group which includes also the Pegu group to which | |||
Narcondam belongs. Barren Island was last in eruption in | |||
], but there is still a thin column of steam from a | |||
sulphur bed at the top and a variable hot spring at the | |||
point where the last outburst of lava flowed into the sea. | |||
== |
==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.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=956}} | |||
Rarely affected by a cyclone, though within | |||
the influence of practically every one that blows in the | |||
Bay of Bengal, the Andamans are of the greatest importance | |||
because of the accurate information relating to the | |||
direction and intensity of storms which can be communicated | |||
from them better than from any other point in the bay, | |||
to the vast amount of shipping in this part of the Indian | |||
Ocean. Trustworthy information also regarding the weather | |||
which may be expected in the north and east of India, is | |||
obtained at the islands, and this proves of the utmost value | |||
to the controllers of the great trades dependent upon the | |||
rainfall. A well-appointed meteorological station has been | |||
established at Port Blair since ]. Speaking generally, | |||
the climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as | |||
normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is warm | |||
always, but tempered by pleasant sea-breezes; very hot when | |||
the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry | |||
during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west | |||
monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from | |||
year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference in the | |||
returns for places quite close to one another. The official | |||
figures in inches for the station at Port Blair, which is | |||
situated in by far the driest part of the settlement, were | |||
==Flora== | |||
<table> | |||
] | |||
<tr><th>Year</th><td>1895</td><td>1896</td><td>1897</td><td>1898</td><td>1899</td><td>1900</td><td>1901</td></tr> | |||
] | |||
<tr><th>Rain(inches)</th><td>125.64</td><td>107.28</td><td>136.41</td><td>127.22</td><td>87.01</td><td>83.28</td><td>132.50</td></tr> | |||
</table> | |||
The Middle Andamans harbour mostly moist ]. North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} | |||
A tidal observatory has also been maintained at Port Blair since ]. | |||
The natural vegetation of the Andamans is tropical forest, with ]s on the coast. The rainforests are similar in composition to those of the west coast of Burma. Most of the forests are evergreen, but there are areas of deciduous forest on North Andaman, ], ] and parts of ]. The South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of ] vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids. | |||
=== Flora === | |||
A section of the Forest Department of India has | |||
been established in the Andamans since ], and in the | |||
neighbourhood of Port Blair 156 square miles have been set apart | |||
for regular forest operations which are carried on by convict | |||
labour. The chief timber of indigenous growth is padouk | |||
(Pterocarpus dalbergioides) used for buildings, boats, | |||
furniture, fine joinery and all purposes to which teak, | |||
mahogany, hickory, oak and ash are applied. This tree | |||
is widely spread and forms a valuable export to European | |||
markets. Other first-class timbers are koko (Albizzia | |||
lebbek), white chuglam (Terminalia bialata), black | |||
chugiam (Myristica irya), marble or zebra wood (Diospyros | |||
kurzii) and satin-wood (Murraya exotica), which differs | |||
from the satin-wood of Ceylon (Chloroxylon swietenia.) | |||
All of these timbers are used for furniture and similar | |||
purposes. In addition there are a number of second-and | |||
third-class timbers, which are used locally and for export to | |||
Calcutta. Gangaw (Messua ferrea) the Assam iron-wood, is | |||
suitable for sleepers; and didu (Bombax insigne) is used | |||
for tea-boxes and packing-cases. Among the imported flora | |||
are tea, Siberian coffee, cocoa, Ceara rubber (which has | |||
not done well), Manila hemp, teak, cocoanut and a number | |||
of ornamental trees, fruit-trees, vegetables and garden | |||
plants. Tea is grown in considerable quantities and the | |||
cultivation is under a department of the penal settlement. | |||
The general character of the forests is Burmese with an | |||
admixture of Malay types. Great mangrove swamps supply | |||
unlimited fire-wood of the best quality. The great peculiarity | |||
of Andaman flora is that, with the exception of the Cocos | |||
islands, no cocoanut palms are found in the archipelago. | |||
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 ], ], North Andaman and South Andaman, but these are mainly aimed at preserving the coast and the marine wildlife rather than the rainforests.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=im0101 |name=Andaman Islands rain forests|access-date=28 December 2011}}</ref> Threats to wildlife come from introduced species including rats, dogs, cats and the elephants of ] and North Andaman. | |||
=== Fauna === | |||
Animal life is generally deficient throughout the | |||
Andamans, especially as regards mammalia, of which there | |||
are only nineteen separate species in all, twelve of these | |||
being peculiar to the islands. There is a small pig (Sus | |||
andamanensis), important to the food of the people, and a wild | |||
cat (Paradoxurus tytleri); but the bats (sixteen species) and | |||
rats (thirteen species) constitute nearly three-fourths of the | |||
known mammals. This paucity of animal life seems inconsistent | |||
with the theory that the islands were once connected with the | |||
mainland. Most of the birds also are derived from the distant | |||
Indian region, while the Indo-Burmese and Indo-Malayan regions | |||
are represented to a far less degree. Rasorial birds, such as | |||
peafowl, junglefowl, pheasants and partridges, though well | |||
represented in the Arakan hills, are rare in the islands; while | |||
a third of the different species found are peculiar to the | |||
Andamans. Moreover, the Andaman species differ from those | |||
of the adjacent Nicobar Islands. Each group has its distinct | |||
harrier-eagle, red-cheeked paroquet, oriole, sun- bird and | |||
bulbul. Fish are very numerous and many species are peculiar to | |||
the Andaman seas. Turtles are abundant and supply the Calcutta | |||
market. Of imported animals, cattle, goats, asses and dogs | |||
thrive well, ponies and horses indifferently, and sheep | |||
badly, though some success has been achieved in breeding them. | |||
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".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mermaid-plant-india-andamans-archipelago-b1903845.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817145707/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mermaid-plant-india-andamans-archipelago-b1903845.html |archive-date=2021-08-17 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Indian scientists discover new 'mermaid' plant species in Andamans archipelago|date=17 August 2021|website=The Independent}}</ref> | |||
=== Population === | |||
The Andaman Islands, so near countries that | |||
have for ages attained considerable civilization and have | |||
been the seat of great empires, and close to the track of a | |||
great commerce which has gone on at least 2000 years, are the | |||
abode of savages as low in civilization as almost any known on | |||
earth. Our earliest notice of them is in a remarkable | |||
collection of early Arab notes on India and China from the year | |||
] which accurately represents the view entertained of this | |||
people by mariners down to modern times. "The inhabitants | |||
of these islands eat men alive. They are black, with | |||
woolly hair, and in their eyes and countenances there is | |||
something quite frightful. . . . They go naked and have no | |||
boats. If they had, they would devour all who passed near | |||
them. Sometimes ships that are windbound and have exhausted | |||
their provision of water, touch here and apply to the natives | |||
for it; in such cases the crews sometimes fall into the | |||
hands of the latter and most of them are massacred." The | |||
traditional charge of cannibalism has been very persistent; | |||
but it is entirely denied by the islanders themselves, and is | |||
now and probably always has been untrue. Of their massacres | |||
of shipwrecked crews, even in quite modern times, there is no | |||
doubt, but the policy of conciliation unremittingly pursued | |||
for the last forty years has now secured a friendly reception | |||
for shipwrecked crews at any port of the islands except the | |||
south and west of Little Andaman and North Sentinel Island. | |||
The Andamanese are probably the relics of a negro race that | |||
once inhabited the southeast portion of Asia and its outlying | |||
islands, representatives of which are also still to be found | |||
in the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Their antiquity | |||
and their stagnation are attested by the remains found in their | |||
kitchen-middens. These are of great age, and rise sometimes to | |||
a height exceeding 15 feet. The fossil shells, pottery and rude | |||
stone implements, found alike at the base and at the surface | |||
of these middens, prove that the habits of the islanders have | |||
not varied since a remote past, and lead to the belief that | |||
the Andamans were settled by their present inhabitants some | |||
time during the Pleistocene period, and certainly no later | |||
than the Neolithic age. The population is not susceptible | |||
of accurate computation, but probably it has always been | |||
small. The estimated total at a census taken in ] was | |||
only 2000. Though all descended from one stock, there are | |||
twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese, each with its own | |||
clearly-defined locality, its own distinct variety of the one | |||
fundamental language and to a certain extent its own separate | |||
habits. Every tribe is divided into septs fairly well | |||
defined. The tribal feeling may be expressed as friendly within | |||
the tribe, courteous to other Andamanese if known, hostile | |||
to every stranger, Andamanese or other. Another division | |||
of the natives is into Aryauto or long-shore-men, and the | |||
Eremtaga or jungle-dwellers. The habits and capacities of | |||
these two differ, owing to surroundings, irrespectively of | |||
tribe. Yet again the Andamanese can be grouped according to | |||
certain salient characteristics: the forms of the bows and | |||
arrows, of the canoes, of ornaments and utensils, of tattooing | |||
and of language. The average height of males is 4 feet 10½ | |||
inches; of females, 4 feet 6 inches. Being accustomed to gratify | |||
every sensation as it arises, they endure thirst, hunger, | |||
want of food and bodily discomfort badly. The skin varies in | |||
colour from an intense sheeny black to a reddish-blown on the | |||
collar-bones, cheeks and other parts of the body. The hair | |||
varies from a sooty black to dark and light brown and red. It | |||
grows in small rings, which give it the appearance of growing | |||
in tufts, though it is really closely and evenly distributed | |||
over the whole scalp. The figures of the men are muscular and | |||
well-formed and generally pleasing; a straight, well-formed | |||
nose and jaw are by no means rare, and the young men are often | |||
distinctly good-looking. The only artificial deformity is | |||
a depression of the skull, chiefly among one of the southern | |||
tribes, caused by the pressure of a strap used for carrying | |||
loads. The pleasing appearance natural to the men is not | |||
a characteristic of the women, who early have a tendency to | |||
stoutness and ungainliness of figure, and sometimes to pronounced | |||
prognathism. They are, however, always bright and merry, are | |||
under no special social restrictions and have considerable | |||
influence. The women's heads are shaved entirely and the | |||
men's into fantastic patterns. Yellow and red ochre mixed | |||
with grease are coarsely smeared over the bodies, grey in | |||
coarse patterns and white in fine patterns resembling tattoo | |||
marks. Tattooing is of two distinct varieties. In the south | |||
the body is slightly cut by women with small flakes of glass | |||
or quartz in zigzag or lineal patterns downwards. In the north | |||
it is deeply cut by men with pig-arrows in lines across the | |||
body. The male matures when about fifteen years of age, | |||
marries when about twenty-six, begins to age when about | |||
forty, and lives onto sixty or sixty-five if he reaches old | |||
age. Except as to the marrying age, these figures fairly | |||
apply to women. Before marriage free intercourse between the | |||
sexes is the rule, though certain conventional precautions | |||
are taken to prevent it. Marriages rarely produce more | |||
than three children and often none at all. Divorce is rare, | |||
unfaithfulness after marriage not common and incest unknown. | |||
By preference the Andamanese are exogamous as regards sept | |||
and endogamous as regards tribe. The children are possessed | |||
of a bright intelligence, which, however, soon reaches its | |||
climax, and the adult may be compared in this respect with | |||
the civilized child of ten or twelve. The Andamanese are, | |||
indeed, bright and merry companions, busy in their own pursuits, | |||
keen sportsmen, naturally independent and not lustful, but | |||
when angered, cruel, jealous, treacherous and vindictive, | |||
and always unstable--in fact, a people to like but not to | |||
trust. There is no idea of government, but in each sept | |||
there is a head, who has attained that position by degrees on | |||
account of some tacitly admitted superiority and commands a | |||
limited respect and some obedience. The young are deferential | |||
to their elders. Offences are punished by the aggrieved | |||
party. Property is communal and theft is only recognized as to | |||
things of absolute necessity, such as arrows, pigs' flesh and | |||
fire. Fire is the one thing they are really careful about, | |||
not knowing how to renew it. A very rude barter exists between | |||
tribes of the same group in regard to articles not locally | |||
obtainable. The religion consists of fear of the spirits of the | |||
wood, the sea, disease and ancestors, and of avoidance of acts | |||
traditionally displeasing to them. There is neither worship | |||
nor propitiation. An anthropomorphic deity, Puluga, is the | |||
cause of all things, but it is not necessary to propitiate | |||
him. There is a vague idea that the "soul" will go somewhere | |||
after death, but there is no heaven nor hell, nor idea of | |||
a corporeal resurrection. There is much faith in dreams, | |||
and in the utterances of certain "wise men," who practise | |||
an embryonic magic and witchcraft. The great amusement of | |||
the Andamanese is a formal night dance, but they are also | |||
fond of simple games. The bows differ altogether with each | |||
group, but the same two kinds of arrows are in general use: | |||
(1) long and ordinary for fishing and other purposes; (2) | |||
short with a detachable head fastened to the shaft by a thong, | |||
which quickly brings pigs up short when shot in the thick | |||
jungle. Bark provides material for string, while baskets and | |||
mats are neatly and stoutly made from canes and buckets out | |||
of bamboo and wood. None of the tribes ever ventures out of | |||
sight of land, and they have no idea of steering by sun or | |||
stars. Their canoes are simply hollowed out of trunks with the | |||
adze and in no other way, and it is the smaller ones which are | |||
outrigged; they do not last long and are not good sea-boats, | |||
and the story of raids on Car Nicobar, out of sight across a | |||
stormy and sea-rippled channel, must be discredited. Honour | |||
is shown to an adult when he dies, by wrapping him in a cloth | |||
and placing him on a platform in a tree instead of burying | |||
him. At such a time the encampment is deserted for three | |||
months. The Andaman languages are extremely interesting | |||
from the philological standpoint. They are agglutinative in | |||
nature, show hardly any signs of syntactical growth though | |||
every indication of long etymological growth, give expression | |||
to only the most direct and the simplest thought, and are purely | |||
colloquial and wanting in the modifications always necessary | |||
for communication by writing. The sense is largely eked out by | |||
manner and action. Mincopie is the first word in Colebrooke's | |||
vocabulary for "Andaman Island, or native country," and | |||
the term--though probably a mishearing on Colebrooke's part | |||
for Mongebe ("I am an Onge," i.e. a member of the | |||
Onge tribe)--has thus become a persistent book-name for the | |||
people. Attempts to civilize the Andamanese have met with | |||
little success either among adults or children. The home | |||
established near Port Blair is used as a sort of free asylum | |||
which the native visits according to his pleasure. The | |||
policy of the government is to leave the Andamanese alone, | |||
while doing what is possible to ameliorate their condition. | |||
=== |
===Timber=== | ||
] | |||
The point of enduring interest as regards | |||
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 ('']'' spp.) and ] ('']''). The following ornamental woods are noted for their pronounced grain formation: | |||
the Andamans is the penal system, the object of which is to turn | |||
* Marble wood ('']'') | |||
the life-sentence and few long-sentence convicts, who alone are | |||
* Padauk ('']'') | |||
sent to the settlement, into honest, self-respecting men and | |||
* Silver grey (a special formation of wood in white ]) | |||
women, by leading them along a continuous course of practice | |||
* Chooi ('']'') | |||
in self-help and self-restraint, and by offering them every | |||
* Kokko ('']'') | |||
inducement to take advantage of that practice. After ten years' | |||
graduated labour the convict is given a ticket-of-leave and | |||
becomes self-supporting. He can farm, keep cattle, and marry | |||
or send for his family, but he cannot leave the settlement or be | |||
idle. With approved conduct, however, he may be absolutely | |||
released after twenty to twenty-five years in the settlement; | |||
and throughout that time, though possessing no civil rights, | |||
a quasi-judicial procedure controls all punishments inflicted | |||
upon him, and he is as secure of obtaining justice as if | |||
free. There is an unlimited variety of work for the labouring | |||
convicts, and some of the establishments are on a large | |||
scale. Very few experts are employed in supervision; | |||
practically everything is directed by the officials, who | |||
themselves have first to learn each trade. Under the chief | |||
commissioner, who is the supreme head of the settlement, | |||
are a deputy and a staff of assistant superintendents and | |||
overseers, almost all Europeans, and sub-overseers, who are | |||
natives of India. All the petty supervising establishments | |||
are composed of convicts. The garrison consists of 140 | |||
British and 300 Indian troops, with a few local European | |||
volunteers. The police are organized as a military battalion | |||
643 strong. The number of convicts has somewhat diminished | |||
of late years and in ] stood at 11,947. The total | |||
population of the settlement, consisting of convicts, their | |||
guards, the supervising, clerical and departmental staff, | |||
with the families of the latter, also a certain number of | |||
ex-convicts and trading settlers and their families, numbered | |||
16,106. The labouring convicts are distributed among four | |||
jails and nineteen stations; the self-supporters in thirty-eight | |||
villages. The elementary education of the convicts' children | |||
is compulsory. There are four hospitals, each under a | |||
resident medical officer, under the general supervision of | |||
a senior officer of the Indian medical service, and medical | |||
aid is given free to the whole population. The net annual | |||
cost of the settlement to the government is about six pounds per | |||
convict. The harbour of Port Blair is well supplied with | |||
buoys and harbour lights, and is crossed by ferries at fixed | |||
intervals, while there are several launches for hauling local | |||
traffic. On Ross Island there is a lighthouse visible for 19 | |||
miles. A complete system of signalling by night and day on | |||
the Morse system is worked by the police. Local posts are | |||
frequent, but there is no telegraph and the mails are irregular. | |||
Padauk wood is sturdier than teak and is widely used for furniture making. | |||
=== History === | |||
It is uncertain whether any of the names of the | |||
islands given by Ptolemy ought to be attached to the Andamans; | |||
yet it is probable that his name itself is traceable in the | |||
Alexandrian geographer. Andaman first appears distinctly | |||
in the Arab notices of the 9th century, already quoted. But | |||
it seems possible that the tradition of marine nomenclature | |||
had never perished; that the 'Agathou daimonos nesos | |||
was really a misunderstanding of some form like Agdaman, | |||
while Nesoi Baroussai survived as Lanka Balus, the | |||
name applied by the Arabs to the Nicobars. The islands | |||
are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who probably saw without | |||
visiting them, under the name Angamanain, seemingly an | |||
Arabic dual, "the two Angamans," with the exaggerated | |||
but not unnatural picture of the natives, long current, | |||
as dog-faced Anthropophagi. Another notice occurs in the | |||
story of Nicolo Conti (c. 1440), who explains the name to | |||
mean "Island of Gold," and speaks of a lake with peculiar | |||
virtues as existing in it. The name is probably derived | |||
from the Malay Handuman, coming from the ancient Hanuman | |||
(monkey). Later travellers repeat the stories, too well | |||
founded, of the ferocious hostility of the people; of whom we | |||
may instance Cesare Federici (1569), whose narrative is given | |||
in Ramusio, vol. iii. (only in the later editions), and in | |||
Purchas. A good deal is also told of them in the vulgar and | |||
gossiping but useful work of Captain A. Hamilton (]). | |||
In ]-] the government of Bengal sought to establish | |||
in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of | |||
refuge. Two able officers, Colebrooke of the Bengal Engineers, | |||
and Blair of the sea service, were sent to survey and | |||
report. In the sequel the settlement was established by Captain | |||
Blair, in September ], on Chatham Island, in the southeast bay | |||
of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port | |||
Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years, | |||
urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred | |||
the colony to the northeast part of Great Andaman, where a naval | |||
arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name also | |||
of Port Cornwallis was transferred to this new locality. | |||
The scheme did ill; and in ] the government put an end to | |||
it, owing to the great mortality and the embarrassments of | |||
maintenance. The settlers were finally removed in May | |||
]. In ] Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet | |||
carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In ], Dr Helfer, | |||
a German savant employed by the Indian government, having | |||
landed in the islands, was attacked and killed. In ] the | |||
troop-ships <i>Briton</i> and <i>Runnymede</i> were driven ashore | |||
here, almost close together. The natives showed their usual | |||
hostility, killing all stragglers. Outrages on shipwrecked | |||
crews continued so rife that the question of occupation had | |||
to be taken up again; and in ] a project was formed for | |||
such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This | |||
was interrupted by the ], but as soon | |||
as the neck of that revolt was broken, it became more urgent | |||
than ever to provide such a resource, on account of the great | |||
number of prisoners falling into British hands. Lord Canning, | |||
therefore, in November ], sent a commission, headed by | |||
Dr F. Mouat, to examine and report. The commission reported | |||
favourably, selecting as a site Blair's original Port | |||
Cornwallis, but pointing out and avoiding the vicinity of a | |||
salt swamp which seemed to have been pernicious to the old | |||
colony. To avoid confusion, the name of Port Blair was given | |||
to the new settlement, which was established in the beginning of | |||
]. For some time sickness and mortality were excessively | |||
large, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle | |||
on an extensive scale by Colonel Henry Man when in charge | |||
(]-]), had a most beneficial effect, and the health of | |||
the settlement has since been notable. The Andaman colony | |||
obtained a tragical notoriety from the murder of the viceroy, | |||
the earl of Mayo, by a Mahommedan convict, when on a visit to the settlement on ], ]. In the same year the two groups, Andaman and Nicobar, the occupation of the latter also having been forced on the British government (in ]) by the continuance of outrage upon vessels, were united under a chief commissioner residing at Port Blair. | |||
There are ] and ] formations in Andaman Padauk. The largest piece of buttress known from Andaman was a dining table of {{convert|13|x|7|ft|abbr=on}}. The largest piece of burr wood was made into a dining table for eight. | |||
:<i>(from an old encyclopedia)</i> | |||
The ] (''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.<ref name="Singh">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/andaman-nicobar-islands-home-to-a-tenth-of-indias-fauna-species/article25592134.ece|title=Andaman & Nicobar Islands: home to a tenth of India's fauna species|last=Singh|first=Shiv Sahay|date=25 November 2018|work=The Hindu|access-date=10 November 2019|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218190850/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/andaman-nicobar-islands-home-to-a-tenth-of-indias-fauna-species/article25592134.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> The islands are only 0.25% of the country's geographical area, but has 11,009 species, according to a publication by the ].<ref name="Singh"/> | |||
===Mammals=== | |||
The island's endemic mammals include | |||
* ] (''Crocidura hispida'') | |||
* ] (''Crocidura andamanensis'') | |||
* ] (''Crocidura jenkinsi'') | |||
* ] (''Rhinolophus cognatus'') | |||
* ] (''Rattus stoicus'') | |||
The ] (''Sus scrofa vittatus''), also known as the Andaman wild boar and once thought to be an endemic subspecies,<ref name="SrinivasuluSrinivasulu2012">{{Cite book | title = South Asian Mammals: Their Diversity, Distribution, and Status | last1 = Srinivasulu | first1 = C. | last2 = Srinivasulu | first2 = B. | publisher = Springer | year = 2012 | page = 353 | isbn = 9781461434498}}</ref> is protected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (Sch I). The ] (''Axis axis''), the ] (''Muntiacus muntjak'') and the ] (''Rusa unicolor'') were all introduced to the Andaman islands, though the sambar did not survive. | |||
] (the largest wildlife sanctuary in the territory) in Middle Andaman holds a population of feral ], 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 | |||
* '']'', a serpent-eagle | |||
* '']'', a crake (endemic; data-deficient per IUCN 2000) | |||
* '']'', a wood-pigeon | |||
* '']'', a cuckoo dove | |||
* '']'', a subspecies of brown coucal (endemic) | |||
* '']'', a scops owl | |||
* '']'', a hawk-owl | |||
* '']'', the Narcondam hornbill | |||
* '']'', a woodpecker | |||
* '']'', a drongo | |||
* '']'', a treepie | |||
* '']'', the white-headed starling | |||
* '']'', the plume-toed swiftlet | |||
* '']'', the edible-nest swiftlet | |||
The islands' many ]s, such as those at ] are nesting grounds for the edible-nest ], whose nests are prized in China for ].<ref name="soup">Sankaran, R. (1998), '' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704194845/http://www.traffic.org/species-reports/traffic_species_birds8.pdf |date=4 July 2010 }}''. Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, India.</ref> | |||
===Reptiles and amphibians=== | |||
The islands also have a number of endemic ]s, ]s and ]s, such as the ] (''Naja sagittifera''), South Andaman krait ('']'') and Andaman water monitor (''Varanus salvator andamanensis''). | |||
There is a sanctuary {{convert|45|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from ] for ]s. Over the past 25 years there have been 24 crocodile attacks with four fatalities, including the death of American tourist Lauren Failla. The government has been criticised for failing to inform tourists of the crocodile sanctuary and danger, while simultaneously promoting tourism.<ref>{{cite news|author=Sacks, Ethan|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/nj-woman-killed-crocodile-attack-snorkeling-indian-coast-article-1.445025|title=NJ woman killed by crocodile attack while snorkeling off Indian coast|newspaper=NY Daily News|date=6 May 2010|access-date=26 April 2017|archive-date=26 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426151615/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/nj-woman-killed-crocodile-attack-snorkeling-indian-coast-article-1.445025|url-status=live}}</ref> Crocodiles are not only found within the sanctuary, but throughout the island chain in varying densities. They are habitat restricted, so the population is stable but not large. Populations occur throughout available mangrove habitat on all major islands, including a few creeks on Havelock. The species uses the ocean as a means of travel between different rivers and estuaries, thus they are not as commonly observed in open ocean. It is best to avoid swimming near mangrove areas or the mouths of creeks; swimming in the open ocean should be safe, but it is best to have a spotter around. | |||
==Demographics== | |||
] | |||
] island in 2006]] | |||
{{As of|2011}}, the population of the Andaman was 343,125,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.gov.in/knowindia/ut_andaman.php |access-date=3 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619045535/http://www.india.gov.in/knowindia/ut_andaman.php|publisher=india.gov.in|title=Andaman & Nicobar Islands |archive-date=19 June 2010 }}</ref> having grown from 50,000 in 1960. The bulk of the population originates from immigrants who came to the island since the colonial times, mainly of ], ], ],<ref></ref> ] backgrounds.<ref name="distadmin">{{cite web|url=http://andamandt.nic.in/profile.htm |title=Andaman & Nicobar Islands at a glance |publisher=Andamandt.nic.in |access-date=14 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213201339/http://andamandt.nic.in/profile.htm |archive-date=13 December 2011 }}</ref> | |||
] | |||
A small minority of the population are the ] — the ] (]) of the islands. When they first came into sustained contact with outside groups in the 1850s, there were an estimated 7,000 Andamanese, divided into the ], ], ] (or ''Rutland Jarawa''), ], and the ]. The Great Andamanese formed 10 tribes of 5,000 people total. As the numbers of settlers from the mainland increased (at first mostly prisoners and involuntary ]ers, later purposely recruited farmers), the Andamanese suffered a population decline due to the introduction of outside ], land encroachment from settlers and conflict. | |||
The Andaman Islands are home to the ], an ].<ref>{{cite news |title=Everything We Know About The Isolated Sentinelese People Of North Sentinel Island |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/11/30/everything-we-know-about-the-isolated-sentinelese-people-of-north-sentinel-island/ |work=Forbes |date=30 November 2018}}</ref> | |||
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 ] – root words, prefix, suffixes – with very little relation to surrounding geographic regions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Endicott |first1=Phillip |last2=Gilbert |first2=M. Thomas P. |last3=Stringer |first3=Chris |last4=Lalueza-Fox |first4=Carles |last5=Willerslev |first5=Eske |last6=Hansen |first6=Anders J. |last7=Cooper |first7=Alan |date=January 2003 |title=The Genetic Origins of the Andaman Islanders |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/345487 |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=178–184 |doi=10.1086/345487 |pmid=12478481 |issn=0002-9297|pmc=378623 }}</ref> | |||
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 ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Malekar |first=Anosh |date=April 2010 |title=The case for a linguistic survey |work=InfoChange News & Features |publication-place=India |url=http://infochangeindia.org/Media/Languages-of-India/The-case-for-a-linguistic-survey.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927215058/http://infochangeindia.org/Media/Languages-of-India/The-case-for-a-linguistic-survey.html |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> 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 ], 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 ] ]. The tribal people of these islands believe that ] is the only deity and is responsible for everything happening on Earth.<ref>{{cite book|author=Radcliffe-Brown, A. R.|title=The Andaman Islanders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRJaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|date=14 November 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-62556-3|page=161|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=26 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426152135/https://books.google.com/books?id=iRJaAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA161|url-status=live}}</ref> The faith of the Andamanese teaches that Paluga resides on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' ]. People try to avoid any action that might displease Paluga. People belonging to this religion believe in the presence of souls, ghosts, and spirits. They put a lot of emphasis on dreams. They let dreams decide different courses of action in their lives.<ref>{{Cite web|title = People of Andaman and Nicobar Islands|url = http://www.webindia123.com/territories/andaman/people/intro.htm|website = Webindia123.com|access-date = 31 January 2016|archive-date = 1 June 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160601155012/http://www.webindia123.com/Territories/ANDAMAN/People/intro.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
Andamanese mythology held that human males emerged from split bamboo, whereas women were fashioned from clay.<ref>Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 . p. 192</ref> One version found by ] held that the first man died and went to heaven, a pleasurable world, but this blissful period ended due to breaking a food taboo, specifically eating the forbidden vegetables in the Puluga's garden.<ref>Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 . p. 220</ref> Thus catastrophe ensued, and eventually the people grew overpopulated and didn't follow Puluga's laws,. Hence, there was a ] that left four survivors, who lost their fire.<ref>Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Reginald. The Andaman Islanders: A study in social anthropology . 2nd printing (enlarged). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1933 . p. 216</ref><ref>Witzel, Michael E.J. (2012). The Origin of The World's Mythologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 309-312</ref> | |||
Other religions practiced in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are, in order of size, ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|title=Population by religious communities|publisher=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=21 September 2016|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106014425/http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bahai.org/national-communities/andaman-and-nicobar-islands|title=Baháʼí Community of Andaman and Nicobar Islands|last=Baháʼí|website=Baháʼí Community|access-date=17 August 2017|archive-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817163632/http://www.bahai.org/national-communities/andaman-and-nicobar-islands|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
==Government== | |||
] | |||
] 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 ] (the Nicobar Islands were separated and established as the new ] in 1974). | |||
==Transportation== | |||
The only commercial airport is ] in Port Blair, which has scheduled services to ], ], ], ], ], Mumbai and ]. The airport is under the control of the ]. Prior to 2016 only daylight operations were allowed; however, since 2016 night flights have also operated.<ref>{{cite news|editor1=Roy, Sanjib Kumar|editor2=Sheekha, Andaman|title=Maiden night flight arrives in Isles|url=http://www.andamansheekha.com/2016/01/21/maiden-night-flight-arrives-in-isles-goair-flight-with-155-tourists-lands-at-vsi-airport-to-operate-chartered-flight-between-bengaluru-port-blair/|access-date=21 January 2016|work=Andaman Sheekha|date=21 January 2016|archive-date=2 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002092304/http://www.andamansheekha.com/2016/01/21/maiden-night-flight-arrives-in-isles-goair-flight-with-155-tourists-lands-at-vsi-airport-to-operate-chartered-flight-between-bengaluru-port-blair/|url-status=live}}</ref> A small airstrip, about {{convert|1000|m|ft}} long, is located near the eastern shore of North Andaman near ]. | |||
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== | |||
{{Refimprove section|date=April 2024}} | |||
The islands are prominently featured in ]'s ] 1890 mystery '']''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-sign-of-the-four/summary |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chatterjee |first=Arup K. |journal=Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures |title=The Science of the Andamans and the Sign of the Four: The distorted racial hierarchy of British imperial anthropology |date=11 February 2019|volume=14 |issue=2 |doi=10.21463/SHIMA.14.2.14 |s2cid=224924041 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The magistrate in ]'s play '']'' had formerly served in the islands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gregory |first=Lady |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RkE2AQAAMAAJ |title=Spreading the News |date=1909 |publisher=Putnam |language=en}}</ref> | |||
]'s 1985 novel ''Death in the Andamans''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaye |first=M. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IADkCgAAQBAJ |title=Death in the Andamans |date=2015-12-01 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-250-08926-7 |language=en}}</ref> and ]' 1989 novel ''John Dollar'' are set in the islands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiggins |first=Marianne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LC7HfgbTFaQC |title=John Dollar |date=1990 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-091655-8 |language=en}}</ref> 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. | |||
]'s 1996 film '']'' (Malayalam; '']'' in Tamil) depicts the Indian freedom struggle and the lives of prisoners in the ] in Port Blair.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1995-06-15 |title=Kaala Paani, a Malayalam film banks on lavish budget, freedom movement and multilingual cast |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19950615-kaala-paani-a-malayalam-film-banks-on-lavish-budget-freedom-movement-and-multilingual-cast-806763-1995-06-14 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref> | |||
''Island's End'' is a 2011 novel by ] about the training of an indigenous shaman. A principal character in the novel '']'' by ] is from the Andaman Islands. ''The Last Wave'' (2014) by Pankaj Sekhsaria is set in the islands. Brodie Moncur, the main protagonist of ] 2018 novel ''Love is Blind'', spends time in the Andaman Islands in the early years of the 20th century. The Andaman Islands in the period before, during and just after the Second World War are the setting for Uzma Aslan Khan's 'The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali'. In 2023, Andaman islands were featured in a netflix series named Kaala Paani based on a fictional disease outbreak in 2027.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} | |||
==See also== | |||
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description ] --> | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
'''Notes''' | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
'''Sources''' | |||
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Andaman Islands|volume=1|pages=955–958}} | |||
* | |||
* {{cite web |first= Klemen |last= L |date= 2000 |title= Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |url= https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/index.html |access-date= 30 March 2021 |archive-date= 26 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110726053035/http://www.dutcheastindies.webs.com/index.html |url-status= dead }} | |||
* {{cite book|author=India Home Dept|title=The Andaman Islands: With Notes on Barren Island|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E0xFAAAAYAAJ|year=1859|publisher=C.B. Lewis, Baptist Mission Press}} | |||
* {{cite book|author=Suresh Vaidya|title=Islands of the Marigold Sun|year=1960|publisher=Robert Hale}} | |||
* {{cite book|author=Raleigh Trevelyan|author-link=Raleigh Trevelyan|title=The Golden Oriole: Childhood, Family and Friends in India|year=1987|publisher=Secker & Warburg}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{Commons category}} | |||
* | |||
* {{citation|last=Sorenson|first=E. Richard|title=Sensuality and Consciousness:Psychosexual Transformation in the Eastern Andaman|journal=Anthropology of Consciousness|volume=4|issue=4|year=1993|doi=10.1525/ac.1993.4.4.1|pages=1–9}} | |||
* {{citation|last=Sen|first=Satadru|title=Savage Bodies, Civilized Pleasures: M. V. Portman and the Andamanese|journal=American Ethnologist|volume=36|issue=2|year=2009|doi=10.1111/j.1548-1425.2009.01140.x |pages=364–379}} | |||
{{ecoregions of India}} | |||
{{Portal bar|Islands|India}} | |||
{{authority control}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 16:54, 27 December 2024
Archipelago in the Bay of Bengal
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Location in the Indian Ocean | |
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Bay of Bengal |
Coordinates | 12°30′N 92°45′E / 12.500°N 92.750°E / 12.500; 92.750 |
Archipelago | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
Total islands | 572 |
Major islands | North Andaman Island, Little Andaman, Middle Andaman Island, South Andaman Island |
Area | 6,408 km (2,474 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 732 m (2402 ft) |
Highest point | Saddle Peak |
Administration | |
India | |
Union territory | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
Capital city | Port Blair |
Myanmar | |
Administrative region | Yangon Region |
Capital | Yangon |
Demographics | |
Population | 343,125 (2011) |
Pop. density | 48/km (124/sq mi) |
Ethnic groups | Bamar Indic Dravidian Jarawa Onge Sentinelese Great Andamanese |
Additional information | |
Time zone | |
• Summer (DST) |
|
Official website | www |
The Andaman Islands (/ˈændəmən/) are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about 130 km (81 mi) southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. Most of the islands are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India, while the Coco Islands and Preparis Island are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar.
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. 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.
History
Etymology
In the 13th century, the name of Andaman appears in Late Middle Chinese as ʔˠan dɑ mˠan (晏陀蠻, pronounced yàntuómán in modern Mandarin Chinese) in the book Zhu Fan Zhi by Zhao Rukuo. In Chapter 38 of the book, Countries in the Sea, Zhao Rukuo specifies that going from Lambri (Sumatra) to Ceylan, an unfavourable wind makes ships drift towards the Andaman Islands. In the 15th century, Andaman was recorded as "Andeman Mountain" (安得蠻山, pronounced āndémán shān in modern Mandarin Chinese) during the voyages of Zheng He in the Mao Kun map of the Wu Bei Zhi.
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, with genetic estimates suggesting that the two main linguistic groups diverged around 16,000 years ago. Andamanese peoples are a genetically distinct group highly divergent from other Asians.
Chola empire
Rajendra I took over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He used the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a strategic naval base to launch an expedition against the Sriwijaya Empire. The Cholas called the island Ma-Nakkavaram ("great open/naked land"), found in the Thanjavur inscription of 1050 CE. European traveller Marco Polo (12th–13th century) also referred to this island as 'Necuverann' and a corrupted form of the Tamil name Nakkavaram would have led to the modern name Nicobar during the British colonial period.
British colonial era
In 1789, the Bengal Presidency established a naval base and penal colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman. The settlement is now known as Port Blair (after the Bombay Marine lieutenant Archibald Blair who founded it). After two years, the colony was moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis. However, there was much disease and death in the penal colony and the government ceased operating it in May 1796.
In 1824, Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the First Burmese War. In the 1830s and 1840s, shipwrecked crews who landed on the Andamans were often attacked and killed by the natives and the islands had a reputation for cannibalism. The loss of the Runnymede and the Briton in 1844 during the same storm, while transporting goods and passengers between India and Australia, and the continuous attacks launched by the natives, which the survivors fought off, alarmed the British government. In 1855, the government proposed another settlement on the islands, including a convict establishment, but the Indian Rebellion of 1857 forced a delay in its construction. However, because the rebellion led to the British holding a large number of prisoners, it made the new Andaman settlement and prison urgently necessary. Construction began in November 1857 at Port Blair using inmates' labour, avoiding the vicinity of a salt swamp that seemed to have been the source of many of the earlier problems at Port Cornwallis.
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.
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.
For some time, sickness and mortality were high, but swamp reclamation and extensive forest clearance continued. The Andaman colony became notorious with the murder of the Viceroy Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, on a visit to the settlement (8 February 1872), by a Pathan from Afghanistan, Sher Ali Afridi. In the same year, the two island groups Andaman and Nicobar, were united under a chief commissioner residing at Port Blair.
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.
The Indians imprisoned here referred to the island and its prison as Kala Pani ("black water"), named for kala pani, the Hindu proscription against traveling across the open sea. Incarceration on the Andamans thus threatened prisoners with the loss of their caste, and resultant social exclusion; a 1996 film set on the island took that term as its title, Kaalapani. The number of prisoners who died in this camp is estimated to be in the thousands. Many more died of harsh treatment and the strenuous living and working conditions in this camp.
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.
Japanese occupation
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were occupied by Japan during World War II. The islands were nominally put under the authority of the Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (Provisional Government of Free India) headed by Subhas Chandra Bose, who visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as Shaheed (Martyr) & Swaraj (Self-rule). On 30 December 1943, during the Japanese occupation, Bose, who was allied with the Japanese, first raised the flag of Indian independence. General Loganathan, of the Indian National Army, was Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which had been annexed to the Provisional Government. According to Werner Gruhl: "Before leaving the islands, the Japanese rounded up and executed 750 innocents."
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.
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.
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 Phuket in Thailand with the assistance of Southeast Asia Liveaboards (SEAL), a UK owned dive charter company. With a crew of international professional surfers, they crossed the Andaman Sea on the yacht Crescent and cleared formalities in Port Blair. The group proceeded to Little Andaman Island, where they spent ten days surfing several spots for the first time, including Jarawa Point near Hut Bay and the long right reef point at the southwest tip of the island, named Kumari Point. The resulting article in Surfer Magazine, "Quest for Fire" by journalist Sam George, put the Andaman Islands on the surfing map for the first time. Footage of the waves of the Andaman Islands also appeared in the film Thicker than Water, shot by documentary filmmaker Jack Johnson. Callahan went on to make several more surfing projects in the Andamans, including a trip to the Nicobar Islands in 1999.
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. 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. Chau had no special clearance and knew that his visit was illegal.
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.
Natural disasters
On 26 December 2004, the coast of the Andaman Islands was devastated by a 10-metre-high (33 ft) tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which is the longest recorded earthquake, lasting for between 500 and 600 seconds. Strong oral traditions in the area warned of the importance of moving inland after a quake and is credited with saving many lives. In the aftermath, more than 2,000 people were confirmed dead and more than 4,000 children were orphaned or had lost one parent. At least 40,000 residents were rendered homeless and were moved to relief camps. On 11 August 2009, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck near the Andaman Islands, causing a tsunami warning to go into effect. On 30 March 2010, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck near the Andaman Islands.
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 km (2,474 sq mi), with the Andaman Sea to the east between the islands and the coast of Burma. 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)).
The geology of the Andaman islands consists essentially of Late Jurassic to Early Eocene ophiolites and sedimentary rocks (argillaceous and algal limestones), deformed by numerous deep faults and thrusts with ultramafic igneous intrusions. There are at least 11 mud volcanoes on the islands. There are two volcanic islands, Narcondam Island and Barren Island, which have produced basalt and andesite. Barren Island is the only active volcano in the Indian sub-continent, with the latest eruption reported in December 2022, leading to the potential for geotourism.
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.
Flora
The Middle Andamans harbour mostly moist deciduous forests. North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers.
The natural vegetation of the Andamans is tropical forest, with mangroves on the coast. The rainforests are similar in composition to those of the west coast of Burma. Most of the forests are evergreen, but there are areas of deciduous forest on North Andaman, Middle Andaman, Baratang and parts of South Andaman Island. The South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids.
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 Little Andaman, Narcondam, North Andaman and South Andaman, but these are mainly aimed at preserving the coast and the marine wildlife rather than the rainforests. Threats to wildlife come from introduced species including rats, dogs, cats and the elephants of Interview Island and North Andaman.
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".
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 (Dipterocarpus spp.) and Padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides). The following ornamental woods are noted for their pronounced grain formation:
- 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 burr wood and buttress root formations in Andaman Padauk. The largest piece of buttress known from Andaman was a dining table of 13 ft × 7 ft (4.0 m × 2.1 m). The largest piece of burr wood was made into a dining table for eight.
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. The islands are only 0.25% of the country's geographical area, but has 11,009 species, according to a publication by the Zoological Survey of India.
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 banded pig (Sus scrofa vittatus), also known as the Andaman wild boar and once thought to be an endemic subspecies, is protected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (Sch I). The spotted deer (Axis axis), the Indian muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) and the sambar (Rusa unicolor) were all introduced to the Andaman islands, though the sambar did not survive.
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 caves, such as those at Chalis Ek are nesting grounds for the edible-nest swiftlet, whose nests are prized in China for bird's nest soup.
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 Havelock Island for saltwater crocodiles. Over the past 25 years there have been 24 crocodile attacks with four fatalities, including the death of American tourist Lauren Failla. The government has been criticised for failing to inform tourists of the crocodile sanctuary and danger, while simultaneously promoting tourism. Crocodiles are not only found within the sanctuary, but throughout the island chain in varying densities. They are habitat restricted, so the population is stable but not large. Populations occur throughout available mangrove habitat on all major islands, including a few creeks on Havelock. The species uses the ocean as a means of travel between different rivers and estuaries, thus they are not as commonly observed in open ocean. It is best to avoid swimming near mangrove areas or the mouths of creeks; swimming in the open ocean should be safe, but it is best to have a spotter around.
Demographics
As of 2011, the population of the Andaman was 343,125, having grown from 50,000 in 1960. The bulk of the population originates from immigrants who came to the island since the colonial times, mainly of Bengali, Hindustani, Telugu, Tamil backgrounds.
A small minority of the population are the Andamanese — the aboriginal inhabitants (adivasi) of the islands. When they first came into sustained contact with outside groups in the 1850s, there were an estimated 7,000 Andamanese, divided into the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Jangil (or Rutland Jarawa), Onge, and the Sentinelese. The Great Andamanese formed 10 tribes of 5,000 people total. As the numbers of settlers from the mainland increased (at first mostly prisoners and involuntary indentured labourers, later purposely recruited farmers), the Andamanese suffered a population decline due to the introduction of outside infectious diseases, land encroachment from settlers and conflict.
The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, an uncontacted tribe.
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.
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. 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 monotheistic animism. The tribal people of these islands believe that Puluga is the only deity and is responsible for everything happening on Earth. The faith of the Andamanese teaches that Paluga resides on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' Saddle Peak. People try to avoid any action that might displease Paluga. People belonging to this religion believe in the presence of souls, ghosts, and spirits. They put a lot of emphasis on dreams. They let dreams decide different courses of action in their lives.
Andamanese mythology held that human males emerged from split bamboo, whereas women were fashioned from clay. One version found by Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown held that the first man died and went to heaven, a pleasurable world, but this blissful period ended due to breaking a food taboo, specifically eating the forbidden vegetables in the Puluga's garden. Thus catastrophe ensued, and eventually the people grew overpopulated and didn't follow Puluga's laws,. Hence, there was a Great Flood that left four survivors, who lost their fire.
Other religions practiced in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are, in order of size, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and Baháʼí Faith.
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 Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair, which has scheduled services to Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. The airport is under the control of the Indian Navy. Prior to 2016 only daylight operations were allowed; however, since 2016 night flights have also operated. A small airstrip, about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) long, is located near the eastern shore of North Andaman near Diglipur.
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
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The islands are prominently featured in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes 1890 mystery The Sign of the Four. The magistrate in Lady Gregory's play Spreading the News had formerly served in the islands.
M. M. Kaye's 1985 novel Death in the Andamans and Marianne Wiggins' 1989 novel John Dollar are set in the islands. 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.
Priyadarshan's 1996 film Kaalapani (Malayalam; Sirai Chaalai in Tamil) depicts the Indian freedom struggle and the lives of prisoners in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair.
Island's End is a 2011 novel by Padma Venkatraman about the training of an indigenous shaman. A principal character in the novel Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup is from the Andaman Islands. The Last Wave (2014) by Pankaj Sekhsaria is set in the islands. Brodie Moncur, the main protagonist of William Boyd's 2018 novel Love is Blind, spends time in the Andaman Islands in the early years of the 20th century. The Andaman Islands in the period before, during and just after the Second World War are the setting for Uzma Aslan Khan's 'The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali'. In 2023, Andaman islands were featured in a netflix series named Kaala Paani based on a fictional disease outbreak in 2027.
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
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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.
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Sources
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Andaman Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 955–958.
- History & Culture. The Andaman Islands with destination quide
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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, doi:10.1525/ac.1993.4.4.1
- Sen, Satadru (2009), "Savage Bodies, Civilized Pleasures: M. V. Portman and the Andamanese", American Ethnologist, 36 (2): 364–379, doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2009.01140.x