Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 |
Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair |
The
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (
Tamil: அந்தமான்,
Hindi: अंडमान "र निकोबार द्वीप) is a
union territory of
India. Informally, the territory's name is often abbreviated to
A & N Islands, or
ANI. It is located in the
Indian Ocean, in the southern reaches of the
Bay of Bengal. It is comprised of two island groups -the
Andaman Islands and the
Nicobar Islands - which separate the
Andaman Sea to the east from the Indian Ocean. These two groups are separated by the 10° N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north of this
latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The capital of this territory is the Andamanese town of
Port Blair.
The territory's population as per the most recent (
2001)
Census of India was 356,152. Added together, the total land area of the territory is approximately 8,249
km2.
Name origins
The name
Andaman presumably comes from
Handuman, which is
Malay for the Hindu god
Hanuman.The name
Nicobar is
Malay for
land of the naked (people).
First inhabitants
The Andaman and Nicobar islands have been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least. The earliest
archaeological evidence yet documented goes back some
2,200 years; however, the indications from
genetic,
cultural and
linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,000 to 60,000 years, well into the
Middle Paleolithic.
In the Andaman Islands, the various
Andamanese peoples maintained their separated existence through the vast majority of this time, diversifying into distinct linguistic, cultural and territorial groups. By the
1850s when they first came into sustained contact by outside groups, the
indigenous peoples of the Andamans were:
* the
Great Andamanese, who collectively represented at least 10 distinct sub-groups and languages;
* the
Jarawa;
* the
Jangil (or
Rutland Jarawa);
* the
Onge; and
* the
Sentinelese (most isolate of all the groups).In total, these peoples numbered somewhere around 7,000 at the time of these first encounters. As the numbers of settlers from the mainland increased (at first mostly prisoners and involuntary
indentured labourers, later purposely recruited farmers), these indigenous peoples lost territory and numbers in the face of land encroachment and the effects of various
epidemic diseases. The Jangil and most of the Great Andamanese groups soon became extinct; presently there remain only approximately 400-450 indigenous Andamanese, the Jarawa and Sentinelese in particular maintaining a steadfast independence and refusing most attempts at contact.
The indigenous peoples of the Nicobars (unrelated to the Andamanese) have a similarly isolated and lengthy association with the islands. There are two main groups:
* the
Nicobarese, or
Nicobari, living throughout many of the islands; and
* the
Shompen, restricted to the interior of
Great Nicobar.
Pre-colonial era
The islands provided a temporary maritime base for ships of the
Marathas in the 17th century. The legendary
privateer and
admiral Kanhoji Angre harassed colonial shipping routes with a base in the islands.
British colonial period
After an initial attempt to set up a colony in the islands by the British was abandoned after only a few years (
1789-
1796), a second attempt from
1858 proved to be more permanent. The primary purpose was to set up a
penal colony for dissenters and independence fighters from the
Indian subcontinent.
The British used the islands as an isolated prison for members of the
Indian independence movement. The mode of imprisonment was called
Kalapani. The
Cellular Jail in Port Blair was regarded as the "
Siberia" of
British India.
The islands were administered as a Chief Commissioner's Province.
The
British continued their occupancy until the Japanese
Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II .
Indian control
The islands were nominally put under the authority of the
Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as "Shaheed" (Martyr) & "Swaraj" (Self-rule). General Loganathan, of the
Indian National Army was Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 22 February,1944 he along with four INA. officers-Major Mansoor Ali Alvi, Sub.Lt.Md. Iqbal, Lt.Suba Singh and stenographer Srinivasan arrived at Lambaline airport of Port Blair. On 21 March,1944 the Headquarters of the Civil A dministration was established near Gurudwara at Aberdeen Bazar.On 2 October,1944, Col.Logonathan handed over the charge to Maj. Alvi and left Port Blair for good.(Ref. "Black Days in Andaman and Nicobar Islands" by Rabin Roychowdhury,Pub.Manas Pubs.New Delhi).
It became an Indian union territory (UT) in 1950.
Recent history
On
26 December 2004 the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 10
metre high
tsunami following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At least 7,000 people (possibly a conservative estimate) were believed to have been killed on the Nicobar and Andaman Islands during the disaster.
While newer settlers of the islands suffered the greatest casualties from the tsunami, most of the aboriginal people survived because oral traditions passed down from generations ago warned them to evacuate from large waves that follow large earthquakes. [
1]
There are over 570
islands in the territory, of which only some 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands (about 550) are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars are comprised of some 22 main islands (12 inhabited). The Andamans and Nicobars are separated by a channel (the
Ten Degree Channel) some 150
km wide.
The total area of the Andaman Islands is some 6,408
km2; that of the Nicobar Islands approximately 1,841 km
2.
As a Union Territory, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is nominally under the direct control of the Indian Head of State. In practice, a Lt. Governor is appointed to directly administer the territory.
The territory is divided into two
districts for administrative purposes. These are the
Andaman district and
Nicobar district, responsible for their respective island groups. Each district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner, in charge of the various local administrative service departments, assisted by several Assistant Commissioners and sundry other posts. the districts also have
Indian Administrative Service-appointed post of
district collector, responsible for overseeing revenue collection and some other related services. In both cases, this post forms part of the Deputy Commissioners' portfolios, rather than being held by a separate individual.
In turn, these two districts are further sub-divided into administrative entities known locally as
tehsils, which are roughly equivalent to local councils or
counties. The tehsils are also grouped into local Sub-Divisions, another administrative level which primarily serves as a basis for the combining of local resources. In the case of the Nicobars, the Sub-Divisions and the tehsils are effectively one and the same.
By district, these Sub-Divisions and tehsils are:
Andaman district"
*
Mayabunder subdivision:
**
Diglipur tehsil
**
Mayabunder tehsil
**
Rangat tehsil
*
South Andaman subdivision:
**
Port Blair tehsil**
Ferrargunj tehsilA third tehsil for the South Andaman subdivision is proposed, but not yet implemented, for
Little Andaman Island.
Nicobar district"
*
Nancowry subdivision:
**
Nancowry tehsil*
Car Nicobar subdivision:
**
Car Nicobar tehsilNancowry tehsil covers all of the Nicobars except for
Car Nicobar; it has two administrative centres, one on
Kamorta and the other at
Campbell Bay, each directed by a Deputy Commissioner.
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Andaman and Nicobar Islands at market prices
estimated by
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year ¦¦ Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|
| 1980 | 530 |
| 1985 | 1,060 |
| 1990 | 1,900 |
| 1995 | 6,750 |
| 2000 | 9,560 |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands' gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $354 million in current prices.
*
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India*
Andaman Islands*
Nicobar Islands*
Andamanese languages*
Nicobarese languages*
Andamanese indigenous peoples
*
Andaman & Nicobar Administration Web site*
The Andman Association*
Indian Reef Region - Andaman and Nicobar Islands*
Andaman & Nicobar Islands official tourism website*
Andaman & Nicobar Pictures
