Andaman Nicobar Islands.
Capital: Port Blair
Population: 5 lac.
Area: 3200 square mile.
Revenue District: 3.
Languages. Bengali, Tamil Hindi English.
The islands lie in the Bay of Bengal with the nearby Andaman Islands, they constitute a union territory of India. Though very little is known about the islands' earliest history, the Thanjavur inscription (1050) of the Cola dynasty describes the land as Nakkavaram ("Land of the Naked").
Danish missionaries visited the islands in 1756. In 1869-88 they were claimed by the British, who established a penal colony there. The islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II.
Car Nicobar is flat with rich, fertile soils; Nancowry, Camorta, and Great Nicobar are hilly. The highest peak is Mount Thullier, rising to 2,106 feet, on Great Nicobar. The islands are densely forested with coconut, betel nut, pandanus, mango, margosa, and casuarina.
The population consists mostly of two ethnic groups, the Nicobarese and the Shompens. Agriculture is the principal occupation; crops include rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, coconuts, and betel nuts. Copra making and oil pressing are the chief industries.
The Andamans constitute one of the two major groups of islands in the union territory. They include more than 300 islands (26 inhabited), with a land area of 2,474 square miles.
The three major islands are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman. Also prominent is Little Andaman, to the south. Of the original inhabitants, only the Jarawa and Onge, on the islands of South Andaman, Rutland, and Little Andaman, retain a traditional hunting-and-gathering way of life.
The Andamans, situated on the ancient trade route between India and Myanmar (Burma), were visited by Lieutenant Archibald Blair of the Bombay Marine, the East India Company's navy in 1789.
The first European settlement on the islands was at Port Blair, situated along the eastern coast of South Andaman. It is now the union territory capital.
The islands are a succession of dome-shaped hill ranges running parallel to each other from north to south. The highest peak is Saddle, at 2,418 feet, on North Andaman. Flat land is scarce and confined to a few valleys, such as the Bitampur and Diglipur.
The islands are formed of Tertiary sandstone, limestone, and shale and are highly dissected. Their surface is covered with dense forest, and large mangrove swamps occur in the northern part of North Andaman. Perennial rivers are few, and adequate water supply is a continuing problem.
Agriculture is the principal occupation; crops include cereals, pulses (legumes), coconuts, betel nuts, fruits, cassava, chilies, and turmeric. There is little industry. Only South Andaman has roads; an interisland steamer service connects Port Blair with North, Middle, South, and Little Andaman.
Vir Savarkar, the great Indian revolutionary, was imprisoned for life (1911-37) in the Cellular Jail (declared a national monument in 1979) in Port Blair. Pop. 240,089.
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 2200 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.
The islands provided a temporary maritime base for ships of the Marathas in the 17th century. The legendary admiral Kanhoji Angre established naval supremacy with a base in the islands.
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" & "Swaraj.”
General Loganathan, of the Indian National Army was made the Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 22 February 1944 he along with four INA officers-Major Mansoor Ali Alvi, Sub. Lt. Md. Iqbal, Lt. Suba Singh and stenographer Srinivasan arrived at Lambaline airport of Port Blair. On 21 March 1944 the Headquarters of the Civil Administration was established near the Gurudwara at Aberdeen Bazaar. On 2 October 1944, Col. Loganathan handed over the charge to Maj. Alvi and left Port Blair, never to return. The islands were reoccupied by British and Indian troops of the 116 Indian Infantry Brigade on 7 October 1945, to whom the remaining Japanese garrison surrendered.
At the independence of both India in 1947 and Burma in1948, the departing British announced their intention to resettle all Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on the islands to form their own nation, although this never materialized. It became an Indian union territory in 1950.
On 26 December 2004 the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 33 feet high tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At least 5,930 people were believed to have been killed on the Nicobar and Andaman Islands during the disaster The worst affected Nicobar islands were Katchal and Indira Point, the latter the southern most point of India, which was submerged by the ocean.
While newer settlers of the islands suffered the greatest casualties from the tsunami, most of the aboriginal people survived because oral old traditions passed down from generations ago warned them to evacuate from large waves that follow large earthquakes.
There are 572 islands in the territory, of which only approximately 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands 550 are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands. The Andamans and Nicobars are separated by a channel 90 miles wide. The highest point is located in North Andaman Island Saddle Peak at 2,402 feet.
India is a silent spy. Its highly sophisticated spy ring infrastructure based in Port Blair
was ruined in 2004 Tsunami. When USA learned about this spy-network, Prez. Bush
reshuffled his intelligence wing and since then USA has started seeing India with
new respect and included India in world politics as an active player.
