Physical Features
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise around 572 islands formed
by a submarine mountain range, which separates the Bay of Bengal from
the Andaman Sea. The islands attain maximum altitude at Saddle Peak
(730 m), formed mainly of limestone, sandstone, and clay.
Climate
The islands have a tropical climate. There is medium to heavy rain
during the monsoon, in the months from May to mid September and November
to mid December. There is no extreme climate except rains and tropical
storms in late summer often cause heavy damage.
Flora and Fauna
The canopied rain forests of the islands harbor 3,000 species of plants
including mangroves, epiphytes (130 ferns, 100 orchids), palms, woody
climbers, timbers (teak, mahogany, Andaman paduk) and a wide variety
of tropical fruits. Marine fauna is diverse including a wide variety
of tropical fish and coral. Considering the diversity and uniqueness
of fauna and flora and the fragile nature of the eco-system here,
96 sanctuaries spread over 466.218 sq km and nine National Parks spread
over 1153.938 sq km have been notified on these islands.
HISTORY
Little is known historically about Andaman and Nicobar, a cluster
of around 572 islands of which less than 50 are populated, stretching
from the southern tip of Burma all the way down south till Sumatra
in Indonesia. It is believed that Marco Polo was among the first from
the West to set foot on one of the islands. Kanhoji Angre, a Maratha
admiral had his base on the island in the early 18th century. From
there, he attacked passing Portuguese, Dutch and English merchant
vessels on their way to or from their various Asian colonies. In 1713,
his navy even succeeded in capturing the yacht of the British Governor
of Bombay. Despite many efforts by the British and later a joint military
force of British and Portuguese naval forces, Kanhoji Angre was never
defeated. He died in 1729.
The British established their first colony in the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands in 1789, which was abandoned in 1796. The British finally
annexed the islands in the 19th century adding them to their empire.
They turned it into a penal colony for Indian freedom fighters. The
construction of the infamous Cellular Jail was completed in 1908.
Hundreds of anti-British Indians were tortured to death or simply
executed here. With the Second World War, Japanese troops occupied
the islands and the local tribes initiated guerrilla activities to
drive them out. When India achieved independence in 1947, the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands were incorporated into the Indian Union.
PEOPLE
Ethnicity
Due to consistent emphasis of the government on progress and its encouragement
to the mainlanders to settle there has resulted in the local tribes
becoming a minority group in their own land.
The indigenous tribes are distinguished in two groups: the Onge, Sentinelese,
Jarawa and Andamanese of Negroid descent living on the Andaman Islands
and the Shompen and Nicobarese of Mongoloid descent living in the
Nicobar Islands. Most of the tribes are on the verge of extinction.
This sad destiny will most likely hit the Andamanese tribe first since
their number is as low as thirty. The Sentinelese is the least studied
tribe still living in isolation on the North Sentinel Island. Their
number is estimated at 250. Outsiders attempting to make contact with
them are driven away with bows and arrows. They continue to maintain
a unique lifestyle living in harmony with nature just as they have
done for thousands of years.
Arts and Crafts
The main crafts of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands include shell
and exotic woods crafted for the tourists, palm mats, and beautiful
natural shells. Due to the fear of over exploitation of the Islands'
natural resources, trade of some products is now banned.
Attire
Being far removed from the present civilization, the aboriginal people
did not wear any clothes till recently. The Sentinelese do not wear
anything even now while the Jarawas use only adornments of bark and
shell, like necklaces, arm bands, waist bands etc. The Shompens are
semi nomadic and cover their body below the waist only. The people
of Car Nicobar Island have totally given up the traditional dress
of tassel or coconut leaf petticoat and now wear modern clothes. The
Onges survived without dress for centuries but have gradually adapted
to the dress code of the mainland. Use of traditional items of adornment
like necklaces made of shell, waistbands and headbands of bark fiber
are now restricted to ceremonial occasions.
ECONOMY
Industry
The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has a
vast forest resource base with 7,171 sq km of the total area of island
covered by forests. A large variety of timber is found in the Andaman
group of islands. The Islands have reported the occurrence of diatomaceous
earth, gold, limestone, nickel, selenite and sulphur. The Oil And
Natural Gas Commission is continuing the exploration for oil and gas
there.
The Union Territory has a number of small scale, village and handicrafts
units. The number of export-oriented units is also increasing in the
agro-processing sectors. The Andaman and Nicobar Integrated Development
Corporation has made its presence felt in civil supplies, tourism,
fisheries, industries, and industrial financing activities.
Agriculture
Around 50,000 hectares of land is under cultivation here. Paddy is
the main food crop and is mostly cultivated in the Andaman group of
islands, whereas coconut and areca nut are the main cash crops of
the Nicobar group of islands. Different kinds of fruits such as mango,
sapota, orange, banana, papaya, pineapple and some root crops are
also grown on the islands.
