Andman & Nicobar Islands

Andman Nicobar Islands:
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Coordinates (Port Blair): 11.68°N 92.77°E
Country-  India
Region- East India
Established- 1956-11-01
Capital and largest cityPort Blair
Districts- 3
Area:
• Total8,073 km2 (3,117 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Total380,500
• Density47/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone- IST (UTC+05:30)
ISO 3166 codeIN-AN
HDI0.778 (High)
Languages:
Official: Hindi
English

Major spoken languages:
Bengali,Tamil, Telugu, Nicobarese

•The territory is 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) by the Andaman Sea.
•It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 10°N parallel, with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south.
•The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

•The territory's capital is the Andamanese town of Port Blair.
•The Andaman Islands are home to the only known paleolithic people, the Sentinelese people, who have had no contact with any other people.

History:

•At the time of the European contact, the indigenous inhabitants were the Nicobarese people, speaking a Mon-Khmer language; and the Shompen, whose language is of uncertain affiliation. Both are unrelated to the Andamanese.

Chola empire period:
•Rajendra Chola I (1014 to 1042 CE), one of the Tamil Chola dynasty kings, conquered the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to use them as a strategic naval base to launch a naval expedition against the Sriwijaya Empire (a Hindu empire based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia).

Maratha empire:
•The islands provided a temporary maritime base for ships of the Maratha Empire in the 17th century.

•The Danish settlers of the Danish East India Company arrived in the Nicobar Islands on 12 December 1755. On 1 January 1756, the Nicobar Islands were made a Danish colony, first named New Denmark,and later (December 1756) Frederick's Islands). During 1754–1756 they were administrated from Tranquebar (in continental Danish India).

•In 1789 the British set up a naval base and penal colony on Chatham Island next to Great Andaman, where now lies the town of Port Blair. Two years later the colony was moved to Port Cornwallis on Great Andaman, but it was abandoned in 1796 due to disease.

•In 1858 the British again established a colony at Port Blair, which proved to be more permanent. The primary purpose was to set up a penal colony criminal convicts from the Indian subcontinent. The colony came to include the infamous Cellular Jail.

•In 1872 the Andaman and Nicobar islands were united under a single chief commissioner at Port Blair.

World War II:

•During World War II, the islands were practically under Japanese control, only nominally under the authority of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as "Shaheed-dweep" (Martyr Island) and "Swaraj-dweep" (Self-rule Island).

•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 in Port Blair.

•On 21 March 1944 the Headquarters of the Civil Administration was established near the Gurudwara at Aberdeen Bazaar.

•The islands were reoccupied by British and Indian troops of the 116th Indian Infantry Brigade on 7 October 1945.

The 2004 tsunami:

•On 26 December 2004 the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 10 m (33 ft) high tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. More than 2,000 people lost their lives, more than 4,000 children were orphaned or suffered the loss of one parent, and a minimum of 40,000 people were rendered homeless.The worst affected Nicobar islands were Katchal and Indira Point; the latter subsided 4.25 metres and was partially submerged in the ocean. The lighthouse at Indira Point was damaged but has been repaired since then. The territory lost a large amount of area which is now submerged. The territory which was at 8,073 km2 (3,117 sq mi) is now merely at 7,950 km2 (3,070 sq mi).

•There are 572 islands in the territory having an area of 8,073 km2 (3,117 sq mi).

•The highest point is located in North Andaman Island (Saddle Peak at 732 m (2,402 ft)).

•The Andaman group has 325 islands which cover an area of 6,170 km2 (2,382 sq mi) while the Nicobar group has only 24 islands with an area of 1,765 km2 (681 sq mi).[12]:33

•The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a tropical rainforest canopy, made of a mixed flora with elements from Indian, Myanmar, Malaysian and endemic floral strains.

•The present forest coverage is claimed to be 86.2% of the total land area.

•About 50 varieties of forest mammals are found to occur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Mount Harriet National Park is one of the richest areas of butterfly and moth diversity on these Islands.

•Almost 90 % of the land area of the
A & N Islands is covered with rich
forest cover, probably the most area
(in % terms) covered among all the
states in the country.
•There are around 572 scattered
islands out of which only around 37
are inhabited. The rest are without
human population.
•The A & N Islands have probably the
longest coast line (around 2000 km)
among all the states. In fact, it
represents almost one fourth of total
coast line of India. Because, it is
surrounded by sea on both and in
fact on all sides.
•The islands are the home for the
endangered primitive tribes who
have survived for thousands of
centuries and continue to survive till
today. They include the Great
Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas,
Sentinelese, Shompens.
Dugong, an endangered marine
mammal, also known as Sea Cow,
has been reported from Ritchie”s
•Archipelago, North Reef, Little
Andaman and parts of Nicobars. This
mammal is unique to A & N Islands
and is the state animal .
Andaman Padauk is a tall deciduous
tree found only in Andaman. It grows
upto height of 120 feet. The timber is
highly valued for making furniture.
•The islands have about 25 harbours,
probably the largest number in the
country.
•The southern most point of India is
popularly mistaken to be
‘Kanyakumari’ in Tamil Nadu State. In
fact, the southern most point is in
Campbell Bay, called as “Indira
Point” .
•The islands are a rich and fascinating
blend of what is the best of India, a
heady mix of religions, languages,
cultures and beliefs.
•The A & N Islands are very much an
integral part of India but distance
wise they are much closer to
Indonesia and Burma than to
mainland India.