Andaman Islands: Difference between revisions

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===Chola empire===
[[Rajendra Chola II]] 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 [[Srivijaya|Sriwijaya Empire]]. The [[Cholas]] called the island Ma-Nakkavaram ("great open/naked land"), found in the [[Thanjavur]] inscription of 1050 [[Common Era|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.<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===
In 1789, the [[Bengal Presidency]] established a naval base and [[penal colony]] on [[Chatham Island (Andaman)|Chatham Island]] in the southeast bay of [[South Andaman Island|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 [[North Andaman Island|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.{{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>
 
In 1824, Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the [[First Burmese War]].{{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 [[Human cannibalism|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 [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]].<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 [[Cellular Jail|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 amountnumber 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}}
 
The [[Battle of Aberdeen (Andaman Islands)|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 lost their lives 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.<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>
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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=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209031136/http://www.andamancellularjail.org/History.htm |archive-date= 9 February 2010 }}</ref> a 1996 film set on the island took that term as its title, ''[[Kaalapani (1996 film)|Kaalapani]]''.<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=dead |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=[[The Hindu]] | url-status= dead}}</ref>
 
The Viper Chain Gang Jail on [[Viper Island]] was reserved for troublemakers,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>{{CitationCite web needed|last=exploreandaman.co.in |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 |access-date=October2023-10-16 |website=ExploreAndaman |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Cellular Jail, Andaman Islands |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5888/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>
 
===Japanese occupation===
[[File:Andaman ross is.jpg|thumb|Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island in 2004]]
[[File:Andaman.jpg|thumb|Andaman Islands]]
The Andaman and Nicobar islandsIslands were [[Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands|occupied by Japan]] during [[World War II]].<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 [[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 [[Shahid|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 [[A. D. Loganathan|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 [[Japanese war crimes|executed 750 innocents]]."<ref>Gruhl, Werner (2007) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ow5Wlmu9MPQC&pg=PA102 Imperial Japan's World War Two, 1931–1945] {{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===
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In April 1998, American photographer John S. Callahan organised the first surfing project in the Andamans, starting from [[Phuket Province|Phuket]] 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 [[documentary film]]maker [[Jack Johnson (musician)|Jack Johnson]].{{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, [[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.<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=[[The Times of India]] |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"/>
 
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 [[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.<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}}</ref>
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A small minority of the population are the [[Andamanese people|Andamanese]] — the [[indigenous peoples|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 (Andaman Islands)|Jarawa]], [[Jangil]] (or ''Rutland Jarawa''), [[Onge people|Onge]], and the [[Sentinelese people|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 labour]]ers, later purposely recruited farmers), the Andamanese suffered a population decline due to the introduction of outside [[infectious diseases]], land encroachment from settlers and conflict.
 
Presently,Figures therefrom remainthe onlyend approximatelyof 400–450the indigenous20th Andamanese.{{Citationcentury needed|date=Septemberestimate 2023|reason="Thethere caseremain foronly aapproximately linguistic400–450 survey"ethnic doesAndamanese notstill appearon tothe supportisland, theand startas offew as this50 paragraph.}}speakers The Jangil are extinct. Most of the Great Andamanese tribes are extinct, and the survivors, now just 52, speak mostly [[Hindi]].<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 [[Andamanese languages]], but they make up at least two independent families, and the dozen or so attested languages are either extinct or endangered.