A total of 575 islands covering more than 8200 square kilometres constitute the group of Islands. However only 38 of these islands are inhabited permanently. As mentioned earlier the northern and the southern group of islands are separated by a channel called the Ten Degree Channel. The highest point of the islands is the Saddle Peak which is located close to Diglipur area in the North Andaman. The northern most point of the islands is about 900 km from West Bengal in India and 120 km from Myanmar(Burma). The southern most point of the islands Indira Point (Now submerged in water) is just 150 km from Sumatra, Indonesia. Port Blair, which is the capital of the union territory, is about 1200 km from both Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras), the nearest major ports in mainland India and the two airports which connect to Port Blair.

Plants Found in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Extremely heavy round the year rains coupled with hot temperature all through the year gives the islands a unique tropical rainforest which consists of a unique mix and blend of plants found separately in India, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia. More than 2000 varieties of plants have so far been recorded with more than 200 of them unique only to the islands.

Timber

A large species of Timber is found in these islands. They number almost 200 of which one quarter are said to be of commercial value. The most famous of all is called Padauk which is much sturdier than Teak and is extensively used for furniture making. The Holy Rudraksh trees are also found in many places in these islands especially in the Southern islands of Greater Nicobar.

Population Mix

The rich history of the islands which were inhabited by people from different parts of the country as well as the world gives it a very unique cosmopolitan culture despite being so far away from the mainland. The population mix is unique with about 33% Bengalis, 25% Hindi and 18% each of Tamil and other languages. Hindus constitute the largest communal group with muslims being the second largest religion in the islands.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a group of about 575 islands spread over an area of 6500 square kilometre and is located in the Bay of Bengal and forms an integral part of India. It is governed as a Union Territory of India and is governed not by a Chief Minister but a Lieutenant Governor of the Islands. Nearest Landmass to the Islands is Aceh of Indonesia which is about 150 km from Nicobar Islands. Other countries surrounding it are Burma (or Myanmar as it is called now) to the East and Bangladesh to the North. On the West is Indian Mainland.

The Islands comprises of two distinct groups of islands Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is separated by 10 degree North Latitude. The sea separating the two is also called Ten Degree Channel with Andamans to the North & Nicobar to the South of the channel. The total population of the islands as per the latest 2011 census is about 380,000.

Initial Civilisation: The Islands have been inhabited for thousands of years and perhaps before that. Limited archaeological studies done in the islands have proofs of existence of civilisation dating back at least 2000 years. The islands were initially inhabited by a number of groups of native population which are different from each other based on their location on various islands. Through the years, almost all the features about them became distinctly different from each other and unique in their own ways. They did not have any regular contact with the outside world till the second attempt by the British troops during their colonisation of India along with other South East countries. There are a total of 5 distinct groups of natives in the Andaman Islands and they are

Great Andamanese

Jarawa

Rutland Jarawans

Onge and

Sentinelese

With the spread of the colonisation of the islands by the British troops, land encroachment, deforestation and continued effects of endemic diseases, their numbers continued to dwindle over the years. As a result Great Andamanese and Rutland Jarawans have now become extinct and a very small number of other three tribes are left. It is only a matter of time before all these groups will either merge with the immigrant and non native population of being extinct into history. Sad and true but inevitable in the face of continuous urbanisation and development of the islands.

Similarly Nicobar Islands were home to two native groups Nicobarese and Shompen and have been meeting the same fate as the other groups of Andaman Islands.

The first colonization of the islands happened at Nicobar Islands when the settlers from Denmark from Danish East India Company arrived in the middle of the 18^th century and renamed the southern group of islands as New Denmark. In their efforts to colonise other islands like Nancowry, a large number of them perished due to hostile conditions and outbreak of numerous diseases including deadly ones like Malaria. So disheartened they were with their travails that they finally left the islands for good by the mid 19^th century after selling out rights to the islands to Britain who made them part of the greater British India which spread from the borders of Afghanistan to the west to Myanmar to the East.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands as a British Colony

Britain made the first attempt to colonise the islands during late 18^th century but gave up after a few years’ efforts. The second effort made in the middle of the 19^th century proved more successful when Danish Colonisers were leaving the islands for good. The colony was set up primarily to provide a punishment colony for dissenters and freedom fighters from India. A unique shaped prison or jail as it is called in India was built with 7 flanks and came to be known as Cellular Jail of Port Blair.

Islands under Brief Control of Japanese Forces & Post Independence

During the Second World War during the rapid advance of the Japanese across the Asian nations, India like most of the British colonies fell to the advancing Japanese forces. During this time, Indian Revolutionary and Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose joined hands with the Japanese against the British forces. They wrested the control of the islands from them during 1942-44. The islands practically under Japanese Forces were subjected to inhuman atrocities much worse faced during even British rule. The islands were visited by Netaji Bose and he set up an administrative office under three of his trusted aides. However with changing fortunes during World War II, the islands were recaptured by the British by the end of 1945 and remained till them till the independence of the country in 1947. However even as the country was being liberated, the British had planned to carve out the entire island group as a separate nation for Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese. The plan however never took off and the islands status remained confused till 1956 when India formally took over the island and declared it as their Union Territory.

The earliest recorded history of outside forces coming to the islands go back to the Tamil Chola Dynasty when they came to the islands to use it as a naval base to launch attacks on the now Sumatra, Indonesia region. It is said that Nicobar got its name then when the Tamil Cholas called it Nakkavaram which means “Land of the Naked”. Though not recorded, it is but natural that the current name of Nicobar would have been derived out of it. Also not surprising to see that the most of the population in the Nicobar Islands are of Tamil origin with smaller number of Andhra and Kerela. The name of the northern islands ie Andaman is still a mystery though one can draw reasonable conclusion that it might have derived from Handuman, which is the Malay form of Legendary Hanuman from Ramayana. Remember Ram and Ramayana have a rich history and belief in Ancient Sumatra and Indonesia.

600 years down the line in 17^th century, the islands were used by the ships of Marathas as a maritime base for replenishment and return. The credit of attaching the islands to India go to the Legendary Admiral Kanhoji Angre who had the foresight to establish a base at these far away islands so far from their traditional bases on western shores.