• UGI USER
  • Jul 01, 2024
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THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLAND

About Andaman And Nicobar Island:

History:

Early Colonial Era and Japanese Occupation

  • Established as a British penal colony post-1857 War of Independence for Indian revolutionaries.
  • Occupied by the Japanese during World War II (1942), later liberated by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943.
  • Returned to British control after Japanese surrender in 1945, transferred to India on the eve of Independence.

Post-Independence :

  • Naval garrison established in 1962 amid security concerns, notably involving a Chinese submarine.
  • Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC) formed in 2001 post-Kargil War, integrating forces across all services and the Coast Guard.

Geographical Features

  • Ten Degree Channel: Strait separating Andaman and Nicobar Islands at approximately 10 degrees latitude.
  • Indira Point: Southernmost tip of the Nicobar Islands, located on Great Nicobar Island, marking India’s southernmost point.

Cultural and Tribal Diversity

  • Home to 5 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): Great Andamanese, Jarwas, Onges, Shompens, and North Sentinelese.
  • These groups contribute to the cultural richness and biodiversity of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
Strategic Location of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

  • Located 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) southeast of the Indian mainland.
  • Port Blair is strategically positioned near the Malacca Strait, a key passage linking the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
  • Indira Point on Great Nicobar Island is 90 nautical miles southeast of Sabang, Indonesia.
  • Coco Island (Myanmar) lies just 18 nautical miles from the northernmost tip of the Andamans.
  • Shares maritime boundaries with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, enhancing India’s international maritime zone influence.
  • Provides substantial ocean territory under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), crucial for exclusive economic zone and continental shelf claims.