What is the geography and history of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?
Travel Route: Andaman, Port Blair, Havelock Island, Barefoot Resort
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a set of 572 islands located in the Bay of Bengal, out of which only 36 are inhabited. Of these 36, a few are inhabited by aboriginal tribes that are averse to any sort of civilized interference. The climate is tropical, very hot with high humidity. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are about 745m (1200km) from the Indian mainland, but only about 30m (50km) from Myanmar and 55m (90km) from Indonesia. How come then, that this string of islands became an Indian territory?
Andaman and Nicobar were abandoned islands but for some aboriginal natives. During the colonization of India, some British officials were posted there. But due to thick forest cover, wild animals and mosquitoes, the Islands were abandoned, which made its location perfect for a jail site. The Indian fight for independence started long before Gandhi came to the scene, and the British repeatedly crushed any attempt of revolt. Political prisoners were shipped to Port Blair’s infamous Cellular jail since 1857. During WWII, Japan along with Subhash Chandra Bose fought against British through Burma and North East India. As soon as Japan took over parts of North East India along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, they were gifted to Subhash Chandra Bose. Thus, Andaman and Nicobar Islands became the first territories of Independent India. By the end of the war, Japan lost and the Andaman and Nicobar again fell into British hands. During Independence of India, these incidents were taken into consideration and Andaman and Nicobar were granted to the Union of India.
Who was Subhash Chandra Bose?
We tend to associate the Indian fight for freedom from British colonialism with Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent approach, but the fact is there were other Indian leaders with alternative models to achieve independence. Subhas Chandra Bose became a leading advocate for violence as the only effective way to expel the British and simultaneously restore Indian self-esteem. His story and adventures are quite fascinating. He cooperated with Nazi Germany and Japan in their war against the Allies in south-east Asia.
In 1943, Bose traveled by German submarine around the southern tip of Africa to rendezvous with a Japanese submarine. The Japanese had captured some 70,000 Indian soldiers, many of them abandoned by their British officers when Singapore fell suddenly in early 1942. The Japanese then released about 40,000 of these prisoners of war so they could form the Indian National Army and invade India under Bose’s command.
While small parts of India fell to the Indian National Army, the war was already entering its final stages. The Indian National Army took heavy losses. When the Japanese finally surrendered unconditionally in August 1945, so did the Indian National Army. Bose himself tried to escape to continue the war of liberation, only to have his overloaded plane crash in Taiwan. Some Indians still see him as the inspiring figure for India’s modern future as a militarily and economically strong world power. This is far from the model of India that Gandhi wanted.
Bose’s vision has increasingly been achieved in the last few decades. After all, the Indian army is the third largest in the world. India has fought four wars with its neighbors, and it is armed with nuclear weapons. Further, India is an emerging global economic power. All this is much closer to Bose’s vision than to Gandhi’s.
What were the effects of the 2004 Tsunami on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?
The islands were just north of the earthquake epicenter, and the tsunami reached a height of 49ft (15m) within minutes thus, some of the islands were submerged. The Nicobar Islands were the worst hit among all the islands because of their relatively flat terrain. The unofficial death toll, including those missing and presumed dead was estimated at about 7,000. The 2004 Tsunami took the lives of over 230,000 victims throughout the south-east Asia, it is considered the deadliest in history.
For additional photographs and reflections please check my site
