Colonization and Rehabilitations in COLONIZATION and REHABILITATIONS in ANDAMAN and NICOBAR ISLANDS Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Colonization and Rehabilitations in COLONIZATION AND REHABILITATIONS IN ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS Andaman and Nicobar Islands

SWAPAN K. BISWAS

ABHIJEET PUBLICATIONS DELHI 110094 ABHIJEET PUBLICA TIONS 2/46 Tukhmeerpur Extension Delhi 110094 Phones: 01 1-22960492, 65698474 e-mail: [email protected] [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all I expr ess my sincer est thanks to the Dir ector, Indian Council of Social Science Resear ch [Ministry of H.R. D.] Eastern Regional Centr e Kolkatta, who has assigned me the important Pr oject Work. I would like to thank Dr . COLONIZA TION AND REHABILIT ATIONS IN ANDAMAN AND Parth Chatterjee, fellow Pr ofessor of ICSSR, Eastern Regional NICOBAR ISLANDS Centre, Kolkatta, for his constant guidance and encouragement. I also expr ess my thanks to my Principal, H.O.D., Political Science, Librarian, and staf f of J.N.R.M. My thanks ar e also due to Mr . Husan Ali, Ar chivist, and staff of Secr etariat Recor d room, my elder br others for their First Published 2009 kind suggestion and advice and moral support in my works. © Author I also thank Mr . Sanat Chakr oborty, Murugesan, Dalip ISBN 978-93-80031-07-1 Kishan, Rahul, K. Nagulu, who sincer ely helped me in my work. Special thanks to Ibrahim who typed my pr oject and tables. My thanks ar e due to Mr . Pritan Roy , Mr. N.C. Roy, Mr. Bimal Roy , Mr. Paritosh Halder , Mr. Ananta Biswas, [All rights r eserved. No part of this publication may be r eproduced, Mr. A. De, Mr . Swapan Paik, Mr . Sunil Halder , Mr. Sushil copied, stor ed in a r etrieval system, transmitted or used in any Mondal, Miss Swapna Bala, Mr . Anjan Sengupta, Mr . Jagdish form or by any means, whether electr onic, mechanical, photocopying, Narayan, and Mr . Sukumar Das. recording or otherwise, without the prior permission fr om the author I would be failing in my duty if I don’t thank my wife or publisher , except for a brief quotations in critical articles or r eviews.] Mrs. Hema Biswas, Head, Department of Economics, JNRM, Port Blair , who had constantly inspir ed me to finish my work. Dr. S. K. Biswas Senior Faculty PRINTED IN INDIA P.G. Dept. of Political Science. Jawaharlal Nehru Rajakeeya Mahavidyalaya Published by J.K. Singh for Abhijeet Publications, Delhi 1 10094, Port Blair, Andaman. Lasertypeset by Gaurav Graphics, Delhi and Printed as Himanshu Printers, Delhi. Swapan Kumar Biswas, studied in Kolkata. He obtained M.A. and Ph.D. degree from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata. Pr esently he is teaching P .G. Department of Political Science, Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya, Port Blair since 1993. His ar ea of research field CONTENTS is Tribals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Island's Local Self Government and settlers of Andamans. He has to his cr edit many Acknowledgements v research articles: City Politics of Port Blair, Parliamentary Elections of UT s, 1. Introduction 1 Situational Analysis of Bengali in 2. Objectives of the Study and Survey Methodology 16 Andaman, News PRI's, Political 3. Possibility of Resettlement of Refugees— 38 Administration of Nicobari T ribes Survey Team Reports etc., in r eputed national journals. Attended an international seminar on 4. Settlement of Bengali Refugees fr om East Pakistan 77 LSG, “r evisited to Kerala”, in (1949-1976) December 2007, at T rivendrum, 5. Scheme for Rehabilitation of Settlers 94 presently engaged with pr oject work 6. Community Development Schemes 104 under ICSSR (Ministry of HRD) on Bengali Settlers in Andaman: A 7. Social Status of Bengali Settlers 116 Changing Account. Attended 8. Developmental Aspects and Bengali Community 126 National Seminar -cum-workshop in 9. Present Social System Among Bengali Settlers 142 April 2008, “Sustainable City: 10. Political Development in the Islands 159 Problems and Challenges” in Port Blair, organised by AIILSG, Mumbai. 11. Economic Activities 198 12. Cultural Activities 210 13. Observations 216 14. Suggestions 227 Bibiliography 231 Index 238

23 cm Cloth 2009 Rs. 650 ISBN 978-93-80031-07-1 Swapan Kumar Biswas, studied in Kolkata. He obtained M.A. and Ph.D. degree from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata. Pr esently he is teaching P .G. Department of Political Science, Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya, Port Blair since 1993. His ar ea of research field CONTENTS is Tribals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Island's Local Self Government and settlers of Andamans. He has to his cr edit many Acknowledgements v research articles: City Politics of Port Blair, Parliamentary Elections of UT s, 1. Introduction 1 Situational Analysis of Bengali in 2. Objectives of the Study and Survey Methodology 16 Andaman, News PRI's, Political 3. Possibility of Resettlement of Refugees— 38 Administration of Nicobari T ribes Survey Team Reports etc., in r eputed national journals. Attended an international seminar on 4. Settlement of Bengali Refugees fr om East Pakistan 77 LSG, “r evisited to Kerala”, in (1949-1976) December 2007, at T rivendrum, 5. Scheme for Rehabilitation of Settlers 94 presently engaged with pr oject work 6. Community Development Schemes 104 under ICSSR (Ministry of HRD) on Bengali Settlers in Andaman: A 7. Social Status of Bengali Settlers 116 Changing Account. Attended 8. Developmental Aspects and Bengali Community 126 National Seminar -cum-workshop in 9. Present Social System Among Bengali Settlers 142 April 2008, “Sustainable City: 10. Political Development in the Islands 159 Problems and Challenges” in Port Blair, organised by AIILSG, Mumbai. 11. Economic Activities 198 12. Cultural Activities 210 13. Observations 216 14. Suggestions 227 Bibiliography 231 Index 238

23 cm Cloth 2009 Rs. 650 ISBN 978-93-80031-07-1 2 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

Islands, only 38 Islands ar e inhabited by the people in whom 25 and 13 ar e located in the Andaman and the Nicobar groups of Islands r espectively .

Nomenclature and History of the Islands 1 The position as well as the nomenclatur e of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is extr emely obscur e, many scholars have tried to find some r easonable answers and put their Introduction opinions r egarding the nomenclatur e of these Islands. The Islands wer e inhabited entir ely by aborigines mention of these islands dated back to the 2nd century A.D. in the writing of Claude Ptolemy . Andaman and Nicobar Islands ar e the true example of unity The map r eferred to indicate the Islands of Buzacata in diversity in an Indian society , pronounced by most to be in the place of the Andaman Islands and it is said dignitaries of India, who visited the land of indigenous that this island pr oduces considerable/huge quantities of tribes. The island’s society carries a significant r ole befor e shells and the inhabitants go naked and ar e called Agmatae. the rest of India. It is a settlement, which set a unique It is believed that the Islands of Buzacata r efers to the example for its unity and integrity for the r est of India. Andaman Islands and such a peculiar name has been given The study on Island’s society is empirically very important by the travellers. to give instance to other societies about unity in diversity Later mentions of these islands ar e found in the collection glorify in multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic society . Befor e of early Arab notes of the 9th century on India and China outsiders r eached to these Islands, it was exclusively the and the people of the Andaman have been called homeland of indigenous tribes. The British unfolded the Angananians. Further mention of the Islands is made by door of V irgin Islands in Bay of Bengal befor e the world the two Mohammedan travellers, Chinese, Buddhists monks viewers in 1858. Since then it was the unending journey of I’Tsing 672 (AD), Mar co Polo (1280 AD), Nicolo Conti (1430 the non-tribal to these Islands. Ther e are six dif ferent types AD) etc. it is evident fr om their writing that the islands of tribes inhabited in the chain of Islands. were inhabited by very ugly and believed like brutes who Among the Union T erritories, the Andaman and Nicobar were supposed to be cannibals. Nevertheless, these islands constitute the single lar gest Union T erritory in the Indian where enriched with natural r esources and was named Republic. This territory was declar ed a Union T erritory on “Islands of gold”. Accor ding to Mar co Polo, the men of November 1st, 1956, under the jurisdiction of the Indian these Islands had heads like those of dogs, and teeth and Union. Accor ding to the 2001 Census, mor e than 500 Isles eyes likewise and they wer e most cruel cannibals, (Sen, have been divided into thr ee districts namely , South pp. 4-5). Some scholars think that the name “Andaman” is Andaman, Middle and North Andaman and Nicobar . The a corrupt form of the name “Hanuman” or “Monkey People” Andaman gr oup of Islands consists of a chain of islands referred to in the Sanskrit epic the Ramayana. Malayana said to be mor e than 400 in number and the Nicobar gr oups used to r efer to them as “Handuman” which is again a of islands consists of a chain of 22 Islands. Out of these corrupt form of Hanuman and fr om Malaya the knowledge of the Andaman first spr ead into dif ferent parts of the world. 2 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

Islands, only 38 Islands ar e inhabited by the people in whom 25 and 13 ar e located in the Andaman and the Nicobar groups of Islands r espectively .

Nomenclature and History of the Islands 1 The position as well as the nomenclatur e of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is extr emely obscur e, many scholars have tried to find some r easonable answers and put their Introduction opinions r egarding the nomenclatur e of these Islands. The Islands wer e inhabited entir ely by aborigines mention of these islands dated back to the 2nd century A.D. in the writing of Claude Ptolemy . Andaman and Nicobar Islands ar e the true example of unity The map r eferred to indicate the Islands of Buzacata in diversity in an Indian society , pronounced by most to be in the place of the Andaman Islands and it is said dignitaries of India, who visited the land of indigenous that this island pr oduces considerable/huge quantities of tribes. The island’s society carries a significant r ole befor e shells and the inhabitants go naked and ar e called Agmatae. the rest of India. It is a settlement, which set a unique It is believed that the Islands of Buzacata r efers to the example for its unity and integrity for the r est of India. Andaman Islands and such a peculiar name has been given The study on Island’s society is empirically very important by the travellers. to give instance to other societies about unity in diversity Later mentions of these islands ar e found in the collection glorify in multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic society . Befor e of early Arab notes of the 9th century on India and China outsiders r eached to these Islands, it was exclusively the and the people of the Andaman have been called homeland of indigenous tribes. The British unfolded the Angananians. Further mention of the Islands is made by door of V irgin Islands in Bay of Bengal befor e the world the two Mohammedan travellers, Chinese, Buddhists monks viewers in 1858. Since then it was the unending journey of I’Tsing 672 (AD), Mar co Polo (1280 AD), Nicolo Conti (1430 the non-tribal to these Islands. Ther e are six dif ferent types AD) etc. it is evident fr om their writing that the islands of tribes inhabited in the chain of Islands. were inhabited by very ugly and believed like brutes who Among the Union T erritories, the Andaman and Nicobar were supposed to be cannibals. Nevertheless, these islands constitute the single lar gest Union T erritory in the Indian where enriched with natural r esources and was named Republic. This territory was declar ed a Union T erritory on “Islands of gold”. Accor ding to Mar co Polo, the men of November 1st, 1956, under the jurisdiction of the Indian these Islands had heads like those of dogs, and teeth and Union. Accor ding to the 2001 Census, mor e than 500 Isles eyes likewise and they wer e most cruel cannibals, (Sen, have been divided into thr ee districts namely , South pp. 4-5). Some scholars think that the name “Andaman” is Andaman, Middle and North Andaman and Nicobar . The a corrupt form of the name “Hanuman” or “Monkey People” Andaman gr oup of Islands consists of a chain of islands referred to in the Sanskrit epic the Ramayana. Malayana said to be mor e than 400 in number and the Nicobar gr oups used to r efer to them as “Handuman” which is again a of islands consists of a chain of 22 Islands. Out of these corrupt form of Hanuman and fr om Malaya the knowledge of the Andaman first spr ead into dif ferent parts of the world. Introduction 3 4 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

The Nicobar gr oup of Islands on the other hand, is an Nicobar gr oup of Islands is situated in the South East of ancient place along the international sea r oute for trade the Bay of Bengal between 6 0 to 10 0 latitude and between from Colombo to Malaysia, Indonesia and Sumatra. The 920 to 94 0 longitudes. Landfall Island is the northernmost voyagers r eferred to these Islands, as the “Land of the Island in the Andaman gr oup of Islands. The Andaman Naked”. In the Indian tongue, this term took the form of group of Islands is divided into thr ee divisions, namely “Nakkavar”, (Mathur; 1967), claimed that the her o of the North Andaman, Middle Andaman and South Andaman. epic Ramayana, God Rama, was supposed to have passed Besides this, ther e are innumerable small islands like through these Islands during his period of exile. The Chinese Ritchie’s Ar chipelago, the Sentinel Islands and Little referred to these Islands as “Lo–Jan-Kuo” (Land of Naked Andaman Islands with outlaying volcanic Islands, the Barr en people). In A.D, 607, Y ong-ti, the Emper or of China, sent and Nor condum ar e in the Andaman Sea, the southernmost an envoy to Siam, who r eached the Nicobar , then spoken island of these two gr oups of islands is Gr eat Nicobar . And of as the country of Rakshasha, meaning demons. Early the extr eme southern point of Gr eat Nicobar is pr eviously mention of these Islands is available in the T anjore known as Pygmalion Point and now it is r enamed as Indira inscriptions of the 1 1th Century , Rajendra, the Chola king Point. This Point is about 151 Kms. fr om Pulo Brass of Achin sent military expeditions to these Islands. The Portuguese Head of Sumatra. might have had influence over these Islands in the 16th The Andaman and Nicobar Islands form a part of the century. The Portuguese mission had started pr eaching continuous ridge which runs fr om the Cape Negr ois of Christianity among the Islanders. Burma thr ough the Pr eparis and Coco Islands to the Andamans and continues further to the Nicobar and Geography Sumatra. The whole ridge has a geological af finity with The Andaman and Nicobar Islands ar e having an ar ea of the Arakan Y oma Range of Burma and Sumatra and Java. 8249 sq. Km, in which the Andaman gr oup of Islands covers This ridge is separated fr om the Nicobar gr oup of Islands 6408 Sq. Km and Nicobar gr oup of Islands having 1841 and formed other continuous Island by a strait of say 400 Sq. Km. These Islands exist in the midst of the Bay of Bengal, fathoms deep and 120 Kms wide. The available flora and a distance of 944 Km. fr om the mouth of the river Hooghly , fauna indicate that these islands must have formerly been 192 Km fr om Cape Negrais in Burma, about 145 Km fr om attached to the mainland or once part of a continental land the northern extr emity of Sumatra and about 1 120 Km fr om mass during the geological era of mid-tertiary (about 25 Madras. The extr eme length and width of the Andaman million year ago). group of Islands ar e 350 Km and 51 Km r espectively . The Nicobar gr oup of Islands lies to the southernmost tip of Origin of Indigenous People in Andaman and Nicobar Andaman gr oup of Islands. The Andaman gr oup of islands Islands is separated fr om the Nicobar gr oup of Islands by the 100 There are four Negritos and two mongoloid tribal gr oups Channel. The Nicobar gr oup of Islands has the maximum have been inhabited in these Islands. However , it is a matter length and width of 260 Kms and 58 Kms r espectively. of contr oversy to the anthr opologists, ethnologists and social Location scientists about the origin of these four Negrito and two 0 to 30 0 groups of Mongoloid in these Islands. Likewise their The Andaman gr oup of Islands lies between 10 North latitude, and between 92 0 to 94 0 East longitudes. The migration story is mysterious and confusing. The same Negrito people ar e also found in some parts of South East Introduction 3 4 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

The Nicobar gr oup of Islands on the other hand, is an Nicobar gr oup of Islands is situated in the South East of ancient place along the international sea r oute for trade the Bay of Bengal between 6 0 to 10 0 latitude and between from Colombo to Malaysia, Indonesia and Sumatra. The 920 to 94 0 longitudes. Landfall Island is the northernmost voyagers r eferred to these Islands, as the “Land of the Island in the Andaman gr oup of Islands. The Andaman Naked”. In the Indian tongue, this term took the form of group of Islands is divided into thr ee divisions, namely “Nakkavar”, (Mathur; 1967), claimed that the her o of the North Andaman, Middle Andaman and South Andaman. epic Ramayana, God Rama, was supposed to have passed Besides this, ther e are innumerable small islands like through these Islands during his period of exile. The Chinese Ritchie’s Ar chipelago, the Sentinel Islands and Little referred to these Islands as “Lo–Jan-Kuo” (Land of Naked Andaman Islands with outlaying volcanic Islands, the Barr en people). In A.D, 607, Y ong-ti, the Emper or of China, sent and Nor condum ar e in the Andaman Sea, the southernmost an envoy to Siam, who r eached the Nicobar , then spoken island of these two gr oups of islands is Gr eat Nicobar . And of as the country of Rakshasha, meaning demons. Early the extr eme southern point of Gr eat Nicobar is pr eviously mention of these Islands is available in the T anjore known as Pygmalion Point and now it is r enamed as Indira inscriptions of the 1 1th Century , Rajendra, the Chola king Point. This Point is about 151 Kms. fr om Pulo Brass of Achin sent military expeditions to these Islands. The Portuguese Head of Sumatra. might have had influence over these Islands in the 16th The Andaman and Nicobar Islands form a part of the century. The Portuguese mission had started pr eaching continuous ridge which runs fr om the Cape Negr ois of Christianity among the Islanders. Burma thr ough the Pr eparis and Coco Islands to the Andamans and continues further to the Nicobar and Geography Sumatra. The whole ridge has a geological af finity with The Andaman and Nicobar Islands ar e having an ar ea of the Arakan Y oma Range of Burma and Sumatra and Java. 8249 sq. Km, in which the Andaman gr oup of Islands covers This ridge is separated fr om the Nicobar gr oup of Islands 6408 Sq. Km and Nicobar gr oup of Islands having 1841 and formed other continuous Island by a strait of say 400 Sq. Km. These Islands exist in the midst of the Bay of Bengal, fathoms deep and 120 Kms wide. The available flora and a distance of 944 Km. fr om the mouth of the river Hooghly , fauna indicate that these islands must have formerly been 192 Km fr om Cape Negrais in Burma, about 145 Km fr om attached to the mainland or once part of a continental land the northern extr emity of Sumatra and about 1 120 Km fr om mass during the geological era of mid-tertiary (about 25 Madras. The extr eme length and width of the Andaman million year ago). group of Islands ar e 350 Km and 51 Km r espectively . The Nicobar gr oup of Islands lies to the southernmost tip of Origin of Indigenous People in Andaman and Nicobar Andaman gr oup of Islands. The Andaman gr oup of islands Islands is separated fr om the Nicobar gr oup of Islands by the 100 There are four Negritos and two mongoloid tribal gr oups Channel. The Nicobar gr oup of Islands has the maximum have been inhabited in these Islands. However , it is a matter length and width of 260 Kms and 58 Kms r espectively. of contr oversy to the anthr opologists, ethnologists and social Location scientists about the origin of these four Negrito and two 0 to 30 0 groups of Mongoloid in these Islands. Likewise their The Andaman gr oup of Islands lies between 10 North latitude, and between 92 0 to 94 0 East longitudes. The migration story is mysterious and confusing. The same Negrito people ar e also found in some parts of South East Introduction 5 6 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

Asia, for example—Semang and Sakai of Malaya, the V eddas Tribal Ethnic Groups of Ceylon and the T apiro of New Guinea. Accor ding to Great Andamanese Cippreri, [1974] the Andamanese, Semangs, Malaya Peninsula Actas of Philippines, some primitive Indian ethnic The Gr eat Andamanese ar e one of the four Negrito T ribes groups and some Pygmies of New Guinea ar e very ancient of the Andaman. The tribal of these Islands ar e different races. He tentatively assumed that the Andamanese form each other in their life style, cultur e, dialect and names. a branch of the Negrito gr oup which is a sub-race of Oceanic The Great Andamanese was the lar gest ethnic gr oups among Negrito. The Indian school of thinkers made an attempt tribes of Andaman. Ar ound 5000 population was estimated to trace the origin of Andaman negritos in the Hindu before British r eached the Islands. The 1901, censes r ecords Mythology . Gupta (1951), said that accor ding to the 625 people, but the 1971, census r ecords only 24. These Ramayana, the Adamanese ar e Kiratas, the aborigines of tribes have now been settled in Strait Islands, with an ar ea Andaman ar e the same people who, in the dim past, of 3.11 Sq. Km, about 60km north-east of Port Blair . They inhabited marshes of Bengal, the uplands of Santhal Par gana have been anthr opologically classified as Negrito. The or the dense for ests of Burma and Malaya. present total population is 55, which includes two non- tribal ladies who married to Andamanese. According to Andamanese Mythology the Islanders ar e the creature of “Puluga” (Supr eme Being). A story r ecalled Onges that a pr egnant lady was cr eated by “Puluga” and she landed at Kyd Island, wher e she gave birth to several male The Onges ar e one of the four scheduled Negrito T ribal and female childr en, who subsequently became the groups inhabited in Little Andaman. In 1976, they wer e forefather of the pr esent race. (Man, 1902, pp. 88-97). rehabilitated by the Government in two settlements at Dugong Cr eak in the northeastern corner of the Islands The Nicobar ese believe that they had been living in the and at South Bay . Their population was estimated 672 in archipelago of Nicobar fr om time immemorial. They ar e 1901, census. At pr esent the total population is 96. Some Mongoloid. Accor ding to Barba (1846), the Nicobar ese and are engaged in the wage labour and have come under cent the people of the seashor e of Sumatra belong to the same percent government assistance for survival. race. Temple (1901) commented that the Nicobar ese seemed to be the decendants of the Indo-Chinese race as Jarawas distinguished fr om the T ibeto-Burmese and Malayan T ribes. Once, the Jarawas wer e hostile and did not allow the The Nicobar ese own mythology said that a pr egnant outsider to appr oach their territory , over the time their Burmese princess, exiled by her father , due to her unnatural movement has been confined the for est area of about 765 connection with a dog. Later , she landed upon the shor es sq. km. along the W est Coast of South and Middle Andaman. of the Nicobars and gave birth to a son. She married her This has been declar ed the Jarawa Reserve. For last decade, own son and the r esult of their union was the birth of the the Jarawas have become friendly and accepted the aid and Nicobar ese. The elderly people of Car–Nicobar claimed that relief fr om the Tribal welfar e Agencies. Their pr esent they wer e a group of exiles fr om Tenasserim coast of Burma. estimated population is 328. According E.H. Man (1886), the Shompen of Gr eat Nicobar were the original stock of the Nicobar ese. [Mathur , 1967, Sentinelese pp. 228-229] The Negrito hostile tribe Sentenelese living in the North Introduction 5 6 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

Asia, for example—Semang and Sakai of Malaya, the V eddas Tribal Ethnic Groups of Ceylon and the T apiro of New Guinea. Accor ding to Great Andamanese Cippreri, [1974] the Andamanese, Semangs, Malaya Peninsula Actas of Philippines, some primitive Indian ethnic The Gr eat Andamanese ar e one of the four Negrito T ribes groups and some Pygmies of New Guinea ar e very ancient of the Andaman. The tribal of these Islands ar e different races. He tentatively assumed that the Andamanese form each other in their life style, cultur e, dialect and names. a branch of the Negrito gr oup which is a sub-race of Oceanic The Great Andamanese was the lar gest ethnic gr oups among Negrito. The Indian school of thinkers made an attempt tribes of Andaman. Ar ound 5000 population was estimated to trace the origin of Andaman negritos in the Hindu before British r eached the Islands. The 1901, censes r ecords Mythology . Gupta (1951), said that accor ding to the 625 people, but the 1971, census r ecords only 24. These Ramayana, the Adamanese ar e Kiratas, the aborigines of tribes have now been settled in Strait Islands, with an ar ea Andaman ar e the same people who, in the dim past, of 3.11 Sq. Km, about 60km north-east of Port Blair . They inhabited marshes of Bengal, the uplands of Santhal Par gana have been anthr opologically classified as Negrito. The or the dense for ests of Burma and Malaya. present total population is 55, which includes two non- tribal ladies who married to Andamanese. According to Andamanese Mythology the Islanders ar e the creature of “Puluga” (Supr eme Being). A story r ecalled Onges that a pr egnant lady was cr eated by “Puluga” and she landed at Kyd Island, wher e she gave birth to several male The Onges ar e one of the four scheduled Negrito T ribal and female childr en, who subsequently became the groups inhabited in Little Andaman. In 1976, they wer e forefather of the pr esent race. (Man, 1902, pp. 88-97). rehabilitated by the Government in two settlements at Dugong Cr eak in the northeastern corner of the Islands The Nicobar ese believe that they had been living in the and at South Bay . Their population was estimated 672 in archipelago of Nicobar fr om time immemorial. They ar e 1901, census. At pr esent the total population is 96. Some Mongoloid. Accor ding to Barba (1846), the Nicobar ese and are engaged in the wage labour and have come under cent the people of the seashor e of Sumatra belong to the same percent government assistance for survival. race. Temple (1901) commented that the Nicobar ese seemed to be the decendants of the Indo-Chinese race as Jarawas distinguished fr om the T ibeto-Burmese and Malayan T ribes. Once, the Jarawas wer e hostile and did not allow the The Nicobar ese own mythology said that a pr egnant outsider to appr oach their territory , over the time their Burmese princess, exiled by her father , due to her unnatural movement has been confined the for est area of about 765 connection with a dog. Later , she landed upon the shor es sq. km. along the W est Coast of South and Middle Andaman. of the Nicobars and gave birth to a son. She married her This has been declar ed the Jarawa Reserve. For last decade, own son and the r esult of their union was the birth of the the Jarawas have become friendly and accepted the aid and Nicobar ese. The elderly people of Car–Nicobar claimed that relief fr om the Tribal welfar e Agencies. Their pr esent they wer e a group of exiles fr om Tenasserim coast of Burma. estimated population is 328. According E.H. Man (1886), the Shompen of Gr eat Nicobar were the original stock of the Nicobar ese. [Mathur , 1967, Sentinelese pp. 228-229] The Negrito hostile tribe Sentenelese living in the North Introduction 7 8 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar

Sentinel Island, 64 Km South W est of Port Blair . Because 1931 90 250 70 50 200 10240 of their hostility , no actual census has been made but their 1951 23 150 50 - 20 12009 estimated population; accor ding to the 1971 census was 1961 19 129 500 50 71 14563 82 and 100 in 1981. They ar e hunter -gather ers whose pr esent 1971 24 112 -- 92 17874 population is estimated to be 39, as per 2001 census. 1981 42 97 31 - 223 21956 Shompen 1991 30 100 --- 2001 55 96 325 39 398 29469 The Shompen, a Mongoloid Gr oup of tribes, stated as a nomadic, inhabiting the vast ar ea of Gr eat Nocobar Island. Source: Basic Statistic, 2005, A& N Islands Their population is estimated to 398 as per 2001 census. The Decadal gr owth of tribal population of the UT’s is The administration is pr oviding necessary medical coverage; very unexpectedly poor . Especially the gr owths of the ration articles etc. at their place totally fr ee of cost. They population of the primitive tribal gr oups have been come under pr eventive tribal gr oup. decreased very sharply , while the Nicobar ese population Nicobar ese has incr eased very r emarkably since 1901. Fr om the history and empirical evidence ther e are various causes of the The Nicobari ar e the most advanced and popular tribes dwindling of the population of the gr eat Andmanese, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As per census 2001, the Jarawas and Onges. One of the major causes of the decline total population of Nicobar es was 29,469. Most of the houses of population was that a considerable number of persons and belonging of Nicobar ese wer e destroyed due to massive were killed at the gunpoint by the British people on various earthquake followed by killer T sunami hit the Islands on encounters. Further , their extinct pr ocess was accelerated 26th December , 2004. The entir e Nicobar gr oup of Islands, with the induction of various new diseases. was worst ef fected by this natural calamity , which claimed thousands of lives and cr ores of Rupees worth of pr operties Non-Tribal Ethnic Groups washed away . Out of 3513 dead (unof ficially) mor e than 10,000) and missing persons, 2955 wer e from Nicobar Islands A part from these aborigines of the Union T erritory, several as officially r ecorded. (Goel, 2005, p. 19). Majority of them non-tribal ethnic gr oups migrated and they wer e brought were Nicobari T ribals. Numbers of death and causalities by the British authority as well as by the Government of increased due to the fact that the Nicobari mostly live in India. costal ar eas. It also af fected ther e traditional economy and Local Born sources of income (Biswas, 2007, p. 2). British authority during the time of Penal Settlement Demographic Growth T rends of Tribals of the Islands between 1858 and 1942, br ought thousands of prisoners of Since 1901 War of Independence also called Sepoy Mutiny (1857), Census Great Onges Jarawas Sentinelese Shompen Nicobar ese political and criminal prisoners imprisonment in these year Andamanese isolated islands. The descendants of these convicts ar e 1901 625 672 585 - 342 6501 known as local born or “Andaman Indian”. The people 1911 455 631 114 117 375 8818 who originally belonged to dif ferent communities and 1921 209 346 114 117 375 9272 inhabited in dif ferent corners of India, ar e now moulded into a homogeneous gr oup of people ar e having a str ong Introduction 9 10 Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman & Nicobar tie of af finity. They now r epresent themselves as a single Karen ethnic gr oup irr espective of racial af finities like r eligion, castes, language and cultur e. The local population lives in The Kar en of the Andaman ar e Burmese immigrants. about 40 villages south of Port Blair as well as in Port Blair They wer e first br ought her e by the British government, city. The 1951 Census, however , put their number at about with the help of Christian Missionaries in Mar ch 1925. 10,000. The locals speak a dialect of Hindi, Hindusthani. Originally they wer e brought to work in the for est department and subsequently allotted land for their own Mopillas settlement. Kar en community is living in nine villages in The Moplas ar e the decendants of a racial mix between Mayabunder T ahsil, viz. W ebi, Deopur , Latav, Lucknow , the Arabs and the Malayalis. They lived in Malabar in Kerala. Karmatang, Chipo etc. Their pr esent day numbers may be Being excited by the First W orld War and Khilafat Movement 2000; they speak their own dialect, Kar en, and use the in India, they r ose in r evolt against the then British Burmese Script. government in August 1921. The British Government of Burmese the day put down the r ebellion ruthlessly . A large number of Mophalas wer e arrested and transported to these islands. The Burmese wer e brought to the Andaman fr om Burma In 1921, they wer e settled in villages in the South Andaman by the British colonial rulers during the period 1907–1923. where they wer e allotted fr ee agricultural land and other They came as convicts as labour to clear the for ests and to facilities. At pr esent most the families ar e found in the act as guar ds. The Burmese settlers and their descendants villages of Bambooflat, Stewar dgunj, Govindapuram, are now scatter ed throughout the islands. They enjoy local Wimberlygunj, Mannar ghat, Wright Myo, Ograbraj, status pr ovided by the Andaman and Nicobar Malapuram, Calicut and Panighat. As per population figur e Administration. Many of the Burmese families r epatriated reported by Andaman and Nicobar Other Backwar d after independence of India. A good numbers of Burmese Commission in 1998, the Mophalas ar e 26569 population. were concentrated in Phogi Chungh, Port Blair , and later in 1974 the Government of India, Rehabilitation department Bhautus resettled 74 families in South Andaman village in Rubber The community Bhatus is the original settlers of North Board of Saithan Khari. and Central India. They earned a very bad name for Ranchi organizing r obbery and dacoit and for this r eason pr escribed by the Indian government as a “Criminal T ribes”. They The Ranchi of the Andaman and Nicobar Island ar e a mix terrorized the administration and eventually , the British of migrant people fr om different parts of Chotanagpur . The decided to send many of them, particularly those sentenced shortage of manpower in the Islands was the chief r eason to over 15 year imprisonment, to the Andaman between for the migration of the Ranchi and their deviating fr om 1926 and 1928. Nearly 300 Bhautus and their families wer e traditional occupations. They wer e recruited fr om sent to the Andaman, fr om different jails and settlements Chotanagpur as Labour ers for r oad laying, felling of tr ees, in the mainland. They wer e settled and allotted agricultural timber cutting and such other developmental works in the land at places like Caddlegunj, Aniket and Ferrar gunj of Islands. Befor e independence they had been br ought by South Andaman. Accor ding to Andaman and Nicobar Other the Christian missionaries. But the lar gest number of them Backwar d Commission r eport in 1998, their population is came as labor ers in the Military Engineering Service (MES), estimated to 1448 only . Colonization and Rehabilitations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Publisher : Abhijeet PublicationsISBN : 978-93-80031- Author : Swapan K. Biswas

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