Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (/ˈændəmən/ & /ˈnɪkəbɑːr/;  local ), one of the seven union territories of India, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

The territory is 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) by the Andaman Sea. It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 10°N parallel, with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.

The territory's capital is the Andamanese town of Port Blair. The total land area of these islands is approximately 7,950 km² (3,070 sq mi). The capital of Nicobar Islands is Car Nicobar. The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.

The Andaman Islands are home to the only known Paleolithic people, the Sentinelese people, who have no contact with any other people.

Nicobar Islands

The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean and one of the most isolated in the world. They are located in Southeast Asia, 150 km north of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal, they form part of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

UNESCO has declared the islands as one of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Geography and population

The Nicobar Islands cover a land area of 1,840 km² and had a population of 36,842 at the 2011 Census. They comprise three distinct groups:

Northern Group:

Central Group:

Andaman

Andaman could mean:

Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands (अंडमान द्वीप) form an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal between India, to the west, and Myanmar, to the north and east. Most are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India, while a small number in the north of the archipelago, including the Coco Islands, belong to Myanmar.

The Andaman Islands are home to the only known paleolithic people, the Sentinelese people, who have had no contact with any other people.

History

Early inhabitants

The Andaman islands have been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least. The earliest archaeological evidence yet documented goes back some 2,200 years; however, the indications from genetic, cultural and isolation studies suggests that the islands may have been inhabited as early as the Middle Paleolithic. The indigenous Andamanese people appear to have lived on the islands in substantial isolation from that time until the 18th century CE.

The Andamans are theorized to be a key stepping stone in a great coastal migration of humans from Africa via the Arabian peninsula, along the coastal regions of the Indian mainland and towards Southeast Asia, Japan and Oceania.