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Information on
Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
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Area : |
8,249 square kilometers. |
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Capital : |
Port Blair |
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Population : |
2.8 Lakhs |
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Language : |
Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Nicobarese, Telugu. |
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Location : |
Bay of Bengal, 920 to 940 East Longitude 60 to
140 North Latitude |
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Distances : |
1,255 kms. from
Kolkata 1,200 kms. from Vishakapatnam |
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Altitude : |
Varies from sea level to 732 metres |
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Highest Peak : |
Saddle Peak-732 mts. |
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Temperature : |
Min Temp 230c Max Tern 310C |
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Climate : |
The islands have a tropical climate throughout
the year with humidity relatively high about 70% to 90%. There is medium
to heavy rain during the monsoon, in the months from May to mid September
and November to mid December. There is no extreme climate except rains
and tropical storms in late summer often cause heavy damage. |
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People : |
The indigenous tribes include the
Onge, Sentinelese, Jarawa and Andamanese of Negroid descent living on the
Andaman Islands and the Shompen and Nicobarese of Mongoloid descent
living in the Nicobar Islands. Most of the tribes are on the verge of
extinction. They continue to maintain a unique lifestyle living in
harmony with nature just as they have done for thousands of years.
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Economy : |
Paddy is the main food crop and is mostly
cultivated in the Andaman group of islands, whereas coconut and areca nut
are the main cash crops of the Nicobar group of islands. Different kinds
of fruits such as mango, sapota, orange, banana, papaya, pineapple and some
root crops are also grown on the islands.
A large variety of timber is found in the Andaman group of islands. The
Islands have reported the occurrence of diatomaceous
earth, gold, limestone, nickel, selenite and sulphur. |
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History : |
Andaman and Nicobar is a cluster of around 572
islands stretching from the southern tip of Burma all the way down south
till Sumatra in
Indonesia. Marco Polo was among the first from the
West to set foot on one of the islands.
In the early 18th century Kanhoji Angre, who was a Maratha admiral
attacked passing Portuguese, Dutch and English merchant vessels and in
1713,his navy even succeeded in capturing the yacht of the British
Governor of
Bombay.
After his death in 1729 the British established their first colony in
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1789,which was abandoned in 1796. The
British finally annexed the islands in the 19th century adding them to
their empire. They turned it into a penal colony for Indian freedom
fighters. The construction of the infamous Cellular Jail was completed
in 1908. Hundreds of anti-British Indians were tortured to death or
simply executed here.
With the Second World War, Japanese troops occupied the islands and the
local tribes initiated guerrilla activities to drive them out. When
India achieved independence in 1947,the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were
incorporated into the Indian Union. |
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