Travel Route: Andaman – Port Blair – Havelock Island – Barefoot Resort
What is the geography and history of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a set of 572 islands located in the Bay of Bengal. Only 36 of the islands are inhabited. A few of these 36 are occupied by aboriginal tribes, opposing civilized interference. The climate is tropical, sweltering hot, and very humid. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are 745 miles (1200km) from the Indian mainland but only 30 miles (50km) from Myanmar and 55 miles (90km) from Indonesia. How come, then, that this string of islands is part of India?
Andaman and Nicobar were abandoned islands but for some aboriginal natives. During the colonization of India, 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 at revolt. Since 1857 political prisoners were sent to Port Blair’s infamous Cellular jail. During WWII, Japan and Subhash Chandra Bose fought against the British in Burma and North East India. As soon as Japan took over parts of Northeast India along with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, they were given to Subhash Chandra Bose. Thus, Andaman and Nicobar Islands became the first territories of Independent India. By the war’s end, Japan lost, and Andaman and Nicobar fell again into British hands. Once India became Independent, the Andaman and Nicobar became part of the new India.
Who was Subhash Chandra Bose?
We associate the Indian fight for freedom from British colonialism with Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent approach. Still, 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 pretty fascinating. He cooperated with Nazi Germany and Japan in the war against the Allies in Southeast Asia.
In 1943, Bose traveled by German submarine around Africa’s southern tip 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 to 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, which is far from the model of India that Gandhi wanted.
Bose’s vision of India became a reality in the last few decades. The Indian army is the third-largest in the world. India has fought four wars with its neighbors and 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 are a bit north of the earthquake epicenter. The tsunami waves reached a height of 49ft (15m) within minutes; as a result, 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, is estimated at 7,000. The 2004 Tsunami took over 230,000 victims throughout south-east Asia. It is considered the deadliest in history.