North Sentinel Island

North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands, a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal that belong to India. It is home to the Sentinelese, a group of people who choose to stay completely separate from the rest of the world. They have strongly defended their isolation, sometimes using force to keep outsiders away.

The island is small, about eight kilometres long and seven kilometres wide. Because the Sentinelese have never had contact with the outside world, they may not be protected against diseases that people elsewhere commonly catch. For this reason, laws in India say that no one may travel to the island or come closer than five kilometres to it. The Indian Navy patrols the area to make sure these rules are followed.

The Sentinelese have not wanted any visitors. They have been known to shoot arrows at boats and even at helicopters that come too close. Sadly, there have been times when people tried to reach the island and were harmed. It is important for everyone to respect the Sentinelese’s wish to live alone and stay safe.

History

See also: Sentinelese § Contact

The Onge, one of the other indigenous peoples of the Andamans, knew about North Sentinel Island. They call it Chia daaKwokweyeh. They share cultural similarities with the Sentinelese, but their languages are different.

British explorers visited the island in the past. In 1771, a ship saw lights from the island. In 1867, a ship ran aground near the island, and its passengers were attacked but later rescued.

In 1880, a government worker named Maurice Vidal Portman visited the island and took some Sentinelese people to Port Blair. Sadly, two of them became unwell and passed away. The others were taken back home.

After India gained independence, there were more visits. In 1991, researchers made peaceful contact by offering coconuts, which the Sentinelese accepted. However, understanding their language remained difficult.

The Sentinelese survived a big earthquake and tsunami in 2004. In later years, some people tried to visit the island illegally, which led to serious situations. India has rules to protect the Sentinelese and their way of life.

Geography

North Sentinel Island is located about 36 kilometers west of the village of Wandoor on South Andaman Island. It is also 50 kilometers west of Port Blair and 60 kilometers north of South Sentinel Island. The island covers an area of roughly 59.67 square kilometers.

The island is surrounded by coral reefs and has no natural harbors. It is covered in forests, except for a narrow white-sand beach around the shore. After the beach, the land rises gently to higher ground toward the center. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake lifted the island by about one to two meters, which exposed parts of the coral reefs and changed the island's shape.

Flora and fauna

North Sentinel Island is covered in thick, green forests, and scientists believe many plants and animals live there, but they have not been fully studied yet. Early visitors described the island as having tall, open jungle areas with special trees like bulletwood and Malabar silk-cotton trees. The island is also home to Indian boar, which the local people use as food. It is an important place for coconut crabs and many kinds of birds.

The waters around the island have coral reefs and mangroves. Though these reefs were damaged by a big ocean event in 1998, they are growing back. People have also seen sharks, sea turtles, and dolphins in the surrounding waters.

Demographics

North Sentinel Island is home to the Sentinelese, a group of indigenous people who choose to stay separate from the rest of the world and protect themselves strongly. In 2012, it was thought that there were between 50 and 400 Sentinelese people. India’s 2011 census said there were 15 people in 10 households, but this was just an estimate and probably only a small part of the real population.

Like the Jarawas, the Sentinelese could be at risk from infectious diseases they have no protection against, as well as from people who try to come close to them. The Indian government has made the island and the waters five nautical miles (nine kilometres) around it off-limits to keep them safe from outside interference.

Political status

The Andaman and Nicobar (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 helps protect the Sentinelese and other local tribes. In 2005, the Andaman and Nicobar Administration said they do not want to change the Sentinelese way of life or take control of the island. Even though North Sentinel Island is not its own special area of India, many experts think the people there live independently.