4 lakh tourists visit Andamans every year; 15,000 of them foreigners
New Delhi, Nov 25 : The Andamans, under global spotlight after the killing of an American national by members of a highly protected tribe there, has emerged as one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country receiving on an average four lakh tourists, including several thousand foreigners, annually.
According to data available with the Union Home Ministry, more than 16 lakh tourists have visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands since 2015 till October to see the natural beauty, beaches, flora and fauna and historically-significant landmarks in around 38 inhabited islands out of the 572 islets.
The archipelago has received 4,02,393 tourists, including 11,818 foreigners, this year till October while it received 4,87,229 tourists, including 15,310 foreigners in 2017.
In 2016, as many as 4,00,019 tourists, including 15,467 foreigners, had visited the Andamans and in 2015, a total of 3,11,358 tourists, including 14,674 foreigners, had gone to the union territory, the data said.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory and comes under the administrative control of the home ministry.
The Andamans is in news in the wake of killing of John Allen Chau, 27, by members of the reclusive Sentinelese tribe in North Sentinel Island last week.
The archipelago has been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least.
The earlier archaeological evidence yet documented goes back some 2,200 years; however, the indications from genetic, cultural and linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,000 60,000 years, well into the Middle Palaeolithic, according to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands tourism department.
In the Andaman Islands, the various Andamanese people maintained their separated existence through diversifying into distinct linguistic, cultural and territorial groups.
In 1850s, the indigenous people of Andamans first came into contact with the outside world. The local people are: Great Andamanese, who collectively represented at least 10 distinct sub groups and languages, including the Jarawa: the jungle (or Rutland Jarawa); the Onge; and the Sentinelese (the most isolated of all the groups).
The indigenous peoples of the Nicobars (unrelated to the Andamanese) have a similarly isolated and lengthy association with the islands.
There are two main groups: the Nicobarese, or Nicobari living throughout many of the islands; and the Shompen, restricted to the interior of Great Nicobar.
The Andamans, located in the east of the Indian mainland geographically, float in splendid isolation in the Bay of Bengal. Once a hill range extending from Myanmar to Indonesia, these picturesque undulating islands, islets numbering around 572, are covered with dense rain-fed, damp and evergreen forests and endless varieties of exotic flora and fauna.
Most of these islands (about 550) are in the Andaman Group, 28 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars, comprise some 22 main islands (10 inhabited). The Andaman and Nicobars are separated by the Ten Degree Channel which is 150 km wide.
These islands also boast of India's freedom struggle days' historically significant landmarks -- Cellular Jail, Ross Island, Viper Island, Hopetown and Mount Harriet.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been declared as two of the 218 endemic bird areas of the world.
As many as 270 species and sub-species of birds have been reported to exist in these islands, 106 of them being endemic. The Andaman Wood Pigeon, Andaman Padauk and Dugong are declared as State Bird, State Tree and State Animal respectively.
There are about 96 wildlife sanctuaries, nine national parks and one biosphere reserve in the islands. These islands are blessed with the bounties of both south-west and north-east monsoons.
The North Sentinel Island, where the American was killed, is one of 29 islands in Andamans where till June foreigners had to take special permission -- the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) -- before being allowed to visit them.
Even though one filter (RAP) was withdrawn, any tourist is required to take permission from the forest department and the administration of the island as it is protected under two other acts -- protection of aboriginal people and forest acts, a home ministry official said.
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BJP to resolve decades-old Gorkha issue within 6 months of forming govt in Bengal: Shah
Kurseong (WB) (PTI): Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the politically crucial hill electorate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised that the BJP would resolve the decades-old Gorkha issue within six months if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal.
He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas.
Addressing a rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms.
"Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace," he said.
The Gorkha issue refers to the century-old demand for a separate state in the Gorkha-majority hill districts of north Bengal, although Shah did not utter the words 'Gorkhaland' or 'statehood' in his speech.
Instead, echoing the BJP's long-standing promise of a "permanent political solution" to the hill question, Shah said the issue would be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Gorkhas.
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"I am leaving today after promising you that as soon as the BJP government is formed, the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved according to the Gorkhas' terms," he said.
The BJP, which has won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in every election since 2009, has consistently promised a permanent political solution to the hill issue without committing itself to a separate state.
The home minister accused the Mamata Banerjee government of refusing to engage with efforts to resolve the issue and said that after becoming home minister, he had convened three meetings on the matter.
"After becoming home minister, I convened three major meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but not even once did a representative from Mamata's side attend," Shah said.
"Mamata Didi, we are not dependent on you for a solution to the Gorkha issue. We have appointed an interlocutor who is preparing a report by engaging with Gorkha organisations here and officials of the West Bengal government," he added.
Claiming that the BJP alone understands the concerns of the hill residents, Shah said, "We understand you and your problems. No one except the BJP can resolve the Gorkha issue."
The home minister alleged that the Congress and the TMC had betrayed the people of the hills for decades.
"The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," he said.
Seeking to broaden the BJP's pitch beyond the Gorkha issue, Shah sought to portray the election as a battle to free north Bengal and the hills from what he called years of neglect and injustice under the TMC rule.
"This election is to free the entire West Bengal from TMC's crimes. In a way, it is an election to gain freedom from the injustice happening for decades in north Bengal and Darjeeling," he said.
Referring to the Sandeshkhali controversy, Shah said, "The whole of West Bengal has decided that it is time for Didi to step down. This election is about protecting our sisters across the state. The Sandeshkhali incident has brought shame to the state."
The BJP leader told the gathering that while Darjeeling had repeatedly backed the BJP, the party needed support from the rest of West Bengal this time.
"For three elections, Darjeeling has been voting for the BJP anyway, but the rest of West Bengal did not provide as much support. But this time, the whole of West Bengal has made up its mind that it's time to oust Didi," he said.
Shah also raised the issue of Gorkhas' names being allegedly deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"The names of some Gorkhas were deleted during SIR. Once the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, all such names will be included in the electoral rolls again," he said.
He further alleged that hundreds of false cases had been slapped on Gorkha activists and promised that these would be withdrawn if the BJP formed the government.
"They have filed hundreds of false cases against our Gorkha brothers and sisters. The results will come out on May 4, and a BJP government will be formed on May 5. Before July 31, the BJP government in West Bengal will withdraw all cases against Gorkha brothers and sisters," Shah said.
The home minister also attacked the Mamata Banerjee government over budgetary allocations for the tribals.
"For tribal development, for Adivasis, for the hills, and for north Bengal, the Mamata government's total budget is Rs 2,000 crore. But for Muslims and madrasas, the Mamata government's budget is Rs 5,800 crore. This injustice will not last much longer," he said.
The demand for Gorkhaland and greater political autonomy for the Darjeeling hills has remained one of the most enduring and emotive political issues in north Bengal, often shaping electoral outcomes in the region.
Successive agitations -- from the Subhash Ghising-led GNLF movement in the 1980s to the later stir spearheaded by Bimal Gurung and the GJM, have repeatedly convulsed the hills.
Yet, despite the BJP's rise in Darjeeling and its continued dominance in the Lok Sabha seat since 2009, the party has so far stopped short of endorsing a separate state as it would have an adverse impact on south Bengal, preferring instead to speak of a "permanent political solution".
