Things You Don’t Know About Andamans
So here is a list of ten interesting things about the Emerald of Islands to jot down the greatness and beauty of these Islands
1. The Islands get their name from the Malay language
The former is presumed to be derived from the name of the Hindu God ‘Hanuman’ as he was known to the Malays as ‘Handuman’ and the latter seems to have been derived it from ‘Nakkavaram’ meaning ‘Land of the naked’.
2. The tribal here don’t interact with outsiders
The people here, fondly known as ‘adivasi’ belong to the ‘Jarwa’ tribe. Though less than 500 in number, they don’t interact with outsiders and live in their own community.
3. The common tongue of the people is not Andamanese or Nicobarese which is perhaps strange!
The most common language of communication is Bengali followed by Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
4. Katchal Island is the place to have the first sun rise of the millennium
Katchal, a tiny island near Nicobar was declared by the Royal Greenwich Laboratory to have been the first inhabited place on Earth to catch the rays of the first sunrise of the millennium.
5. The only active volcano in India is present in the Andaman
Barren Island, situated 135 km away from Port Blair, is where this active volcano can be seen. It is not the only active volcano of India but of entire South Asia.
6. During WWII, Andaman and Nicobar Islands were the only part of India to come under Japanese occupation
Surprisingly, these islands were occupied by the Japanese for the longest period- three years unlike other Indian states which were occupied for a shorter duration.
7. Andaman and Nicobar Islands has India’s first and only tri-service joint defence command
The location of the islands makes it one of the most important naval and trade points in the world. This is India’s first and only joint tri-service command, with rotating three-star commanders-in-chief from the three defence forces- Army, Air Force and Navy reporting directly to the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
8. The largest sea turtles in the world are found here
Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to three species of marine turtles- Hawksbill, Green turtle and world’s largest sea turtle, the Leatherback.
9. The 20 Rupee note depicts the scene of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Very few people know that the scene depicted on the 20 Rupee note is taken from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
10. Island of Parrots
One of the islands here is also known as the Island of Parrots as it remains mostly uninhabited except when the parrots come here nesting.