History
The original inhabitants of the islands lived in the forests on hunting and
fishing. There are four Negrito tribes, viz., the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa
and Sentinalese in the Andaman group of islands and two Mongoloid Sentinalese
are still hostile. They are still keeping a separate entity and have not yet
learnt the concept of covering their bodies.
The modern history of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands begins with the
establishment of a settlement by East India Company in 1789. However, in 1796
this settlement was abandoned. Following the first war of Indian Independence in
1857, the British India Government founded the penal settlement in these islands
in 1858, primarily known as Kalapani, for the deportation of freedom fighters
from the mainland India, which continued till the second World War. During the
Second World War, the Japanese forces occupied the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
in 1942. Further following the surrender of the Japanese forces in the Second
World War, the British India Government reoccupied these islands in 1945 and
continued their administration till the Independence of the country in 1947.
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