Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The islands of Andaman & Nicobar, with their avifauna, underwater marine life and corals, palm-fringed beaches , mangrove-lined Tourist attractions, beaches and places, culture, tibals, untouch beaches:
Andaman-nikobar Islands India creeks, glorious rainbows and breathtaking cliffs , hold some of the most spectacularly beautiful scenery on earth. However, despite their splendid isolation, out in the Bay of Bengal, they belong very definitely to the India.
Port Blair, the capital of the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar, is the main tourist centre.

History:

The earliest reference to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been found in the maps in the map prepared by the 2nd century Claudius Ptolemaeus, the great Greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer. The people of the islands had trading relations with the outside world which can be possibly true thanks to the location of these islands close to the trade route to the Far East.

The instances of the Portuguese activities are also found in the islands of Andaman and Nicobar which is evident from some of the words that made into the Nicobarese language.

1777 marks the year when a clear history of the Union territory of Andaman & Nicobar can be had with precision. In this year the British conducted a survey of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar. The Islands o the Bay of Bengal had been inhabited by the indigenous natives of Negrito and the Mongoloid stock for centuries. These islands remained isolated from the mainland till the end of the 18th Century when their inhabitants came into contact with the outside world.

The year 1789 saw the establishment of the first British settlement on Chatham Island, near Port Blair during the Governor Generalship of Lord Cornwallis. The British founded the first penal settlement in 1858, with 200 prisoners, mostly rebels from the Indian Army who militated against the British suzerainty during the first war of Independence.

The construction of the famous Cellular Jail was completed in 1906.

The rapid advance of Japan in the initial years of the World War II implicated Andamana in the war. Andaman was captured by the Japanese on March 21, 1942 and remained under their effective control till October 8, 1945. Many innocent people were killed by the Japanese forces who viewed them with suspicion that the local inhabitants were in touch with the British.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose received a warm and ceremonial welcome when he arrived in Port Blair on December 29, 1943. He is credited to have hoisted the National Flag at Port Blair on 30th Dec. 1943 for the first time during the British rule in India.

Under the Government rehabilitation scheme of the post independent India, people from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) migrated to the Andamans. The union territory is administrated by the Lt. Governor appointed by the President of India. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands has one Lok Sabha seat.

Places of interest
Cellular Jail:

Located at the capital of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar, Port Blair, Cellular Jail is a silent witness to the inhuman treatment meted out to the soldiers of the freedom struggle, who were put in this Jail. The jail derived the name, 'cellular' because it is entirely made up of individual cells as the idea was to dump the prisoners to the solitary confinement. The Jail, now a pilgrimage destination for all, has been dedicated to the country as a National Memorial.
The Son-et-Lumiere show captures the spirit of freedom struggle. Within the prison campus are a Museum, an Art gallery, and a Photo gallery, which are open on all days except Monday from 9.00 AM to 12 Noon and 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM.

Ross Island

Ross Island, once the capital of Port Blair during the erstwhile British rule, is a small island that is home to the ruins of old buildings of the colonial era. These buildings including Govt. House, Ballrooms Chief Commissioner's House, Church, and Hospital are in ruined condition.

The island with historical background and preserved ruins is spread along an area of 0.6 sq. kms. With the ruins and also with the historical background, the Island has gained a lot of popularity among the tourists.

The tourists can visit the Ross Island during the day time as the boat services are available from the Phoenix Bay jetty. The Indian Navy has set up a museum on the Island known as 'Smritika' portraying the history of the Island.

Viper Island:

The tiny, tranquil, striking island of Viper derives its name from the vessel 'Viper' which brought Lt. Archibald Blair to the islands in 1768 with a view to establishing a Penal Settlement. The penal settlement is a mute witness to the atrocities inflicted by the British on the freedom fighters. The working conditions of the jail earned the notorious epithet of Viper Chain Gang Jail.

The island derives its name from the vessel 'Viper' in which Lt. Archibald Blair came to the islands in 1768 with the purpose of establishing a Penal Settlement. Sher Ali, the Pathan, guilty of assassinating Lord Mayo, was damned to death and hanged at Viper Island.

The Harbour cruise, available daily from Phoenix Bay Jetty, offers a stunning view of different points around the harbour and includes a trip to Viper Island.

Other museums in the Union territory of Andaman & Nicobar include Anthropological Museum and Fisheries Museum, Samudrika (Naval Marine Museum), Zoological Survey of India Museum and Forest Museum.

Located at the Phoenix Bay the Anthropological Museum exhibits the life of the Paleolithic Islanders. Open all the days except on Mondays and holidays, the museum houses the models of the aborigines and their tools.

Fisheries Museum:

Located near Andaman Water Sports Complex, the museums depict species of marine life characteristic of the islands and found in the Indo-Pacific and the Bay of Bengal.