History of Andaman & Nicobar

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.