Maps of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

EXCURSION TOUR

EXCURSION TOUR

AIDS CAMPAIGN

Adult Literacy Camp

JNV Andaman is situated in a scenic valley near the sea shore about 17 km from Rangat in M. Andaman and about 200 km from port Blair. This school was founded in 1987 in chouldari near port Blair but shifted to the present venue in 1990. It is a residential school with about 500 students and 30 plus teachers. The school has classes from VI to XII

Onges

Onges are one of the most primitive tribes in India. They belong to the Negrito racial stock and they have been relegated to the reserved pockets both at Dugong Creek and South Bay of Little Andaman Island. They are also diminishing in number. They live in a remote corner of the country in a small pocket. They are the semi-nomadic tribes and fully dependent on the food provided by nature. They have now experienced the impact of outsiders. At the same time efforts at befriending them have proved to be successful. They have been provided with pucca hut type houses, food, clothes, medicines, etc by the Administration. They eat turtle, fish, roots and jack frutis and etc. They have developed artistry and craft. The Onges can make canoes. A primary school has been functioning at the Dugong Creek settlement of Onges. This tribe has become laid back and dependent in their ways. Also their rate of reproduction has become very low.

Shompens

The habitation of Shompens is the Great Nicobar which is the largest among the Nicobar group of Islands. Like the Nicobarese, they belong to the Mongoloid race. The Shompens have two divisions, the smaller division being known as Mawa Shompens. They inhabit areas very close to the coastal region along the river valleys. They are very shy. They are quite intimate with the Nicobarese and of the major group of Shompens, the hostile Shompens are living in Alexendra and Galathia river areas and also on the east coast of the area in the interior of the Island. In the past, frequent attacks are believed to have been made on the Mawa Shompens by the hostile Shompens. But now, such hostility has been stopped. It is probably because they have been largely reduced in number due to various diseases. The Mawa Shompens are the victims of diseases and physically very weak. With the establishment of the settlement at Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar, Shompens have been visiting the settlers and they are gradually shaking off their shyness and indifferent attitude towards the civilised people.

Sentinelese

The Sentinelese are the inhabitants of North Sentinel Island. The area is about 60 Sq. Kilometers. They are probably the world’s only Paleolithic people surviving today without contact with any other group or community. They are considered as an off-shoot to the Onge Jarawa tribes which have acquired a different identity due to their habitation in an isolated and have lost contact with the main tribes. The Sentinelese are very hostile and never leave their Island. Very little is known about these hostile tribes.

JARAWA
By the neighbouring Great Andamanese the tribe was referred to as Jarawa, 'the other people' or 'stranger', indicating a somewhat later migration than the Great Andamanese, both tribes being traditional territorial rivals.
This fact was exploited by the British who utilized the services of the Great Andamanese to track down the Jarawa. Also the British mounted punitive expeditions in Jarawa areas on South Andaman to capture men, women and children. Those who resisted were killed and their huts burned. In official language the Jarawa were referred to as 'the hostile people'.
They now inhabit the west coast and jungle of the South and Middle Andamans, possibly migrating from the region of lower Burma, according to Radcliff-Brown. According to Cipriani the Jarawa have migrated from Little Andaman to Great Andaman. The presence of the Negritos in the Great Andamans are by examination of the kitchen-middens estimated to have lasted for at least 2000 years.
Of species the endemic wild pig and the monitor lizard are the largest dwellers in the tropical jungle, the wild pig as main provider of both meat and sculls preserved as trophies in the huts. Early this century, from 1905 -1930, the British chose for cultural reasons to import spotted and barking deer, animals considered by the Jarawa to be brought by the gods and thus never hunted but instead adored and celebrated by the aborigines.
Hunting of the wild pig is by means of bow and arrow, spear and harpoon arrow too, the shaft from the harpoon getting entangled in the bushes and helping the hunter to catch the animal. For the gathering digging rods, baskets of cane strips and net bags are used.
The surrounding sea is as rich in marine life as the forests are devoid of large wildlife. Migration of the tribes on the Andamans has been by crossing the sea using the islands as stepping stones, but in due time their knowledge confined to the sea was lost.

Mud Volcano Eruption at Baratang, Middle Andamans
A mud volcano started erupting at Baratang Island, Middle Andamans on 18th February 2003. There was a minor fissure eruption at the same site before 1983. This type of fissures are common at Baratang through which mud and gas constantly seeps out. The last major eruption occurred in March, 1983, which was of larger magnitude compared to the recent eruption. The present eruption covers an area of 1,000 sq m to 1,200 sq m and has resulted in the formation of the sub-circular mound of about 30 m in diameter and height of about 2 m at the center. The main crater is submerged under grey coloured, solidified mud. Emission of a colourless gas with sulphurous smell was noted along with grey, dark grey to bluish grey coloured viscous mud. The ejected viscous mud also contains angular to sub-rounded rock fragments consisting of sandstone, red and green coloured shales, quartz-calcite vein fragments and crystals of cubic pyrite (?) from the underlying strata.

Little Andaman Island

This island has a beautiful beach at Butler Bay, a waterfall and plantation of oil palms. Apart from this there are several sandy beaches all along the coastline of the island. The break water at Hut Bay offers an excellent view to the tourists. Little Andaman is the vegetable bowl for the Nicobar group of islands. The Onge tribals live in this island, so do Nicobarese apart from settlers from erstwhile East Pakistan and other places. However entry to tribal areas is restricted. Journey 8 hrs. by sea from Port Blair towards sout

Jolly Buoy
An island in Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, it offers a breath taking underwater view of coral and marine life. It is an ideal place for snorkeling , sea bathing and basking on the sun kissed beach.

Long Island
Long Island (82 kms. from Port Blair) Connected by boat four times a week from Phoenix Bay Jetty, this island offers an excellent sandy beach at Lalaji Bay, unpolluted environment and evergreen forests. The sea around the island is frequented by dolphin convoys. Lalaji bay, 6 kms. away from the boat jetty, is accessible by 15 minutes journey in dinghies or trekking through the forest. Directorate of Tourism offers island camping during seas

Viper Island
The Britishers used to harbour convicts here. The first jail was constructed here which was abandoned after the construction of Cellular Jail. It has a gallows atop a hillock, where condemned prisoners were hanged. Sher Ali, who killed Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India in 1872, was also hanged here.

Barren Island
At a distance of about 135 Kms. from Port Blair is the land of volcano, Barren Island, the only active volcano in India. The Island, about 3 Kms. has a big crater of the volcano, rising abruptly from the sea, about 1/2 Km. from the shore and is about 150 fathoms deep. Can be visited on board vessels

Cellular Jail, located at Port Blair, stood mute witness to the tortures meted out to the freedom fighters, who were incarcerated in this Jail. The Jail, completed in the year 1906 acquired the name, ‘cellular’ because it is entirely made up of individual cells for the solitary confinement of the prisoners. It originally was a seven pronged, puce-coloured building with central tower acting as its fulcrum and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors. The building was subsequently damaged and presently three out of the seven prongs are intact. The Jail, now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom loving people, has been declared a National Memorial.
The penal settlement established in Andamans by the British after the First War of Independence in 1857 was the beginning of the agonising story of freedom fighters in the massive and awful jails at Viper Island followed by the Cellular Jail. The patriots who raised their voice against the British Raj were sent to this Jail, where many perished. Netaji Subash Chandra Bose hoisted the tri-colour flag to proclaim Independence on 30th December 1943 at a place near this Jail.
This three-storeyed prison, constructed by Britishers in 1906, is a pilgrimage destination for freedom fighters. This colossal edifice has mutely witnessed the most treacherous of inhumane atrocities borne by the convicts, who were mostly freedom fighters. Now dedicated to the nation as a National Memorial.
The saga of the heroic freedom struggle is brought alive in a moving Son-et-Lumiere, shown daily inside the jail compound at 6.00 PM (Hindi) and 7.15 PM (English). Also there is 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.