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The islands were again colonized in the aftermath of the 'Indian Mutiny' of when a penal colony and jail were established on South Andaman, which over the years housed both political and other prisoners. They have suffered a long, and probably irreversible, decline in numbers. The Andamanese have suffered most drastically. In , when the penal settlement was started, there were 4, of them; in , ; in , 90; and in , only Initial casualties came from warfare with the colonizers, later ones from diseases such as pneumonia, measles and syphilis.
Survivors have been resettled by the administration on the hectare Strait Island. The Jarawa were the next group to face land colonization. At first, in desperation, they moved away from the settlements, but later they began to attack them. The British retaliated and organized punitive expeditions. The Jarawa today number about and live on the square kilometre Jarawa reserve in South and Middle Andaman islands.
The Onge of the remote Little Andaman islands were the next to be contacted by outsiders in when they killed eight sailors. In retaliation a punitive mission took seventy Onge lives, about 10 per cent of the total population. Although friendly relations were established in , the Onges were infected by disease and their numbers declined from in to in and to about in The exact numbers of the Sentinelese Islanders remains unknown but they probably number Outsiders who have attempted contact have been met by flights of arrows and the official policy is to leave the Sentinelese alone.
The odds against their survival as viable peoples are overwhelming. The main threat comes from development of the islands by large-scale settlement and deforestation. The islanders, especially the Jarawa, have resisted those who encroach on their reserve, as happened when several road-building crew died in and two settlers died in Some attempts have been made to contact these Jarawa with gifts, and sometimes these have been successful, but anthropologists have warned that such contact is intrinsically harmful and will only result in the destruction of the few indigenous people who still survive.
The legendary Admiral Kanhoji Angre who established naval supremacy with a base there, is credited with making the Islands a part of India. During the period to , they were administrated from Tranquebar in continental Danish India. The colony was repeatedly abandoned due to the outbreak of malaria from onwards for varying periods of time and finally in , for good.
During these periods of abandonment between and , Austria mistakenly assumed that Denmark had abandoned its claims to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and attempted to establish a colony there, renaming them as Theresia Islands. In , the British set up a naval base and a penal colony on Chatham Island next to Great Andaman, where now exists the town of Port Blair. Two years later, the colony was moved to Port Cornwallis on Great Andaman, but was soon abandoned due to disease.
The British re-established a colony at Port Blair in which proved to be more permanent. Thus was built the infamous Cellular Jail that today is a major tourist attraction.
In , the British strengthened their administrative control over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by uniting them under a single Chief Commissioner at Port Blair. The Islands were re-occupied by British and Indian troops in October to whom the remaining Japanese garrison surrendered.
Evidence of British and Japanese occupation by way of pill-boxes and other buildings exists even today. At independence of both India and Burma now Myanmar , the departing British announced their intention to resettle all Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on the Islands to form their own nation, although this never materialised. Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a unique location in the Bay of Bengal.
The Islands are closer to a number of countries than the Indian mainland. Due North, they are just 22 nautical miles from Myanmar. At the southern end, Indira Point, the southernmost point of India, earlier known as Pygmalion Point, is just 90 nautical miles from Indonesia.
In the East, Thailand is only nautical miles away. In stark contrast to these distances, Port Blair is over nautical miles from mainland India. Thus, any country controlling these Islands would be able to control the Bay of Bengal. Due to their proximity to South East Asian countries, these Islands can serve as a bridgehead for any country wishing to either attack mainland India or carry out subversive activities.
Apart from being strategically located, India has a vast coastline with the peninsula jutting out 1, miles into the ocean. It is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The EEZ of India has great potential for mining of undersea resources so crucial to the economy of the nation. With many important Sea Lanes of Communication SLOC passing through the area, this region is of immense economic and strategic significance to India as also to other nations.
The US has continuously displayed interest in the region with a significant naval presence deployed all year round and maintains a permanent airbase at Diego Garcia. However, of late, China too has been showing an increasing interest in the IOR. Strategically however, India is in an advantageous position.
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