Context: Recently, a U.S. man was arrested on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for allegedly entering the prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Sentinel Island and Sentinelese people.
North Sentinel Island
Geography
- Location: Sentinel Island belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian UT Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The island lies about 64 kms west of Port Blair.
- The island has a tropical climate. The entire island is forested, largely covered in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest.
- North Sentinel is surrounded by coral reefs, and lacks natural harbours.
Demography
- It is home to the indigenous Sentinelese people, one the most isolated tribes in the world.
- Sentinelese practice primordial hunting and gathering. They use bows, arrows, and spears for hunting and defence. They have not developed agriculture or metalworking.
- The tribe has had minimal contact with outsiders and has usually been hostile to those who approach or land on the island. Their language remains unclassified.
- In 1956, the government of India declared North Sentinel Island as a tribal reserve and prohibited travel within 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometres) of it. It maintains a constant armed patrol in the surrounding waters to prevent intrusions by outsiders
- Sentinelese are listed under Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) by the government of India.