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?Andaman and Nicobar Islands India
Coordinates: 11°41′N 92°46′E / 11.68, 92.77
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area	8,249 km² (3,185 sq mi)
Capital	Port Blair
Largest city	Port Blair
District(s)	2
Population • Density	356,1521 (32) • 43/km² (111/sq mi)
Language(s)	Nicobarese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu
Lt. Governor	Bhopinder Singh
Established	1956-11-01
ISO abbreviation	IN-AN
Website: and.nic.in
1 Population data as per the final 2001 Census of India figures.
Seal of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Coordinates: 11°41′N 92°46′E / 11.68, 92.77 Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... Location of Mirzapur and the 82. ... The geography of India is extremely diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, rainforests, hills and plateaus. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km² and 10,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh National Capital Territory of Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Andaman and Nicobar Islands Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair Port Blair   (Hindi: पोर्ट ब्लेयर) (coordinates: ) is the largest town and a municipal council in Andamans district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair Port Blair   (Hindi: पोर्ट ब्लेयर) (coordinates: ) is the largest town and a municipal council in Andamans district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ... The divisions of a district. ... Population density by country, 2006 Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. ... The following is a list of the most populous cities in India. ... As a large and linguistically diverse country, India does not have a single official language. ... Nicobarese is an isolated group of six closely related Mon-Khmer languages spoken in the Nicobar Islands of India. ... Bengali or Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hindi (हिन्दी) is a language spoken mainly in North and Central India. ... Malayalam ( ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... “Punjabi” redirects here. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language primarily spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard. ... ISO 3166-2 for India (ISO 3166-1 : IN) The purpose of this family of standards is to establish a worldwide series of short abbreviations for places, for use on package labels, containers and such. ... Image File history File links Emblem_of_India. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands pronunciation (help· info) is a union territory of India. Informally, the territory's name is often abbreviated to A & N Islands, or ANI. It is located in the Indian Ocean, in the southern reaches of the Bay of Bengal. It comprises two island groups - the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands - which separate the Andaman Sea to the east from the Indian Ocean. These two groups are separated by the 10° N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The capital of this territory is the Andamanese town of Port Blair. Image File history File links Andaman. ... A Union Territory is an administrative division of India. ... Look up Bay of Bengal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... Map of Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean, and are part of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. ... The Andaman Sea (Burmese: ; IPA: ) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Myanmar, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands; it is part of the Indian Ocean. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair Port Blair   (Hindi: पोर्ट ब्लेयर) (coordinates: ) is the largest town and a municipal council in Andamans district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India. ...

The territory's population as per the most recent (2001) Census of India was 356,152. Added together, the total land area of the territory is approximately 8,249 km². Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map showing the population density of each state in India Although India occupies only 2. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

History

Name origins

The name Andaman presumably comes from Handuman, which is Malay for the Hindu god Hanuman. The name Nicobar is Malay for land of the naked (people). The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, parts of the coast of Borneo and even in the Netherlands[1]. It is an... For the Tamil movie by same name see Anjaneya (film). ...

First inhabitants

Map of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an extra detailed area around Port Blair

The Andaman and Nicobar islands have been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least. The earliest archaeological evidence yet documented goes back some 2,200 years; however, the indications from genetic, cultural and linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,000 to 60,000 years, well into the Middle Paleolithic. Download high resolution version (894x2068, 314 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Download high resolution version (894x2068, 314 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archae, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 2nd century BC started on January 1, 200 BC and ended on December 31, 101 BC. // Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. ... DNA, the molecular basis for inheritance. ... Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. ...

In the Andaman Islands, the various Andamanese peoples maintained their separated existence through the vast majority of this time, diversifying into distinct linguistic, cultural and territorial groups. By the 1850s when they first came into sustained contact by outside groups, the indigenous peoples of the Andamans were: Comparative map showing the distributions of the various Andamanese peoples in the Andaman Islands- early 1800s versus present-day (2004). ... // Production of steel revolutionized by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Railroads begin to supplant canals in the United States as a primary means of transporting goods. ... The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. ...

• the Great Andamanese, who collectively represented at least 10 distinct sub-groups and languages;
• the Jarawa;
• the Jangil (or Rutland Jarawa);
• the Onge; and
• the Sentinelese (most isolated of all the groups).

In total, these peoples numbered somewhere around 7,000 at the time of these first encounters. As the numbers of settlers from the mainland increased (at first mostly prisoners and involuntary indentured labourers, later purposely recruited farmers), these indigenous peoples lost territory and numbers in the face of land encroachment and the effects of various epidemic diseases. The Jangil and most of the Great Andamanese groups soon became extinct; presently there remain only approximately 400-450 indigenous Andamanese, the Jarawa and Sentinelese in particular maintaining a steadfast independence and refusing most attempts at contact. Great Andamanese is a collective term used to refer to related groups or tribes of indigenous peoples who lived throughout most of the Great Andaman archipelago, the main and closely-situated group of islands in the Andaman Islands. ... The Jarawa (also Järawa, Jarwa) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal approximately 200 km south of the nearest continental mainland, Cape Negrais in Myanmar. ... The Jangil (also Rutland Jarawa) were one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. ... The Onge (also Ongee) are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. ... The Sentinelese (also Sentineli, Senteneli, Sentenelese, North Sentinel Islanders) are one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. ... An Indentured servant is an unfree labourer under contract to work (for a specified amount of time) for another person, often without any pay, but in exchange for accommodation, food, other essentials and/or free passage to a new country. ... In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ...

The indigenous peoples of the Nicobars (unrelated to the Andamanese) have a similarly isolated and lengthy association with the islands. There are two main groups:

• the Nicobarese, or Nicobari, living throughout many of the islands; and
• the Shompen, restricted to the interior of Great Nicobar.

Nicobarese is an isolated group of six closely related Mon-Khmer languages spoken in the Nicobar Islands of India. ... The Shompen are a Nicobarese aboriginal group. ... Great Nicobar is the largest of the Nicobar Islands of India, north of Sumatra. ...

Pre-colonial era

The islands provided a temporary maritime base for ships of the Marathas in the 17th century. The legendary privateer and admiral Kanhoji Angre harassed colonial shipping routes with a base in the islands. The Marāthās (Marathi: , also Mahrattas) form an Indo Aryan group of Hindu warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a the expansive Maratha Empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries. ... A privateer was a private ship (or its captain) authorized by a countrys government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping. ... For other uses, see Admiral (disambiguation). ... Kanhoji Angre or Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angre (? – 1729) was the first notable chief of the Maratha Navy in 18th century India. ...

British colonial period

After an initial attempt to set up a colony in the islands by the British was abandoned after only a few years (1789-1796), a second attempt from 1858 proved to be more permanent. The primary purpose was to set up a penal colony for dissenters and independence fighters from the Indian subcontinent. 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1796 (MDCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A penis colony is a colony used to detain prisoners and generally use them for penal labor in an economically underdeveloped part of the states (usually colonial) territories, and on a far larger scale than a prison farm. ... Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ...

The British used the islands as an isolated prison for members of the Indian independence movement. The mode of imprisonment was called Kalapani. The Cellular Jail in Port Blair was regarded as the "Siberia" of British India. The Indian independence movement incorporated the efforts by Indians to liberate the region from British rule and form the nation-state of India. ... Kalapani (means black water or dark sea in Hindi), is a multi language Indian film. ... The Cellular Jail (also known as Kaala paani, literally Black water, a term for the deep sea and hence exile) situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) was completed in 1906. ... It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George...

The islands were administered as a Chief Commissioner's Province.

The British continued their occupancy until the Japanese Invasion and Occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II . The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (8,293 sq km on 139 islands), are a group of islands situated in the Bay of Bengal at about 780 miles from Kolkata, 740 miles from Chennai and 120 miles from Cape Nargis in Burma. ...

Indian control

The islands were nominally put under the authority of the Arzi Hukumate Azad Hind of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji visited the islands during the war, and renamed them as "Shaheed" (Martyr) & "Swaraj" (Self-rule). General Loganathan, of the Indian National Army was made the Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. On 22 February,1944 he along with four INA officers-Major Mansoor Ali Alvi, Sub. Lt. Md. Iqbal, Lt. Suba Singh and stenographer Srinivasan arrived at Lambaline airport of Port Blair. On 21 March,1944 the Headquarters of the Civil Administration was established near the Gurudwara at Aberdeen Bazaar. On 2 October,1944, Col. Loganathan handed over the charge to Maj. Alvi and left Port Blair, never to return. (Ref. "Black Days in Andaman and Nicobar Islands" by Rabin Roychowdhury, Pub. Manas Pubs. New Delhi). Flag of the Provisional Government of Free India. ... Subhash Chandra Bose, (Bangla: নেতাজী সুভাষ চন্দ্র বসু ( सुभाष चदंर वसु ) Shubhash Chôndro Boshu) (January 23, 1897 – presumably August 18, 1945 [although this is disputed]note), also known as Netaji, was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian Independence Movement against the British Raj and was a prominent supporter of the Axis dictatorships as... The Indian National Army (I.N.A) or Azad Hind Fauj was the army of the Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (The Provisional Government of Free India ) which fought along with the Japanese 15th Army during the Japanese Campaign in Burma, and in the Battle of Imphal, during the Second...

At Independence of both India (1947) and Burma (1948), 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 materialized. It became an Indian union territory (UT) in 1950. Anglo-Indians are persons who have descended from a mix of British and Indian parentage. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Recent history

On 26 December 2004 the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 10 metre high tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At least 7,000 people (possibly a conservative estimate) were believed to have been killed on the Nicobar and Andaman Islands during the disaster. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 361st in leap years. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The metre or meter is a measure of length. ... The tsunami that struck Malé in the Maldives on December 26, 2004. ... The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake,[1] was a great undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. ...

While newer settlers of the islands suffered the greatest casualties from the tsunami, most of the aboriginal people survived because oral traditions passed down from generations ago warned them to evacuate from large waves that follow large earthquakes. [1]

Geography

Aerial view of the Andaman Islands

There are over 570 islands in the territory, of which only some 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands (about 550) are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands (12 inhabited). The Andamans and Nicobars are separated by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km wide. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 681 pixel, file size: 193 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Andaman Islands, India Image taken by Flickr user: Venkatesh k Taken on May 29, 2006 Uploaded onto Wiki by user: Nikkul http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 681 pixel, file size: 193 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Andaman Islands, India Image taken by Flickr user: Venkatesh k Taken on May 29, 2006 Uploaded onto Wiki by user: Nikkul http://www. ... The Ten Degree Channel is a channel (strait) that separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. ... km redirects here. ...

The total area of the Andaman Islands is some 6,408 km²; that of the Nicobar Islands approximately 1,841 km². Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

Flora

Gagan Andaman & Nicobar Islands are blessed with a unique luxuriant evergreen tropical rainforest canopy, sheltering a mixed germ plasm bank, comprising of Indian, Myanmarese, Malaysian and endemic floral strain. So far, about 2200 varieties of plants have been recorded, out of which 200 are endemic and 1300 do not occur in mainland India.

The South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation, mostly ferns and orchids. The Middle Andamans harbours mostly moist deciduous forests. North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers. The north Nicobar Islands (including Car Nicobar and Battimalv) are marked by the complete absence of evergreen forests, while such forests form the dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. Grasslands occur only in the Nicobars, and while deciduous forests are common in the Andamans, they are almost absent in the Nicobars. The present forest coverage is claimed to be 86.2% of the total land area. An example of an epiphyte assemblage of orchids and bromeliads in a garden setting The term epiphyte refers to any plant that grows upon or attached to another living plant. ...

This atypical forest coverage is made-up of twelve types namely:

1. Giant evergreen forest
2. Andamans tropical evergreen forest
3. Southern hilltop tropical evergreen forest
4. Cane brakes
5. Wet bamboo brakes
6. Andamans semi-evergreen forest
7. Andamans moist deciduous forest
8. Andamans secondary moist deciduous forest
9. Littoral forest
10. Mangrove forest
11. Brackish water mixed forest
12. Submontane hill valley swamp forest

A littoral is the region near the shoreline of a body of fresh or salt water. ...

Timber

Andaman Forest is abound in plethora of timber species numbering 200 or more, out of which about 30 varieties are considered to be commercial. Major commercial timber species are Gurjan (Dipterocarpus spp.) and Padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides). The following ornamental wood are noted for their pronounced grain formation: Species About 70 species; see text Dipterocarpus is a genus of about seventy species, occurring in southeastern Asia. ... Species Including: Pterocarpus dalbergioides (Andaman Padouk) Pterocarpus indicus (Narra) Pterocarpusangolensis (Muninga) Pterocarpus macrocarpus (Burmese rosewood) Pterocarpus soyauxii (African Padouk) Pterocarpus satalinus (Red Sandelwood) Padauk (or padouk) is an Indonesian collective name for a group of fragrant timbers and trees from the genus Pterocarpus, found in the tropics of Southeast Asia...

1. Marble Wood (Diospyros marmorata)
2. Padauk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides),
3. Silver Grey (a special formation of wood in white chuglam)
4. Chooi (Sageraea elliptical)
5. Kokko (Albizzia lebbeck)

Padauk being steadier than teak is widely used for furniture making. Species 450-500; see text Diospyros is a genus (including what used to be Maba) of about 450-500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. ... Species About 150 species Albizia (syn. ...

Burr and the Buttress formation in Andaman Padauk are World famous for their exceptionally unique charm and figuring. Largest piece of Buttress known from Andaman was a dining table of 13'x 7'. The largest piece of Burr was again a dining table to seat eight persons at a time.

The holy Rudraksha (Elaeocarps sphaericus) and aromatic Dhoop/Resin trees also occur here.

Fauna

This tropical rain forest despite its isolation from adjacent land masses is surprisingly rich with a diversity of animal life.

Mammals

About 50 varieties of forest mammals are found to occur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Some are endemic, including the Andaman Wild Boar. Rodents are the largest group with 26 species, followed by 14 species of bat. Among the larger mammals there are two endemic varieties of wild boar, Sus scrofa andamanensis from Andaman and S. s. nicobaricus from Nicobar, which are protected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (Sch I). The Spotted Deer Axis axis, Barking Deer and Sambar were all introduced to the Andaman District, though the Sambar did not survive. Around 1962 there was an attempt to introduce the Leopard, which was unsuccessful because of unsuitable habitat. These were ill-considered moves as exotic introductions can cause havoc to island flora and fauna. Interview island (the largest wildlife sanctuary in the ANI) in Middle Andaman holds a population of feral elephants. These elephants were brought in for forest work by a timber company, which subsequently released them when it went bankrupt. This population has been subject to research studies.

Birds

ANI has also 270 species of birds (including endemics); the Nicobar island group has a higher endemicity than the Andamans and there are a total of 14 species endemic to ANI. The State Bird of the Andamans is the Andaman Wood pigeon. Some endemics are:

• Andaman Hawk Owl
• Andaman Scops Owl
• Andaman Crake (a data deficient species [IUCN 2000] - endemic species
• Brown Coucal (formerly Andaman Coucal) - endemic species

Butterflies and Moths

With about 225 species, the A&N Islands house some of the larger and most spectacular butterflies of the world. Ten species are endemic to these Islands. Mount Harriet National Park is one of the richest areas of butterfly and moth diversity on these Islands.

Shells

Shells are perhaps the most colourful and fascinating objects known to man other than Gems since time immemorial. They served as money, ornaments, musical instruments, drinking cups, in magic and in the making of fine porcelains. They were also the symbols in rituals and religious observances, and the returning pilgrims wore them as a token of divine pardon.

These islands are traditionally known for their shell wealth specially Turbo, Trochus, Murex and Nautilus. Earliest recorded commercial exploitation began during 1929. Shells are important to these islands because some like Turbo, Trochus & Nautilus etc. are used as novelties supporting many cottage industries producing a wide range of decorative items & ornaments. Shells such as Giant clam, Green mussel and Oyster support edible shellfishery, a few like Scallop, Clam and Cockle are burnt in kiln to produce edible lime. Species see text Murex (Linnaeus, 1758) is a genus of tropical carnivorous marine gastropods. ... Genera Allonautilus Nautilus Nautilus (from Greek ναυτίλος, sailor) is the common name of any marine creatures of the cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole family of the suborder Nautilina. ... Genera See text. ... Genera Acanthocardia Americardia Cardium Cerastoderma Clinocardium Corculum Ctenocardia Dinocardium Discors Fragum Fulvia Laevicardium Lophocardiium Lyrocardium Lunulicardia Microcardium Nemocardium Papyridea Parvicardium Plagiocardium Ringicardium Trachycardium Trigoniocardia Serripes Cockle is the common name for bivalve mollusks of the family Cardiidae. ...

The Univalve or one shell group belongs to the class Gastropoda having more than 80,000 species. Sacred Chank belongs to this group. Their body, in the course of development, go through a complicated process, 'torsion' i.e. the visceral mass is twisted though 90 degree together with the shell that covers it. Under mysterious circumstances many a time this process proceeds in the reverse direction thus creating an abnormal shell which otherwise lives like a normal shell. A classic example is the most wanted left-handed chank. Subclass Subclass Eogastropoda     Patellogastropoda Subclass Orthogastropoda   Superorder Cocculiniformia   Superorder Hot Vent Taxa     Neomphaolida   Superorder Vetigastropoda   Superorder Neritaemorphi     Neritopsina   Superorder Caenogastropoda     Architaenioglossa     Sorbeoconcha   Superorder Heterobranchia     Heterostropha     Opisthobranchia     Pulmonata The gastropods, gasteropods, or univalves, are the largest and most successful class of mollusks, with 60,000-75,000 extant species known, comprising... Subclasses Eogastropoda (True Limpets and relatives) Orthogastropoda The gastropods, gasteropods, or univalves, are the largest and most successful class of mollusks, with 60,000-75,000 known living species comprising the snails and slugs as well as a vast number of marine and freshwater species. ...

The Bivalve or Pelecypoda has about 20,000 living species. Majority of then burrows in sand or mud such as Pearl Oyster, Wing oyster, Giant clam etc. Orders Subclass Protobranchia Solemyoida Nuculoida Subclass Pteriomorphia - oysters Arcoida Mytiloida Pterioida Subclass Paleoheterodonta - mussels Trigoinoida Unionoida Subclass Heterodonta - clams, zebra mussels Veneroida Myoida Subclass Anomalosdesmata Pholadomyoida Animals of the Class Bivalvia are known as bivalves because they typically have two-part shells, with both parts being more or less symmetrical. ...

A third group, which is comparatively smaller, is called Cephalopoda, which includes Octopus, Squid, Nautilus etc. The soft body animal, which lives inside the shell, is covered with a thick layer of specialised epithelium cells known as rnantle, which in turn secretes a two tier shell material making the shell. The outer layer having a different colour pattern is organic in constitution, technically called periostracum. Calcium ions from the environment are absorbed into the blood and deposited evenly under this layer. The next inner layer is called 'nacre' or 'mother of pearl' responsible for the pearly lustre common to many shells. Orders Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida Nautilida The Cephalopods (head-foot) are the mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a modification of the mollusc foot into the form of arms or tentacles. ... Types of epithelium This article discusses the epithelium as it relates to animal anatomy. ... The periostracum is a thin organic coating forming the outer-most layer of the shell of many mollusks. ...

• Mayabunder subdivision:

Economy

Agriculture

A total of 48,675 hectares of land is used for agriculture purposes. Paddy, the main food crop, is mostly cultivated in Andaman group of islands, whereas coconut and areca nut are the cash crops of Nicobar group of islands. Field crops, namely, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables are grown, followed by paddy during Rabi season. Different kinds of fruits such as mango, sapota, orange, banana, papaya, pineapple and root crops are grown on hilly land owned by farmers. Spices, viz., pepper, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon are grown under multi-tier cropping system. Rubber, red oil, palm and cashew are grown on a limited scale in these islands.

Industry

There are 1,374 registered small scale, village and handicrafts units. Two units are export oriented in the line of fish processing activity. Apart from this, there are shell and wood based handicraft units. There are also four medium sized industrial units. SSI units are engaged in the production of polythene bags, PVC conduit pipes and fittings, paints and varnished, fibre glass and mini flour mills, soft drinks and beverages, etc. Small scale and handicraft units are also engaged in shell crafts, bakery products, rice milling, furniture making , etc. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation has spread its wings in the field of tourism, fisheries, industries and industrial financing and functions as authorised agents for Alliance Air/ Jet Airways.

Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Andaman and Nicobar Islands at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands' gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $354 million in current prices.

See also

Sanjib_Kumar_Roy[2]

• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India
• Andamanese languages
• Nicobarese languages

(Redirected from 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in India) ... Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman Islands (drawn 1902) The Andamanese languages form a language family spoken in the Andaman Islands, a India. ... Nicobarese is an isolated group of six closely related Mon-Khmer languages spoken in the Nicobar Islands of India. ...

External links

• Books on environmental issues in the Andaman Islands: Published by the Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group
• Andaman & Nicobar Administration Web site
• Beaches in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
• The Andman Association
• The People of Andaman & Nicobar Islands
• Travel Port Blair
• Indian Reef Region - Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Andaman and Nicobar Florist
• Andaman & Nicobar Islands official tourism website

• Andaman Beaches Travel
• Andaman & Nicobar Pictures
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands travel guide from Wikitravel

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Geography of South Asia
	Himalaya | Western Ghats | Eastern Ghats | Aravalli Range | The Nilgiris | Vindhya Range | Satpura Range | Garo Hills | Shivalik Hills | Khasi Hills | Annamalai Hills | Cardamom Hills | Sulaiman Mountains | Karakoram | Hindu Kush | Chittagong Hill Tracts | Deccan Plateau | Thar Desert | Makran | Chota Nagpur | Naga Hills | Mysore Plateau | Ladakh Plateau
	Indo-Gangetic plain | Indus River Delta | Ganga basin | Ganges Delta | Atolls of Maldives | Coromandel Coast | Konkan | Lakshadweep | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Sundarbans | Rann of Kutch | Protected areas of Tamil Nadu |
Main	India | Pakistan | Nepal | Bhutan | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | The Maldives | Portal:Himalaya region