The story of the Andamans ~ World Review

The story of the Andamans

One of the Union Territories of the Republic of India is the Andaman Islands. There are 572 islands scattered in the Indian Ocean. Only 36 of these islands are inhabited. The history of these islands is divided into four stages. History of the establishment of British rights, British monarchy, Japanese monarchy and the era of independence. During World War II, the Japanese occupied the Andamans on March 21, 1942. The Japanese later handed over the archipelago to the Azad Hind government led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. On 30 December 1943, Subhash Chandra hoisted the Indian national flag at Port Blair. Until 1945, the region was free from British rule. Then the Japanese were defeated. After 1945, Andaman and Nicobar came under British occupation again. On 15 August 1947, Andaman and Nicobar joined independent India. Port Blair is the capital of the archipelago.

In March 2014, we flew from Kolkata to Port Blair. Arriving that day, he wandered around and cut it. The next day I went to Ross Island. The island is a favorite destination of tourists. It was their headquarters during the British rule. But now this island is abandoned. No one can spend the night here. The island is currently called Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island. It is a short distance from Port Blair, the capital of the Andamans. After 1857, Ross Island became the administrative center of the Andamans. The British built water refineries, churches, printing presses, tennis courts, clubs, officers' quarters, government houses here. In the wrath of time now everything has turned into a heap of destruction. Broken bungalows, innumerable unrecognized walls peeking through the canopy of wild vines. I came to the front of the abandoned church and saw that there was no god or bell ringing today. Now no people live on this island. There are just quite a few deer. The British brought them here for hunting. There are still their descendants. The island has become lifeless with all the traces of the past.

The next day we went to Havelock Island. We went by private ferry. When the boat sailed through the blue water of the sea, he did not want to sit on the seat anymore. I stood on the railing and just looked around. Surrounded by small and large green islands of various sizes, with the blue water of the sea. A mix of blue and green. Havelock Island, 41 km from Port Blair. We got off at the port and drove to our place of residence. Beautifully lined cottage. The sea started shortly after the cottage ended. Coconut trees all around. From time to time I hear the sound of narcoleptic reading around the cottage. Havelock Island has a total of three beaches. The most popular of these is Radhanagar Beach. This beach got blue flag certificate in 2020. This means that the management of this beach is very good and safe. When the sun shines on the silver sand of this beach like a half moon, it looks great. Dense coconut forest on the shore, far into the sea. Like watching the sunset here. There are also black stone beaches. Large black rocks can be seen in the sea, hence the name. Elephant Beach offers a variety of water sports. There are sea food stalls on both sides of this beach.

After two days at Havelock, we set sail for Neil Island. The island is now officially called Shaheed Island. This time I am going by official ferry. This ferry is the only way to get to the outside world. Government ferries ply here every day from Port Blair. Lots of vegetables are grown on this island. This ferry takes them to another island. The island has four beaches. Bharatpur Beach, Lakshanpur Beach, Sitapur Beach, Ramnagar Beach is a little far away. Of these, only Bharatpur Beach has water sports facilities. Many people do snorkeling, scuba diving etc. here. We snorkelled at Bharatpur beach and waited there for a while. Then I went to Lakshanpur beach. At low tide. Numerous live corals are floating in the frozen water of the beach rocks. Definitely a new experience. However, the beach is very rocky. I had to move carefully. In the middle of the sky, Suryadev was burning the silver of his head. The water of Sitapur and Lakshanpur beaches is clear blue. But it is not possible to swim because of the current. We were on Nile Island on the day of Dol Purnima. It was like seeing the shape of the sea in the moonlight.