Lakshadweep

"Laccadives" redirects here. For the subgroup, see Laccadive Islands.

Lakshadweep (/ləkˈʃɑːdwiːp/, Lakṣadvīp (help·info), Lakshadīb), formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands (/ˌlækədaɪv ˌmɪnᵻkɔɪ/ & /ˌæmᵻnˈdiːvi/), is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 kilometres (120 to 270 mi) off the south western coast of India. The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group. Lakshadweep comes from "Lakshadweepa", which means "one hundred thousand islands" in Sanskrit. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India: their total surface area is just 32 km2 (12 sq mi). The lagoon area covers about 4,200 km2 (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi). The region forms a single Indian district with ten sub divisions. Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court. The islands are the northernmost of the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.

As the islands do not have any aboriginal groups, different views have been postulated by the scholars about the history of habitation on these islands. Archaeological evidence support the existence of human settlement in the region around 1500 BC. The islands have long been known to sailors, as indicated by an anonymous reference from the first century AD to the region in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The islands were referenced also in the Buddhist Jataka stories of the 6th century BC. The arrival of Muslim missionaries around 7th century led to the advent of Islam in the region. During the medieval period the region was ruled by the Chola dynasty and Kingdom of Cannanore. The Portuguese arrived around 1498 and were upstaged by 1545. The region was then ruled by the Muslim house of Arakkal, followed by Tipu Sultan. On his death in 1799 most of the region passed on to the British and with their departure the Union Territory was formed in 1956.

Ten of the islands are inhabited. At the 2011 Indian census the population of the Union Territory was 64,473. The majority of the indigenous population is Muslim and most of them belong to the Shafi School of the Sunni Sect. The islanders are ethnically similar to the Malayali people of the nearest Indian state of Kerala. Most of the population speaks Malayalam with Mahi (or Mahl) being the most spoken language in Minicoy island. The islands are served by an airport on the Agatti island. The main occupation of the people is fishing and coconut cultivation, with tuna being the main item of export.

History

Several views have been postulated about the history of the habitation of the islands as they do not have any aboriginal groups. A mention of the region in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, by an anonymous author, is one of the earliest references. There are references to the control of the islands by the Cheras in the Sangam Patiṟṟuppattu. Local traditions and legends attribute the first settlement on these islands to the period of Cheraman Perumal, the last Chera king of Kerala. The oldest inhabited islands in the group are Amini, Kalpeni Andrott, Kavaratti and Agatti. Archaeological evidence suggests that Buddhism prevailed in the region during the 5th-6th century CE. According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep by an Arab named Ubaidulla in 661 CE. His grave is located on the island of Andrott. During the 11th century, the islands came under the rule of the Late Cholas and subsequently the Kingdom of Cannanore.

In the 16th century the Portuguese ruled the seas between Ormuz and the Malabar Coast -and down to Ceylon. As early as 1498 they took control of the archipelago (called Laquedivas by them), later on to exploit coir production, until the islanders expelled them in 1545. In the 17th century, the islands came under the rule of Ali Rajahs/Arakkal Bheevi of Kannur, who received them as a gift from the Kolathiris. The islands are also mentioned in great detail in the stories of the Arab traveller Ibn Batuta.

The Aminidivi group of islands (Androth, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlath and Bitra) came under the rule of Tipu Sultan in 1787. They passed to British control after the Third Anglo-Mysore War and were attached to South Canara. The rest of the islands came under the suzerainty of the Arakkal family of Cannanore in return for a payment of annual tribute. The British took over the administration of those islands for non-payment of arrears. These islands were attached to the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency during the British Raj.

Independent India

On 1 November 1956, during the reorganization of Indian states, the Lakshadweep islands were separated from Madras organized into a separate union territory for administrative purposes. The new territory was called 'Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands before adopting the Lakshadweep name on 1 November 1973.

To safeguard India's vital shipping lanes to the Middle East, and the growing relevance of the islands in security considerations, an Indian Navy base, INS Dweeprakshak, was commissioned on Kavaratti island.

A DX-pedition (VU7AG) by amateur radio operators was run on Agatti Island during November 2013.

Geography

Lakshadweep is an archipelago of twelve atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks, with a total of about thirty-nine islands and islets. The reefs are in fact also atolls, although mostly submerged, with only small unvegetated sand cays above the high-water mark. The submerged banks are sunken atolls. Almost all the atolls have a northeast-southwest orientation with the islands lying on the eastern rim, and a mostly submerged reef on the western rim, enclosing a lagoon. It has 10 inhabited islands, 17 uninhabited islands, attached islets, 4 newly formed islets and 5 submerged reefs.

The main islands are Kavaratti, Agatti, Minicoy, and Amini. The total population of the territory is 60,595 according to the 2001 census. Agatti has an airport with direct flights from Kochi.

India's Coral Islands

The Aminidivi subgroup of islands (consisting of Amini, Keltan, Chetlat, Kadamat, Bitra and Perumal Par) and the Laccadive subgroup of islands (comprising mainly Androth, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Pitti and Suheli Par), both subgroups having a submarine connection between them through Pitti Bank. Together with Minicoy Island, a lonely atoll located at the southern end of the 200 km broad Nine Degree Channel, they form the Coral Islands of India in the Arabian Sea. All these islands have been built up by corals and have fringing coral reefs very close to their shores.

Two banks further north are not considered part of the group:

• Angria Bank
• Adas Bank

The atolls, reefs and banks are listed from north to south in the table:

Atoll/Reef/Bank
(alternate name) type Land
Area
(km2) Lagoon
Area
(km2) No. of
islets Pop.
Census
2001 Location Aminidivi Islands Cora Divh bank - 339.45 - - 13°42′N 72°11′E / 13.700°N 72.183°E / 13.700; 72.183 (Cora Divh) Sesostris Bank bank - 388.53 - - 13°08′N 72°00′E / 13.133°N 72.000°E / 13.133; 72.000 (Sesostris Bank) Bassas de Pedro
(Munyal Par, Padua Bank) bank - 2474.33 - - 13°07′N 72°25′E / 13.117°N 72.417°E / 13.117; 72.417 (Bassas de Pedro) Cherbaniani Reef (Beleapani Reef) reef 0.01 172.59 2 - 12°18′N 71°53′E / 12.300°N 71.883°E / 12.300; 71.883 (Cherbaniani Reef) Byramgore Reef (Chereapani) reef 0.01 57.46 1 - 11°54′N 71°49′E / 11.900°N 71.817°E / 11.900; 71.817 (Byramgore Reef) Chetlat Island atoll 1.14 1.60 1 2,289 11°42′N 72°42′E / 11.700°N 72.700°E / 11.700; 72.700 (Chetlat Island) Bitrā Island atoll 0.10 45.61 2 264 11°33′N 72°09′E / 11.550°N 72.150°E / 11.550; 72.150 (Bitrā Island) Kiltān Island atoll 2.20 1.76 1 3,664 11°29′N 73°00′E / 11.483°N 73.000°E / 11.483; 73.000 (Kiltān Island) Kadmat Island (Cardamom) atoll 3.20 37.50 1 5,319 11°14′N 72°47′E / 11.233°N 72.783°E / 11.233; 72.783 (Kadmat Island) Elikalpeni Bank bank - 95.91 - - 11°12′N 73°58′E / 11.200°N 73.967°E / 11.200; 73.967 (Elikalpeni Bank) Perumal Par reef 0.01 83.02 1 - 11°10′N 72°04′E / 11.167°N 72.067°E / 11.167; 72.067 (Perumal Par) Amini Island 1) atoll 2.59 155.091) 1 7,340 11°06′N 72°45′E / 11.100°N 72.750°E / 11.100; 72.750 (Amini Island) Laccadive Islands Agatti Island (Agatti) 2) atoll 2.70 4.84 1 8,000 10°50′N 73°41′E / 10.833°N 73.683°E / 10.833; 73.683 (Agatti Island) Bangaram Island (Bangaram) 2) atoll 2.30 4.84 1 61 10°50′N 73°41′E / 10.833°N 73.683°E / 10.833; 73.683 (Bangaram Island) Pitti Island 1) islet 0.01 155.09 1 - 10°50′N 72°38′E / 10.833°N 72.633°E / 10.833; 72.633 (Pitti Island) Androth Island (Andrott) atoll 4.90 4.84 1 10,720 10°50′N 73°41′E / 10.833°N 73.683°E / 10.833; 73.683 (Androth Island) Kavaratti Island atoll 4.22 4.96 1 10,113 10°33′N 72°38′E / 10.550°N 72.633°E / 10.550; 72.633 (Kavaratti Island) Kalpeni Island atoll 2.79 25.60 7 4,319 10°05′N 73°38′E / 10.083°N 73.633°E / 10.083; 73.633 (Kalpeni Island) Suheli Par 3) atoll 0.57 78.76 2 - 10°05′N 72°17′E / 10.083°N 72.283°E / 10.083; 72.283 (Suheli Par) Minicoy Investigator Bank bank - 141.78 - - 08°32′N 73°17′E / 8.533°N 73.283°E / 8.533; 73.283 (Investigator Bank) Minicoy Island atoll 4.80 30.60 2 9,495 08°17′N 73°02′E / 8.283°N 73.033°E / 8.283; 73.033 (Minicoy Island) Lakshadweep 32.69 4203.14 32 60,595 08°16'-13°58'N,
71°44°-74°24'E 1) Amini Island and Pitti Island are both on Pitti Bank, a largely sunken atoll with a lagoon area of 155.09 km2 2) Bangaram and Agatti Islands are connected by a shallow submarine ridge 3) new international tourist resort, otherwise uninhabited, but with a population 61 at the 1990 census

Flora and fauna

The Lakshadweep Archipelago forms a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Maldives and the Chagos. It has over 600 species of marine fishes, 78 species of corals, 82 species of seaweed, 52 species of crabs, 2 species of lobsters, 48 species of gastropods, 12 species of bivalves, 101 species of birds. It is one of the four coral reef regions in India. The corals are a major attraction for the tourist. Pitti Island, is an important breeding place for sea turtles and for a number of pelagic birds such as the brown noddy (Anous stolidus), lesser crested tern (Sterna bengalensis) and greater crested tern (Sterna bergii). The island has been declared a bird sanctuary.

The region does not have a rich flora and almost all the plants can be found on the mainland of India. There is also an absence of forest in the region. Nearly 400 species of flowering plants have been documented, including three species of sea grasses Cymodocia isoetifolia, Syringodium isoetifolium and Thalassia hemprichii, other angiosperms as Pandanus, Heliotropium foertherianum, Tournefortia argentea and Pemphis acidula as well as fungi, algae, lichens are also found. The common flora of the coral sands include coconut groves and coastal shrubs as Pemphis acidula, Cordia subcordata, Scaevola taccada, Thespesia populnea, Suriana maritima, Dodonaea viscosa, Guettarda speciosa and seaweeds such as sea lettuces, Codium and Hypena.

Religion

The inhabitants of Lakshadweep were known to practice different religious customs. Then Islam was propounded by the Sheikh Ubaidullah.

There are several festivals that have originated in the island of Lakshadweep to mark the eminence of Islam. Eid-Ul-Fitr, Muharram, Bakra Eid and Milad-Un-Nabi are the prominent occasions when the people of the island gather in various mosques to commemorate the holy sermons of the various prophets.

Religion of Lakshadweep is characterized by certain unusual festivals too that are found in the core ethnic groups of the place. Moulood is one such religious event when the islanders offer prayers to the divine power and eat in groups. The festival of Ratheeb is another uncommon occasion which originated in the Kavaratti region of Lakshadweep. The grave of Sheikh Kasim, one of the respected saints of Islam is praised during Ratheeb by the people of the island to gather his holy blessings.

The Sunni branch of Islam is the predominant faith.

Languages

The principal languages of Lakshadweep are Malayalam, Jeseri (Dweep Bhasha) and Mahl. The people of all the northern islands speak a dialect of Malayalam with Tamil and Arabic similar to Arwi influenced by extensive trade activities of these people. The people of Minicoy, the southernmost atoll, speak Mahl, a variant of Divehi language spoken in the Maldives.

Malayalam with Malayalam script was introduced as the official language of Lakshadweep during the British raj. Previously a type of Arabic script (Arabi Malayalam) was used for the language. The policy was continued by the Indian government. Malayalam serves as a link language on the islands including on the Mahl dominated Minicoy Island. The dances here include:-Lava Dance,Kolkali dance & Parichakli Dance.

Transport and tourism

Agatti Aerodrome on Agatti Island is the only airport in Lakshadweep. Air India Regional, a subsidiary of the state-owned carrier, serves Agatti and flies to Kochi on the mainland. Kingfisher Airlines, had flights connecting Kochi and Bangalore to Agatti before the airline ceased operations. The other islands are linked by the Pawan Hans helicopter or boat service. Six ships connect Kochi and Lakshadweep: MV Kavaratti, MV Aminidivi, MV Minicoy, MV Arabian Sea, MV Lakshadweep Sea and MV Bharath Seema.

Tourists need a permit to visit the islands; foreign nationals are not permitted to visit certain islands. According to the current alcohol laws of India, alcoholic beverage consumption is not permitted in the Lakshadweep Archipelago except on Bangaram Island.