| Voice of Nicobar: Jaydev
Patel
My daily wage comes to around Rs. 150/-. However My Income depends
on how many days I work. There are some times when I sit with no
work for almost three to four days at a stretch. My salary is used
mostly in the first fifteen days of the month. We don’t have
sufficient food and have no money to buy medicines. I want my child
to study well and be successful unlike me. However the free education
of the government schools is not good.
Nicobar District
Area, Population & Sex Ratio
Geographical Area : 1840.0 Km2
Population in Nicobars (Census 2011)
Total Population
Total : 36819
Male : 20705
Female : 16114
Under 6 population
Total : 4225
Male : 2154
Female : 2071
Disabled population
Total disabled population : 1078
In seeing : 590
In speech : 62
In hearing : 74
In movement : 285
Mental : 67
Rank ( VoiceOfBharat.org Analysis
)
Backwardness : Does not figure in list of 447 backward
districts
Sex Ratio Rank : 56
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : D
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 -2006)
Disability : 590 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 164 (Census 2001)
Minority : Yes
Brief About Nicobar District
The Nicobar Islands are situated in the South-east of the Bay
of Bengal between 6 degree – 10 degree N latitude and between 92
degree- 94 degree E longitude. There are altogether 22 large and
small islands, out of which only twelve have inhabitants.
The most northerly island of the group is Car Nicobar,
which is 143 miles from Port Blair and the ten degree channel about
75 miles separate in from Little Andaman. Chowra, Teressa, Bompoka,
Katchal, Kamorta, Nancowry and Trinket form the central group of
Nicobar islands ; while in the southern group are Pulo Milo, Little
Nicobar, Kondul, Great Nicobar and so on. The extreme southern point
of Great Nicobar, previously known as Pygmalion Point and now Indira
Point, is about 91 geographical miles from Pulo Brass of Achin Head
of Sumatra. The uninhabited islands in the central and southern
group are Batti Malv, Tileangchong and Meroe , Trak, Treis, Menchal
and Kabra respectively. The Nicobars stretch over 36 miles, with
an aggregate of 635 sq. miles.
ORIGIN OF NAME
Falling between the sea route from South India
/ Sri Lanka to South East Asia and vice-vers, the voyagers referred
it as “land of the nake” i.e. Nakkavar which is perhaps the direct
Predecessor of the current name “Nicobar’. The medieval Arabic name
‘Lankhabatus’ is a mere mistranscription and misapprehension of
“Nankakar or Nakkavar”. Lord Ram, the hero of epic ‘Ramayana’ is
meant to have passed through the Islands during his period of exile
)Mathur: 1967). Somdev’s ‘Kathasaritsagar’ (11th century) indicates
it as ‘Narikel Dweep’. The islands have also been mentioned in the
accounts of travellers like Fahien, (6th century); I-T’sing (early
7th century); Ptolemy (2nd century); Marco Polo (13th century) and
Friar Oderic (early 14th century). The islands were known in China
as Lo-Jan Kuo (land of the naked people) according to the writings
of I-T’Sing. An inscription dated (1059 AD) of the Chola King of
Tanjore indicates that these islands were used as base shelter station
for waging war and keeping control over South East Asia. The geographical
names for the different islands have all obscure, complicated and
interesting histories, whereas, each island has a native name too.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Car Nicobar is remarkably flat except for some
cliffs in the north and small hilly areas in the interior. It is
bordered by a silvery beach and areas of flat ground consisting
of coraline diluvium.
Nancowry and Kamorta, have a hilly terrain covered
with grass, forming undulating meadows. Empress Peak is about 1.420
ft. high and is the highest in Kamorta. The Nancowry harbour, with
two entrances towards the east and west, is one of the finest and
safest harbours in the world. Katchal is one of the largest islands
in the central group. It is abut 61 sq. miles in area. It is slightly
hilly in the centre but has a remarkable flat area, like Car Nicobar.
Katchal has the most suitable soil for paddy cultivation. Trinket
is another small flat island. It is located at the eastern entrance
to Nancowry harbour. Chowra is almost flat, except for a hill which
is located at its southern tip. Like Car Nicobar it has no safe
berthing and the coral formation around the island is reported to
be a great impediment to anchoring vessels.
Teressa and Bompoka are also hilly. The former
has a considerable flat area, while the latter has a few flat spaces
around the western coast. Tillangchong has hills of elevations above
1,000 ft.
Great Nicobar is the southernmost land mass of
the Nicobar group of Islands. Most of this island is hilly and undulating.
The main hill range runs from north to south. Mount Thullier which
is about 2,105 ft high is the highest peak. Galathea, Alexandra
and Dagmar are the major rivers. Kondul and Little Nicobar are also
hilly and undulating.
As the Nicobars apparently lie directly in the
local line of greatest weakness, severe earthquakes are to be expected,
and have occurred many times. Stocks of great violence were recorded
in 1847, 1881 (with tidal waves), and many times during 20th century.
The tidal waves caused by the explosion of Krakatoa in the Straits
of Sunda in 1883, were severely felt.
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