Indigenous Tribes in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Context:
A Batch of petitions were laid in National Green Tribunal (NGT) challenging the environmental clearance issued for the 92,000-crore project – Great Nicobar Island Mega-Infrastructure Project.
The projects will include a trans-shipment port, an international airport, a township, and a power plant to be built on more than 160 sq. km of land.
Of this, about 130 sq. km is forest land in habited by the Nicobarese and the Shompen communities, both Scheduled Tribes, with the Shompen categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
Aboriginal tribes of Andaman Nicobar and their Classification: The native tribes of the islands are broadly divided into two ethnic groups:
Negrito Group:
This group inhabits the Andaman Islands.
They are believed to have arrived from Africa 60,000 years ago.
This group includes:
The Great Andamanese
Onge
Jarawa
Sentinelese
Mongoloid Group:
This group inhabits the Nicobar Islands and is believed to have come from the Malay-Burma coast.
This group includes:
The Shompen
The Nicobarese
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
Out of the six native tribes, five are recognized by the Government of India as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
The Nicobarese are the only tribe not on this list.
The five PVTGs are:
Great Andamanese
Jarawa
Onge
Sentinelese
Shompen
The Shompen are the only Mongoloid tribe to be classified as a PVTG.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 (PAT), was amended in 2012 to provide stringent punishment for the exploitation of tribal communities in the A&N Islands.
Tourist establishments would be prohibited, and other commercial establishments would be regulated in the 'Buffer Zone', which would protect the aboriginal tribes from the undesirable outside influences.
This regulation (PAT) and its 2012 amendment include stringent penal provisions under Section 8 for violations:
3 years imprisonment and fine:
For taking photographs or videos of aboriginal tribes; encroaching, hunting, or poaching in a reserve area; promoting tourism through advertisements on aboriginal tribes; or setting up commercial/tourist establishments in the Buffer Zone.
7 years imprisonment and fine:
For introducing any form of alcohol, intoxicating, inflammable, or explosive substances to the aboriginal tribes.