Who are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands?

The indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands are primarily categorized into four distinct groups that have historically maintained varying degrees of isolation: the Great Andamanese, the Jarawa, the Onge, and the Sentinelese.12

These groups are collectively referred to as the Andamanese, representing some of the world's oldest and most vulnerable tribal communities. While the Nicobar Islands are also part of the same union territory, their indigenous inhabitants—the Nicobarese and the Shompen—are distinct from the Andamanese tribes.1342

The survival of these indigenous groups has been severely threatened by historical encounters with outsiders, which introduced diseases to which they lacked immunity, as well as land encroachment and exploitation. Today, the Indian government maintains strict protections, such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956, to safeguard these communities and preserve their traditional ways of life, particularly for those like the Sentinelese who remain largely uncontacted.12