ACN OPENS PANDORA'S BOX OF SET TOP IN ANDAMAN

Port Blair, 19th October/- The Director General of Police, Mr. SBS Deol formally launched the Andaman Cable Network, ACN's long-anticipated digital cable television service at the city's Hotel TSG Emerald View, this afternoon. Speaking on the occasion, a candid Mr. Deol took a trip down the memory lane, sharing his views about the process of advancement in the field of sound and moving picture technology in the country and said that it has been an elating experience for his generation to watch the advent of superior and modish technology in the country that has finally lead to the introduction of digital television service even in these far-flung islands. He added that the chic service is expected to open up new vistas in terms of television viewing for the islanders who have very limited sources of entertainment available to them.

Briefing the gathering about the new technological spruce up, the Director of ACN, Mr. TSG Dinakaran said that it was a herculean task for the small syndicate of ACN to effect the service made mandatory by the Government of India, in the islands, on their own. He said that the entire process of digitalisation of the cable service that was required to be completed within the stipulated deadline of October, 31st, has been successfully accomplished much before many of the metros could do in the mainland India.

Detailing the changes brought about with the implementation of the technology, he said that the ACN is providing MPEG-2 Set Top Boxes to the islanders at a competitive price of Rs. 2,200 and the customers will have to pay a constant monthly subscription of Rs. 350 for the 300 channels that will be available with the new service. The current analog cable service is being continued up to the 1st of November, 2014 in a bid to enable smooth transition to the digital service, after which it will be mandatory for all the customers to install Set Top Boxes throughout the country. He added that the 15 odd channels, inlcuding NDTV 24/7, ABP News etc. that have been taken off the analog service will not be available anymore as they are having to adjust the same with the available bandwidth together with the digital service.

When asked by the media about the possibility of reduction in the subscription amount of Rs. 250 for the present analog service, he said that it will remain the same, despite the 15 odd channels being taken off the service, as the ACN had not increased the same despite the increasing costs of operation for a long time. He, further, informed that the new Set Top Boxes will also provide value added services like PVR for recording the favourite programs, facility of easy access to 8 channels of choice and an easy learning remote that can also be used for handling the basic TV functions, among the rest.

The function was attended by the Station Head of Doordarshan, Port Blair, Mr. Mohan. R, Assistant Director of PIB, Mr. A. Dhanasekharan, representatives of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI), media persons and other distinguished guests.

FORMER ASSTT. STATION DIRECTOR OF AIR PORT BLAIR NO MORE

Port Blair, Oct. 15/ - Former Assistant Station Director of All India Radio, Port Blair, Mr. M. H. Khan died of a sudden heart attack at the G.B Pant hospital at 12 noon, Saturday. He was sixty-six. A resident of the Netaji Club area in the Aberdeen Bazaar, Mr. Muneer Ahmad Khan hung up his boots as Station Director, AIR Aadilabad (Andhra Pradesh), after being  associated with AIR Port Blair for a long time. Recognized as a media connoisseur during his outstanding career, Mr. Khan directed a number of radio plays, that were highly appreciated.

Mr. khan is survived by his wife, Nilofer Khan and two daughters. His funeral started from his residence at 11am on Sunday and culminated in the "Supurd-e-khaak" at the Phoenix Bay graveyard. RIP

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL FROM ANDAMAN ISLANDS

Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish.  Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.

“Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...”

May your holiday season be blessed with peace, love and joy!

My heartfelt wishes to all my friends the world over, with joy that never ends…!!!

Have a Merry Christmas

And

A Happy New Year!!! J

GREETINGS ON THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS - DIWALI

Diwali is a unique confluence of happiness, bliss & prosperity. May the festival of lights be the harbinger of joy and prosperity to all my friends and well-wishers the world over!

As the holy occasion of Diwali is here and the atmosphere is filled with the spirit of mirth and love, here's hoping this festival of lights brings your way, bright sparkles of contentment, that stay with you through the days ahead.

The Diwali firework safety message is part of the firework safety campaign launched by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), aimed at reducing the number of firework accidents at this time of the year.

"Take more responsibility with fireworks, they are more dangerous than you think and could severely injure children or yourself."

"Even if you think you know how to handle fireworks, failing to follow the

 Firework Code properly, puts you and your loved ones in danger.

"Each of us has a responsibility to take the right precautions with fireworks so we can all enjoy them safely this year."

Don’t stand too close to the fireworks while lighting them!

HAPPY DIWALI 2009

National Level Singer Emerges from Andamans

Avinash, one of the most talented young musicians of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and son of my dear friend Mr. D Appa Rao, a student of Music in Vanarasi, UP, have once again won laurels for these islands by achieving highest marks in his Master of Music (M. Mus) Degree Course from Mahatma Gandhi Kashi University of Vanarasi. Avinash has also bagged the Gold Medal from the MGK University for this achievement.

Earlier, Avinash had made the Andaman and Nicobar Islands proud by managing to break inside the preliminary rounds of Zee TV’s "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" and Sony TV’s "Indian Idol". Avinash, winner of National Child Award and LG’s Commendation Certificate in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has achieved various other milestones in Mainland India in the recent past."

As informed on 19th January 2008 by his father, Mr. D Appa Rao, Avinash Participated as a singer, musician, composer and actor also representing Varanasi in the “Akanksha” National theatre festival in Rai Umanath Bali Auditorium, Lucknow. He also participated in Durga Mahotsava as a singer and Musician organized by Durga Mahotsava Samiti (BHU) on 8th October 2008. He had participated in nearly all the events representing BHU (Benarus Hindu University) and stood 1st in the East Zonal competitions of the National youth festival held in Ranchi, organized from 2nd to 7th Dec. 2008.

Kumar Avinash also participated and secured gold for BHU again winning against 60 participating Universities in the final rounds of the National youth festival (finals) held in – Midnapur (West Bengal) from 19th to 24th Jan 2009. In the National Youth Festival, he participated as both singer and accompanist and was acknowledged as the backbone of BHU by the Dean of students in the felicitation party by V.C (BHU).

He was also awarded gold medal for participating as a singer, musician and actor in the Akansha National theatre festival on 9th June 2009, held at Rai Umanath Bali Auditorium, Lucknow.

3 CHEERS TO AVINASH'S UNIQUE SUCCESS !!!

SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE IN ANDAMAN

Friends,

It is true that there is no other word in the human civilization which carries the depth and meaning equivalent to the word “Freedom”. This word closets a tale of intense physical torment and mental torture committed to suppress it. History has witnessed that those who were denied this right, registered strong resistance to achieve it. They were subjected to the worst barbaric brutalities, but it could never stop man’s endeavor for freedom.

Today let me tell you about the Herculean spirit of resistance of the convicts/freedom fighters who were sentenced and transported to the Andaman Islands by the British colonial regime in India. Let’s start with a little bit of insight into the very motive behind the penal settlement undertaken by the British Government here.

The idea of penal settlement had never been present in the minds of pre-British Indian rulers. It was an idea, which originated along with the beginning of colonialism in India; and abolished only after India achieved freedom from British imperialism. The sole purpose behind opening the penal settlement was to segregate the dangerous ideas detrimental to the very existence of colonial state.

The popular notion of the British colonial state of yesterday was that the hardened criminals, whether challenging the colonial state from within as colonial lawbreakers or from without as rebels, both, were not suitable for the well being of a civilized society, and therefore must be segregated and should be kept under strict vigil and surveillance. Even the colonial mindset of today’s India is not altogether different in their viewpoint while dealing with post-colonial criminals and rebels, the very creation of the society itself.

However strange it may appear, it is a fact that the society created by those so-called convicts is far better in comparison to the one created by the so-called civilized society, which ostracized them as outlaws. The Andaman society of today is completely free from the viruses of communal strife, caste divide and criminalization of politics, the evils vociferously eating the contemporary society of the Indian mainland. Unlike mainland, the people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands are by and large hardworking, honest, simple and helpful and strong believers in the values of equality of caste, creed and gender.

It is a pleasant surprise for any visitor from mainland to find such a strange society growing within the very territory of the Indian Republic mostly replete with the innovated culture of criminality, corruption, and disgusting values of inequality of caste, creed and gender.

It is also not to be forgotten that the penal society of Andamans was created by transportation of convicts from all parts and sects of colonial India. Now, after sixty one years of emancipation from colonial bondage one cannot get rid of the burden of responsibility by shifting it to the colonial policies.

Does it not provide sufficient ground for academicians, scholars, administrators and politicians to cater about the grounds of such discrepancies in the development of two societies?

It certainly prompts us to arrive at a conclusion that the popular philosophy behind crime and criminality, whether against a colonial state or an independent state and society, itself requires to be redefined in order to understand the difference between a society created by the so-called convicts and one created by their abhorrers.

Philosophically speaking, the actual objective of history writing is self-knowledge i.e. developing knowledge about the process of all round development of the society itself. The history of penal settlement in Andamans should be studied in order to understand the coming up of a society altogether different from the one that came into being in post-colonial Indian mainland.

The present day Andamans are a creation of the convicts, both criminals and rebels, transported during the colonial regime. The transported hardened criminals indeed had no vision of their own regarding an ideal society but without qualms, they were the products of the social and economic disparity of their own society; and the rebels naturally had a vision of a different society and state to which they belonged.

The common trait among both of them was the spirit of resistance burning against British colonial state and its policies. In the history of penal settlement, we find continuity and maturing of this spirit of resistance throughout the existence of the penal society in the Andamans.

The resistance began simultaneously along with the beginning of the settlement. Captain Henry Man took control of the islands of Andaman on 22^nd January 1858 and the first batch of 200 convicts arrived at the Chatham Island of Port Blair on 10^th March 1858 accompanied by Dr. JP Walker, the first Superintendent of Penal Settlement.

The original nature of resistance resorted to by them were attempts to escape at the cost of their lives, attacks on colonial officers and even rebellion against the existing state at the Settlement. At present, we have very few details available about their attempts to escape in which majority of them were either killed by local tribes or vanished in the death trap of the surrounding jungles or engulfed by the roaring waves of the Andaman Sea or hanged to death by Walker after being recaptured, as I’ve illustrated earlier.

However, comprehensive information is available in the records of India Office Records and Library, London, which provides a detailed account of the rebellion of 1^st April 1859.

NELSON MANDELA - THE ANDAMAN CONNECTION

NOLITHA

In a solitary cell of the Robben Island prison, a tall, powerfully built man sat in front of his desk and gazed intently at the picture of a woman, nude except for a piece of red cloth tied round her neck. On the desk, neatly arranged, were thick books and writing materials. Behind him, on the wall were other photographs. The narrow cell had a barred door and a high ventilator typical of most colonial jails. The man has spent eighteen years in the cell. The man was Nelson Mandela.

Could there be a connection between Nelson Mandela and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands?

At the outset, it may appear preposterous. Mandela never came to the Islands. India was already a free country when he started the fight against the apartheid regime of South Africa. However, on second thought, some similarities do emerge.

Mandela, of course, was a freedom fighter of South Africa, much like the freedom fighters that were sent to the Andaman Islands. He too fought against foreign rule based on racial discrimination and exploitation of the majority by a small White minority regime. He too was exiled to the notorious Robben Island prison just as our own freedom fighters were sent to the Viper Island prison or the Cellular Jail. He too was subjected to the same kind of tortures meted out to our own freedom fighters – solitary confinement, hard labour, cruel punishment and humiliation.

But, did he, during his confinement on Robben Island, chance upon any reference to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands?

A reading of the epoch making autobiography of Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, throws up some interesting facts.

During the long years of incarceration on Robben Island, to beat the solitude and boredom, Mandela would read books, write letters, and fantasize about what he would do after his release from prison. Gazing upon the pictures of his loved ones and writing letters to them was one way of escape from solitude. In a letter to his wife Winnie, he writes:

“Your beautiful photo stands about two feet above my left shoulder as I write this note. … Nolitha stands on the table directly opposite me. How can my spirits ever be down when I enjoy the fond affection of such wonderful ladies?” - pp. 591-92

Nolitha

‘Nolitha’ was the name Mandela invented for the woman in the photo he kept on his desk. In a letter to his daughter Zindzi, Mandela writes:

“By the way, has Mom ever told you about Nolitha, the other lady in my cell from the Andaman Islands? … She regards the pygmy beauty as some sort of rival and hardly suspects that I took the picture out of the National Geographic.” P.592

Nolitha

The National Geographic referred was the July 1975 issue that carried an exclusive photo feature on the tribes of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands by the famous photographer Raghubir Singh. In one of the photos, Raghubir Singh captures a Jarawa (one of the six aboriginal tribes from the A & N Islands) belle in moment of spontaneous merriment. It was this photo that mesmerized Mandela and made him give her a name, and also a place in his cell along with the photo of his wife.

Mandela’s sudden transfer from Robben Island, his release and election as the first black president of South Africa is history. Nolitha was forgotten, till she surfaced again in 2004. Between the pages of one of the two notebooks Mandela used for drafting the letters he wrote while in Robben Island prison was found the same picture.

A prison guard on Robben Island who used to censor the letters of the prisoners took away the books and kept them with him for about 23 years before returning them. He could have sold them and made a fortune but his conscience did not permit him. Mandela recognized the books as his own and Nolitha too. When asked why he kept the picture, Mandela said he saw in the exuberance of the woman a “celebration of life”.

What could have been on Mandela’s mind when on December 26, 2004, a couple of months after the rediscovery of the photo, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands were devastated by the tsunami?

POLITICAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF ANDAMAN

After attaining independence from the British colonial regime on 15^th August 1947, the indigenous Government of India soon began constituting a well defined administrative structure for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

The centre did provide for the Islands’ representation through a nominated Member of Parliament. Late Lachman Singh and then Lala Niranjan Lal were the members till 1967. Neither anything was expected of them nor did they contribute anything much significant.

Late K R Ganesh (standing third from right)

In 1967, late KR Ganesh, darling of the masses, was elected to the parliament with a thumping majority. People had very high hopes and expectations from him. But he was too preoccupied with his own ambitions. He did scale new heights in his career, first as a Deputy Minister and then as Minister of State in the Finance Ministry of the central government of India. He resigned as the emergency was lifted and contested as a candidate of Congress for Democracy, a Babu Jagjivan Ram outfit, and lost to Manoranjan Bhakta of Congress I. (See picture below)

Manoranjan Bhakta continues his marathon race till date but for a brief aberration during 1999-2004, when Bishnupada Ray of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) was elected as the Member of Parliament. Like KR Ganesh, he too pursues his personal agenda. He has well for himself. There is no reason to believe that he has a vision for the development of the Islands. At least, since 1977 he has never spelt it out.

There was a semblance of power to the people for a brief period from 1982 to 1994 with a 30 member Pradesh Parishad. It was quietly abolished for no apparent reason. It was a tactical move to scuttle any competition at the top. It was a congress monopoly those days and hence there was no voice of protest.

Economic DEVELOPMENT OF ISLANDS

Different people have different definitions of development. In A & N Islands, it is a central grant driven economy and hence, what one finds is – roads, bridges, buildings – too many of them, ships and harbours, schools and colleges, healthcare and all that goes with it. The quality of services rendered by these agencies is anybody’s guess.

Administration is the largest employer, the largest buyer and the largest construction agency. There is no industry. There were some plywood industries that packed off as a curb on tree felling was introduced. The economy revolves around traders and contractors who control the politics also. The money earned in the islands is invested in the mainland; consequently there is very little private effort to spur the economic activities.

CREATION OF DISTRICTS

Ostensibly to increase the pace of development, on August 01, 1974, the territory was divided into two districts by creating a new district of Nicobar comprising of all the islands in the Nicobar Group with its headquarters at Car Nicobar.

Similarly, a third district of North and Middle Andaman was created on August 18, 2006. But in spite of 33 years of its existence, the Nicobar district is a second grade entity. Apart from a deputy commissioner and a superintendent of police, there is nothing to distinguish it from other parts of the Islands.

The condition of North and Middle Andaman district is still worse. It rarely had a full time deputy commissioner for three months. Most of its brief existence, it shared its deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police with its big brother South Andaman district. It is a hoax played on the people of those flimsy districts. All the decision making powers are concentrated in the South Andaman district.

SUNRISE SECTORS

The administration for sometime past has been making noises in the national and international media about tourism as the mainstay of the Islands’ economy. It spends 2-3 crores of rupees on advertisement but is yet to evolve a transparent and practical tourism policy.

The other sunrise sector is touted to be fisheries and high value agriculture. But nobody in the administration has a clue how to go about it. Andaman Sea is the only sea in the world where fish die of old age whereas the administration spends millions on catching, prosecuting, feeding and transporting back the poachers from neighboring countries. About high value agriculture, the least said the better.

POPULATION EXPLOSION

Till 1952, people entering A & N Islands were required to have an entry permit. But a free India could not restrict the free movement of its people. As a result, the population that stood at a mere 33,000 in 1951 leapfrogged to 3, 56,152 as per 2001 census. Unofficial estimates peg it at 5, 50,000.

Encroachment is the law in the territory. Anybody can encroach upon land anywhere he likes, be it revenue or forest of any description. People generally, are not stinking rich yet they manage. There is no grinding poverty per se. but all the poverty alleviation programs are implemented. Poor people from mainland flock to grab free land and the benefit of such programs. Politicians swell their vote bank and the bureaucrats look the other way.

Those 11,000 people who were left behind by SS Norilla on March 11, 1942 have been overwhelmed by the economic migrant. They have lost their identity. They don’t count in the scheme of things anymore.

THE KILLER TSUNAMI – 2004

On balance, things were not too bad if not very encouraging. Come December 26, 2004 and the entire equation changed. The devastating earthquake combined with the killer tsunami waves took heavy toll of lives and properties. Parts of the Islands were swallowed by the earthquake.

Thousands died and many more thousands simply disappeared from the face of the earth. The shock was too much, the pain too severe.

The tribal people of the Nicobar district had to suffer the most. Their world has changed forever. They are still living in temporary shelters. Life would not be the same again – not for the people of the Nicobar district.

The livelihood of old inhabitants is threatened in South Andaman. But nobody has any tears to spare for them. They don’t form the major vote bank anymore. They still live in a tunnel of despair waiting for the messiah who would deliver them.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION IN ANDAMAN

A quick recap-

“History of Civilization in Andaman”

“Chequered History of Civilization”

Now, dear friends, the haunting unfinished script about the chequered history of civilization in Andaman continues ahead-

JAPANESE OCCUPATION – MARCH 23, 1942

The Japanese take over the Islands in the early hours of March 22. And another saga of human sufferings and endurance starts unfolding.

Reign of terror would be an understatement for the three-and-a-half year ordeal that the left out people had to undergo during the Japanese regime.

First, as is customary, the invading army plays havoc with the masses to create psychological pressure into subjugation. Individual houses were raided and cash, ornaments, automobiles and other valuables looted. Even good cloths were not spared. Thereafter the cattle, goats and fowls were taken away.

In such an incident only Zulfiqar Ali (incidentally, my father-in-law’s own maternal uncle) pulled his gun on a Japanese soldier. But he was overpowered and executed in public at Netaji Ground (presently at Aberdeen Bazaar in Port Blair). His tomb till date tells the tale to anyone who cares to listen.

There was acute shortage of food. The Japanese soldiers suffered equally badly. The local people were put to hard work to raise sweet potato, tapioca and other edible crops. The local inhabitants were put to the ignominy of spraying human excreta as organic manure. They were producing for the Japanese soldiers but they themselves were going hungry. Clothes had become a luxury. People used gunny bags for clothes, had to eat yam and other leaves and barks. There was no sanctity of life.

As the weeks and months progressed the old and infirm became a liability on the new masters. They were rounded up, put in a vessel, taken to Havelock Island, and thrown overboard to drown and die. The lone survivor of the incident, who later came to be known as ‘Saudagar’ is reported to have eaten human flesh for survival.

Incidentally, he stayed for the rest of his life up to 1994 beside the mosque in the neighborhood of the quarter that we stayed in at Supply Line, Port Blair, while my father was operating as an Assistant Secretary in the A & N Administration. Hence, we children had ample opportunities to interact with him and hear the details of his ghastly experience from the horse’s mouth. I shall share the details in my ensuing posts.

Meanwhile, the British were targeting every ship that tried to approach the port with pin-pointed precision. The Japanese military administrators had a nagging feeling that somebody was spying for the British. They tried to catch hold of the spy. In the process, the old human weakness took its toll. Those who were close to the Japanese started naming those they had an account to settle with. It started a chain reaction. One would name the other to save his skin.

A shiver runs through the spines of those who underwent the torture in the hands of the Japanese just at the mention of those days. Their fingers do not grow normal nails till date. Red hot pins were forced under their nails. Knee, shoulder, elbow joints used to be hit with rods, testicles were crushed, penis burnt with cigarette butts.

Incidentally, one such victim of the Japanese’ inhuman treatment was Dr. Fred Meshack, my own grandfather-in-law, who was one of the very first veterinary surgeons of the Islands and a citizen of noble repute. He was also taken into their dreaded custody on suspicion of spying for the British and tortured atrociously by piercing his nails with red hot pins. Fortunately, my grandfather-in-law was soon released due to lack of any evidence against him, whatsoever.

The process went on and on and on. Public executions were held at Duggnabad and Humphreyganj.

Educated male members of the society had to suffer the most. Those who were the cream of the society became paupers. Their gold, ornaments, cash, cattle – everything was snatched away by the Japanese. No one has ever tried to fathom the pain, the agony, the sufferings, the deprivation and the sacrifice made by this small population of 11,000 people.

1945 – BRITISH RE-OCCUPATION

The Nuclear holocaust caused by atom bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki crushed the Japanese dreams of a trans-national empire. The Japanese forces surrendered before the British on October 08, 1945 at Andaman Club near Gymkhana ground. When the British Government reclaimed the Islands in 1945, those lucky ones who survived the ordeal were only a shadow of their previous selves. A devastated lot of unfortunate people who had to start everything from scratch again! Like those in 1858.

1946 – 47 – INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

The British Government wanted to retain Andaman and Nicobar Islands under the Crown. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru strongly argued that the Islands should go to India as the inhabitants are almost all Indians. His counter argument was that the British had deported the English convicts to Australia and only Indian convicts were sent to the Andaman Islands.

Thus, the 11,000 odd famished, emaciated, devastated and hapless ex-convicts and their descendents won the argument in favour of the Indian Union.

Life limped back, slowly to normalcy again. The Indian Government declared the Andaman & Nicobar group of Islands a union territory administered directly by the central government at New Delhi. Chief Commissioner, an ICS (Indian Civil Services) and later IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officer, continued to be the head of the administration.

CHEQUERED HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION

Hi, Folks,

So you must have already started feeling the goose-bumps after reading the first part of my illustrations about the “History of Civilization in Andaman”. Let me tell you, here, that it’s going to be an unfinished script about the chequered history of human settlement in Andaman. Let’s go further, now. Read on…

1881 – A NEW SOCIETY IS BORN

The convicts serving life term were not likely to go back to their home and hearth as the crimes they had committed were heinous and unpardonable from the moral standards of those times. Many of the convicts did try to go back and resume normal lives with their families in the mainland. But in a very large number of cases, they were not accepted by their families and they had to come back to the only other place they knew on the face of the earth.

The British government also wanted a permanent settlement to come up in the islands. To this end, it was necessary to bind the people to the land.

THUS – THE PENAL SETTLEMENT CAME INTO BEING

The female convicts after satisfactorily serving a term of 5 years and males after similarly serving a term of 10 years could opt to settle down with family. They had to apply to the District Officer with their intent of marrying a woman convict. Upon which, on a given date a parade of the convict women would be arranged where the “groom” could select his bride. They were afforded a chance to familiarize themselves by talking to each other under the watchful eyes of a warden or jailor. Thereafter, the consenting couple would be declared man & wife after due registration. The male convicts were advised to treat their wives fairly, take proper care and desist from ill treating them.

The couple was then allotted a piece of cultivable land on lease basis and some assistance in cash or kind to build a shelter and settle down.

In the meantime, the construction works were going on in full speed. Ross Island was developed into a capital housing the bungalows for the high officials and offices for the administration of the islands. A settlement was also started in Nancowry Island of Nicobar district. The Jail at Viper Island was completed, various village settlements, named after the Chief Commissioners and other officers of the time, were established. Free entrepreneurs also started arriving and setting up small trades to cater to the government officials and the departments. Roads were laid, medical facilities etc. were created.

The mutineers followed by the revolutionaries from Bengal and other parts of the country were not put to labour outside the jails. They too were put to impossibly hard work but the emphasis was more on humiliating them to the extent that they broke down mentally and morally. Finally, all the political prisoners were released and sent back to mainland in 1938.

1923 – MOPLAHS

There was a huge Moplah uprising in the Malabar district of the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin state in 1921. The rebels were tried and imprisoned in the Presidency Jail in the state of Madras. In 1923, they were deported to Andamans. They also became an inseparable influence in the evolving social fabric.

The confluence of various cultures, languages, religions, customs and traditions from Maharashtra to Assam and Afghanistan to Kanyakumari wove a unique cultural matrix.

Everything was going on fine. A new civil administration was in place. People were pursuing their business in peace and harmony and their children were looking forward to a bright future.

But destiny had its own designs. The condemned convicts and their descendents had some more dues to pay.

The rumblings of Second World War started shaking the countries and continents. Japan also joined the fray. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had his own plans to wage a war against the British Raj (regime) in collaboration with the Japanese Government. Andaman and Nicobar Islands provided the ideal springboard to launch an attack against the mighty British Empire on the mainland India. The Japanese Bombers started making sorties. The British forces were engaged in theatres that were more important to them. To the British, it was neither important nor necessary to spare any tears for the islands having a population of just about 30,000. The evacuation process was set in motion. All those who wanted to leave the Islands were free to do so.

MARCH 11, 1942 – THE FATEFUL DAY

The fateful date recurs with equal horror. Eight-four years ago, almost on the same date, the same month the British Raj had forced a batch of reluctant Indians to land on the inhospitable Island. And now the same British Raj was forcing another batch of reluctant Indians to board the last ship leaving for the mainland – to the safety of motherland. But they were not enthusiastic about boarding the ship this time either. A large population of about 11,000 people had nowhere to go. No state, no land, no home, no relations to look up to.

The last ship slides past the jetty, a huge crowd of condemned people – subjects of the British Crown – are left behind to fend for themselves.

"PADMA SHREE" FROM NICOBAR - Tribal Code Of Law

THE EXPONENT OF MODERN NICOBAR

3^rd June, 2008 was the 30^th Death Anniversary of Late Bishop John Richardson. He left peacefully for the heavenly abode at his residence at the Mus village, Car Nicobar, on 3^rd June, 1978 leaving behind his dear beloved people of Nicobar.

JOHN RICHARDSON HACHEVKO was born on 6^th June, 1888 at Mus, Car Nicobar, the capital of the Nicobar District, which is the home of the most civilized tribal community in the southern Andaman & Nicobar Islands – The Nicobarese.

When he was a child, his father was mercilessly killed at Chowra Island along with other sailors, to appease the Devil. He was among the first 128 Christians in Car Nicobar Baptized by Rev. Heely in 1901.

The honoUrs:

On 15^th January, 1950 Rev. John Richardson was consecrated at the St. Paul Cathedral, Calcutta to be a Bishop of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. In 1952, he was nominated as the Member of Parliament (M.P.) at New Delhi for the territory of A & N Islands for a term up to 1957. In 1966, the “Doctor of Divinity” was conferred on him by the Colleges of Serampore University (West Bengal) and in the same year, the Government of India conferred on him the prestigious award of “PADMA SHREE” and once again the even more prestigious and dignified “PADMA BHUSHAN” was awarded to him in 1973. He is the only Islander from the Union Territory of A & N Islands who was the recipient of Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan awards.

HIS VISION:

When he came back after completing his higher studies from Mandalay, Myanmar (erstwhile Burma) with a new tongue of English in his mouth, the tribal natives welcomed him with an eye of skepticism – a Foreigner who would snatch their land from them; not to be trusted but to be watched. Patiently, he set an example to them. He moved with them, talked with them, played and ate with them, and gradually the hearts that had hardened for years began to melt for him. Slowly, they began to believe him as their natural leader.

CAPTAINSHIP & TRIBAL CODE OF LAW:

John Richardson was not only a religious head, but was a natural leader, indeed, par excellence. He began to introduce the unwritten Tribal Code of Law amongst the Nicobarese. Thomas Halainypa was appointed as the first Chief Captain of Car Nicobar assisted by seven Headmen. The Court was set up at Big Lapathy (Tokirong Seti). The cases of dispute were settled peacefully without bloodshed. Few more villages were officially formed and named. John Richardson introduced the captainship in every village in Car Nicobar, only to make it united and peaceful, prosperous and beautiful.

COOPERATION – A WAY OF LIFE:

The Nicobarese live as a community; they exist for each other in a commune called “TUHET” headed by a chosen head of the family. And quite logically, John Richardson chose “Co-operation” as a way of life – a potent means for democratic, social and economic development. He started the Co-operative Movement in the Nicobar Islands.

The Christian civilization in the Nicobars is the epic of Bishop John Richardson. Befittingly, he was honoured with the prestigious awards by the Government of India and other institutions of high repute in recognition of his services for his people and for the country, at large. He is, without qualms, the Founder-Father of the Modern day Nicobars.

On this day of condolence, prayer meetings are held in all the Churches in the Nicobar group of Islands. On this day, the entire Nicobarese community together with the rest of the non tribal communities in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands commemorates the invaluable services and contributions of Bishop John Richardson towards the development and unification of the entire social makeup of the archipelago.

Courtesy: Lucas Robert, a member of the Nicobarese Tribal community, who is the Head of the Department of Education in the A & N Administration.

Life`s Like That.....

When I first read this, I was like..what's this? But when I got to the end, it all got better. I think it's pretty funny, but if you don't read it till the end..it won't make any sense, so make sure you read the WHOLE story. Don't stop if it gets too disgusting, 'cuz you'll have a great laugh and SURPRISE after you're done reading it. And make sure you forward this to all your friends. Male AND Female!! A GIRL'S FIRST TIME!!! (Assume you are a girl if you are a boy). It's your first time. As you lie back your muscles tighten. You put him off for a while searching for an excuse, but he refuses to be swayed as he approaches you. He asks if you're afraid and you shake your head bravely. He has had more experience, but it's the first time his finger has found the right place. He probes deeply and you shiver; your body tenses; but he's gentle like he promised he'd be. He looks deeply within your eyes and tells you to trust him - he's done this many times before. His cool smile relaxes you and you open wider to give him more room for an easy entry. You begin to plead and beg him to hurry, but he slowly takes his time, wanting to cause you as little pain as possible. As he presses closer,going deeper, you feel the tissue give way; pain surges throughout your body and you feel the slight trickle of blood as he continues. He looks at you concerned and asks you if it's too painful. Your eyes are filled with tears but you shake your head and nod for him to go on. He begins going in and out with skill but you are now too numb to feel him within you. After a few moments, you feel something bursting within you and he pulls it out of you, you lay panting, glad to have it over. He looks at you and smiling warmly, tells you, with a chuckle; that you have been his most stubborn yet most rewarding experience. You smile and thank YOUR DENTIST. After all, it was your first time to have a tooth pulled. Naughty, Naughty! What were you thinkin'? I know what you were thinking.....