The names ‘Andaman’ and ‘Nicobar’ are taken from the Malay Language: The name Andaman is presumed to be derived from Hanuman, who was known to the Malays as Handuman. The name Nicobar seems to be a corruption of the South Indian term ‘Nakkavaram’ (Land of the Naked) as indicated in the great Tanjore inscription of AD 1050.
The most widely spoken language on the islands is not Andamanese or Nicobarese: The most widely spoken language on the islands is Bengali followed by Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Andaman Creole Hindi is also widely used as a trade language in the Andaman islands.
The tribes inhabiting these islands don’t interact with outsiders: North Sentinel Island is home to one of the most isolated human populations in the world. The Sentinelese, thought to number around 300, have rebuffed all contact with the modern world and fire their arrows at anyone who comes within range. They are thought to have directly descended from the first human populations to emerge from Africa and have probably lived in the Andaman Islands for up to 60,000 years.
Why did Andaman and Nicobar Islands become a part of India although they are much closer to Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, and Myanmar?
The largest sea turtles in the world nest here in Andamans
Andaman is home to the largest crabs in the world