Jarawas

The Andaman and Niobar Islands are the home to four Negrito and two Indo-Mongoloid tribes. Those belonging to the Negrito racial stock - Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese - are still at hunting-gathering stage of economy. Small in number, sensitive and isolated, they have been under severe stress. The Indo-Mongoloid group of the Nicobarese, relatively sturdy and resilient, have accepted the challenge of change and have prospered and multiplied. The other Mongoloid community, the Shompen, semi nomadic and living in small, scattered settlements, still shy away from outsiders. They are somewhat better off than the Great Andamanese and the Onge, whose numbers have sharply dwindled. However they are not as remote as the Sentinelese and the Jarawa

The survival of all tribal communities (except the Nicobarese) is the key issue in the islands. The maintenance of ecological balance is intimately linked with their survival. Since 1901, their population has been declining. They must be preserved and helped to develop in their own way at all cost. The four Negrito communities, and even the Shompen, must be encouraged to develop the will to survive, which they have been losing over the years. This can be done only by showing respect for their culture, which remain unique in the plurality of cultures in our country. They also possess a profound knowledge of their ecology and concern for its preservation. Survival of these groups and preservation of ecological balance are interconnected.

The Nicobarese
The Nicobarese, in many ways, are the most significant tribal population on the islands. They are horticulturists and keep large herds of pig, and are economically well off. They live on 12 islands in the Nicobar group and one island (Little Andaman) in the Andaman group. They constitute about 12% of the total population of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Their numbers (26,000) give them confidence, strength and power. They have had the benefit of good and able leadership for long. Having been in contact with the outside world for centuries, they have consequently been exposed to various forces of change and have shown themselves capable of absorbing the benefits of modern day welfare measures.

The Shompen
The Shompen are semi-nomadic people numbering about 200, inhabiting the southernmost island in the Nicobar group, the Great Nicobar Island. A hunting - gathering community, their subsistence economy is closely related to the ecology. They subsist by gathering food, hunting and fishing, domestication of pigs and horticulture. Primarily territory based, they rarely leave it except to go on raiding expeditions. The extent of their external contact is limited to trade with the Nicobarese. It has resulted in very little change at the levels of their social institutions. Only those in the Galathea River basin showed some change. But their dress, cooking utensils and food habits have undergobe marked change because of gifting of these items by the Administration under the contact programme. The influx of mainlanders in their habitat has also caused some undesirable impact upon them.