During the rush towards the 1947 Partition, many interesting developments occurred which may not seem to be very relevant to the overall story of the end of the British Raj and the dawn of an independent South Asia but nonetheless had huge geostrategic consequences. One of the most intriguing of these was the status of the Andaman Islands, which were hotly contested by India, Pakistan, the British Empire and even Australia. The Pakistani claim to the Andamans was a sound one but it went against the basic premise of Partition, that only Muslim majority territories would make up Pakistan. Nonetheless the story of the Andamans in 1947 is a fascinating look into how a vast part of the world was carved up in that fateful year.
The Andaman Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal stretching from the Burmese coast down along the Southeast Asian littoral. Included along with the Andamans are the Nicobar Islands which extend almost down to Indonesian territorial waters. The islands are famous for their native tribes, one of the most isolated populations in the world, many of which still live a Paleolithic lifestyle. These people are divided between several tribes, most of whom have subsequently gone extinct but the Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese still survive. The Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island are one of the world’s last remaining isolated tribes who attack any outsiders who breach the sanctity of their world. These people with their distinctive looks, more Sub-Saharan African than Asian, are considered to be genetically close to the original inhabitants of South Asia. Today these tribes make up only a miniscule percentage of the Andaman population, the majority of whom are now Bengali-, Hindi- and Tamil-speaking Hindu, Muslim and Christian immigrants.
Location of the Andman and Nicobar islands
Interestingly the islands were originally a colonial outpost of Denmark before the British Empire purchased them from Denmark in 1868. Regardless of the Danish claims, the British East India Company had been in possession of the islands since the 1700s and established a penal colony there. It is this association with the colonial crime of deporting prisoners of conscience, basically whoever the British Raj considered to be against their interests, that made the islands a well-known part of the Empire, known in India as Kala Pani or “The Black Waters.”
Early in 1947 when Indian independence had become an established proposition and Partition inevitable, the Andaman Islands quickly became a bone of contention. These islands lie geographically in Southeast Asia rather than South Asia and are in an important geostrategic location. Lying along the Eastern branch of the Indian Ocean trade routes and close to the Straits of Malacca, the islands were prime real estate from both a commercial and military viewpoint. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah viewed the Islands as a vital link between West Pakistan and East Pakistan as they could be used a stopover point for both vessels and aircraft traveling between the two wings of the country. His view is best summed up in this quote from a letter he wrote to The Secretary of State for India, “Clause 2 of the India Independence Bill allots Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the Dominion of India. These islands have never formed subject of discussion or agreement between parties any time. Their sudden inclusion in India raises a very grave issue. They are not part of India, historically or geographically. They were British possessions administered by Government of India and are not in the same category as other chief commissioner’s provinces, being reserved to Governor General under Constitution Act of 1935. Majority of population consists of tribes who are not connected with peoples of India by ethnical, religious or cultural ties. Pakistan’s claim to these islands is very strong since the only channel of communication between eastern and western Pakistan is by sea and, these islands occupy important strategic position on sea routes and provide refueling bases. Dominion of India has no such claim. They should form part of Pakistan.”
One of the smaller islands in the Andman Chain
The British Raj responded by saying that as the closest part of India to the islands was Bengal, the most natural outcome would be to include the Andaman Islands with whatever polity would inherit that region. As a United Bengal Free State was being championed by Suhrawardy at this time, it was not certain that East Bengal would become part of Pakistan. Nonetheless Jawaharlal Nehru used his good offices with the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, to make sure that the islands would become part of India, based on the principle that it had a non-Muslim majority and that the site played a vital role in the Indian independence movement as the dreaded detention center where Indian anti-colonial rebels had been sent to silence them.
Oddly, the Quaid-e-Azam had overlooked the Laccadive Islands in the Arabian Sea. If he had attempted to merge them with Pakistan at this early juncture, he may well have been successful but he somehow failed to do so and concentrated on the Andamans, a non-Muslim region, instead of the Muslim-majority Laccadives, which Liaquat Ali Khan would later try to incorporate in August 1947. Thus Pakistan lost a vital opportunity to become a major trading and naval power in the Indian Ocean by being unable to consolidate either of these strategic archipelagos.
Before the Raj decided to grant the islands to India, the British were toying with the idea of retaining them as a Crown Territory. Their significance was clear and Port Blair, the capital and major port, would have been a keen naval port for the British fleet as they had lost all their major naval ports on the Bay of Bengal including Vizag in India and were soon to lose Trincomalee in Ceylon. Thus it is interesting to note how easily the British handed the islands over to India. Even Australia made a proposition for the Andamans based on their geostrategic value!
Thus was the fate of the Andaman Islands decided. The islands are today a very important part of India’s defense regimen and also a key tourist attraction for both Indian and international tourists. Although the Quaid’s chances at getting the Andamans were slim, he realized their importance and potential. The debate for the Andamans was one of the most interesting side notes of the saga that was the end of the British Raj.
