Andaman

As union territory of India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands formed by a submerged mountain range stretching from the southern tip of Myanmar down to Sumatra in Indonesia. Only 36 of these islands are inhabited. The total population is around 350,000.

It is believed that Marco Polo was among the first from the West to set foot on the islands. Kanhoji Angre, a Maratha admiral, established a base on the island in the early 18th century. From here he attacked passing Portuguese, Dutch and English merchant vessels on their way to or from various Asian colonies.

The British established their first colony in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1789 and later annexed the islands and turned them into a penal colony for Indian freedom fighters. Hundreds of anti-British Indians were tortured to death or executed in the infamous Cellular Jail in the early 1900s. During the Second World War, Japanese troops occupied the islands, and local tribes initiated guerrilla activities against them.

These forested islands export sawn timber, commercial plywood, match splints and veneers. Paddy, the main food crop, is mostly cultivated in the Andaman group of islands. Coconut and areca nut are the main cash crops of the Nicobar group of islands. Fishing, tourism and ship repairing create further employment opportunities. The islands have a tropical climate with medium to heavy rain during the monsoon season (the months from May to mid-September and again from November to mid-December). Rains and tropical storms in late summer often cause heavy erosion damage.

The people follow many different beliefs, including Hinduism, Christianity (about 25%), Islam and Sikhism. A variety of languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and Nicobari are spoken on the islands. Despite such cultural diversity, the people live together in peace. Inter-religion and inter-regional marriages are common. Mission work is forbidden among some indigenous people groups, yet the Gospel is slowly progressing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Gospel for Asia in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
Work began mid-1990s
Personal evangelism
Church planting
Fellowship groups
Radio broadcasts in Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam

Phone: 07 4632 4131   Address: PO Box 3587 Village Fair, Toowoomba QLD 4350 Australia   
Registered in Australia -  ABN Number:77 238 537 422   GFA Trust Fund ABN: 14 595 344 396   Charity Number: CH1471

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