![]() In the 17th century, the islands were used as temporary shipping ports of the Maratha Empire. This would later play a crucial role in the annexation of the islands in India post-independence. Later, during the Maratha rule, a basic marine defence was established in the islands by Maratha Admiral Kanhoji Angre. Marco Polo, the famous European traveller, called this island ‘Necuverann’. There are references to Andamans in the Thanjavur inscription of 1050 CE, where it is called Ma-Nakkavaram, which means great open, by the Cholas. King Rajendra Chola II established the Andaman and Nicobar islands as a strategic marine defence base to operate an excursion against Indonesia during the rule of the Srivijaya Empire. Austroasiatic and Shompen languages were widely spoken in the Nicobar islands, with no similarities to the language spoken by the Andamanese. The Nicobar islands are more hospitable and hence have had an influence of various cultures from settlers who came in from different parts of the world. Archaeological documents provide evidence of these inhabitants from over 2,200 years ago. The Andamanese people are believed to be the first inhabitants of these islands around 30,000 years ago during the Middle Paleolithic era and since have diversified into different groups based on linguistic and cultural differences. The North and Middle Andaman district has Mayabunder as its capital, the South Andaman district has its capital in Port Blair, and the Nicobar district has its headquarters at Car Nicobar. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were integrated as union territories of India on 1 November, 1956. These are believed to be part of the Arakan mountains submerged underwater. These two are separated by a 150km wide 10° channel. There are a group of two islands one is the Andaman islands, and another is the Nicobar Islands. The islands are separated from Myanmar and Thailand by the Andaman sea. Of these, around 38 islands are inhabitable, of which North Sentinel Island is home to Sentinelese–an indigenous tribe, and is off-limits to the rest of the world. Andaman and Nicobar Islands is an archipelago of 572 islands that are part of India.
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