Andaman Islands

Andaman Islands
[[Image:|250px| ]]
Presidency: Madras
Coordinates:	11.67°N 92.76°E
Altitude:
Present Day Details
Place Name:	Andaman Islands
State/Province:	Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Country:	India
Transport links

The Andaman Islands was the location of a penal colony during the British Raj. Port Blair is the capital.

A penal settlement existed for a short time in the 1790s but was abandoned due to disease. However, in 1858, after the Indian Mutiny, the penal settlement was re-established to deal effectively with native Indian troops who had recently rebelled. By the late 19th century the independence movement had picked up momentum. As a result, the number of prisoners being sent to the Andaman Islands started growing and the need for a high-security prison was felt. The construction of the Andaman Cellular Jail started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. Most of the prisoners were Indian political prisoners who were housed at the jail until 1937. The penal settlement was closed in 1945.

1st Superintendent
2nd Superintendent

The Japanese occupied the Andaman Islands from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War.

FIBIS resources

• FIBIS Journal 13 "The Andaman and Nicobar Islands" by Patricia Redmond

India Office Records at the British Library

Church records at the British Library

A number of records appear on the LDS FamilySearch site, refer IGI.

The Church records for the Andaman Islands mainly appear in the Bengal Presidency records, although there are a few in the Madras Presidency records

It appears that from circa 1861 the Andaman Islands were administered by Burma, which in turn was part of the Bengal Presidency. At a later (unknown) date, but by 1893, it was part of the Madras Presidency, as show by this link, page 178 The history of India, revised by Sir Roper Lethbridge 1893.(Archive.org) At a still later date, the Presidency may have again changed, so if you are searching for church records, using the indexes, (either at the British Library, or by using LDS Microfilms) it is suggested you search in both Bengal and Madras Presidency records.

Other records

Records in respect of the Andaman Islands include:

• Proceedings and Consultations of the Government of India and of its Presidencies and Provinces IOR/P includes Port Blair and the Nicobars Proceedings Proceedings of the Superintendent of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1876-1921
• Administration Reports: Andaman and Nicobar Islands IOR/V/10/589-628 1872-1940
• Andaman and Nicobars Gazette IOR/V/11/3695-3699 1895-1903
• Histories of Services IOR/V/12 includes Histories of Services: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 1886-1889 IOR/V/12/434
• "The history of the Andaman and Nicobar Police" (anon) Mss Eur F161/26 1858-1960
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Medical Department: Annual sanitary and medical report on the settlement of Port Blair, Andamans, 1869 IOR/V/24/3875
• Coll 5/5(1); Indian Forest Service. Amendments to Cadre in Andaman Islands IOR/L/SG/7/337 11 Jun 1931-1947 Mar 14

External links

• Historical Background Google Books
• Port Blair Wikipedia
• Cellular Jail Wikipedia
• George Weber’s Lonely Islands including
  • The Andamanese including
    • The Murder of Lord Mayo 1872
  • Nicobarese including
    • The Nicobar Islands The British in the Nicobars by Dr. Simron Jit Singh.
• History of Ross Island html version as.and.nic.in
• History andamantourism.in
• History of Andaman Cellular Jail andamancellularjail.org, now an archived website.
• The remote Andaman Islands flickr.com Interesting photos showing jail, ruined church and cemetery.
• This review, from The Hindu, of the book Travel Writing and the Empire by Sachidananda Mohanty (Editor), gives details of one of the essays "Colonialism, Surveillance and Memoirs of travel: Tegart's Diaries and the Andaman Cellular Jail", where "Tutun Mukherjee looks at the "Memoir of an Indian Policeman", a compilation made by Tegart's wife of the diaries of Charles Augustus Tegart, British loyalist and Police Commissioner. The Memoir, Mukherjee notes, records a particularly violent chapter in India's colonial history, that of extremism, British repression and brutal colonial incarceration. Travelling to the Cellular Jail in the beautiful Andaman archipelago in 1913, Tegart notes the careful architecture of the prison, recording all the many ways in which the prisoners were kept under control, his eyes ever alert for lapses in vigilance". Available through Amazon.co.uk from the FIBIS Shop
  • Charles Tegart of the Indian Police: an unpublished biography by Lady Tegart is available at the British Library with European Manuscripts catalogue entry Mss Eur C235 1881-1946
• "Medical Officer in Cellular Jail", page 32 Doctor Diwan Singh Kalepani by N. Iqbal Singh, Sahitya Akademi Google Books
• In memory of an unsung martyr: Dr Diwan Singh Kalepani The Tribune Chandigarh Monday, 20 November 2000
• The Anglo-Burmese Library, on its Message Boards page states "The Andaman Islands BMD returns were always included in the Burma returns, and so we feel justified in including these Islands in our remit"
• This India List post is about 'Burials: Port Blair - extracted from returns April 1878 to March 1891'
• This India List post is about government appointments c 1904-1937. There is also reference to the destruction of most of the cemetery at Port Blair due to the tsunami in 2004.
• The Arracan Expedition, Andaman Islands 1867 A detachment of 3 officers and 100 men of the 24th Regiment of Foot was dispatched from Rangoon on the steamship Arracan to rescue crew members of the ship Assam Valley who had been captured. As a result 5 Victoria Cross awards were made. readinggivesmewings.wordpress.com
• The British leave prior to the Japanese conquest in 1942, page 48 Doctor Diwan Singh Kalepani by N. Iqbal Singh, Sahitya Akademi Google Books
• Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands Wikipedia
• Details of a film held at the Imperial War Museum: Reoccupation of the Andaman Islands (7/10/1945) The Japanese surrender. colonialfilm.org.uk
• Penal System in Andaman by R.V.R. Murthy Dialogue January - March, 2009 , Volume 10 No. 3 Dialogue (A quarterly journal of Astha Bharati)
• 'The search for Black Rock" by Professor Clare Anderson. Discusses letters in the India Office archives of the British Library dated 1874-77 written by the Reverend Thomas L.J. Warneford

Part I 20 February 2012, Part II 23 February 2012 British Library Blog: Untold Lives: Sharing stories from the past

Historical books online

• "Notes on the Andamans" by Lieutenant TM Philbrick HM Indian Navy. Read before the Society 15th March 1860, page 110 Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society Volume 15, May 1858- May 1860 Google Books
• "A Prisoner in Paradise" page 137 The other way: respectfully dedicated to all good housewives by Ernest Forbes 1899 Archive.org
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Local Gazetteer 1908 Archive.org
• "Andaman and Nicobar Islands" Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 5, page 350.
• "Port Blair" Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 20, page 191.
• "Act XXVII of 1861. Passed by the Legislative Council of India. An Act to regulate the administration of Port Blair and other settlements in the Andaman Islands, page 31 Hand Book for British Burma compiled by Captain G E Fryer 1867 Google Books
• The Andaman Islands by F A M Dass 1937 Archive.org