Indigenous Sovereignty at Risk: Expert Warns of Growing Threats to Andaman Tribes

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago renowned for its pristine ecosystems and isolated Indigenous populations, are facing a critical juncture. According to Manish Chandi, a former research scholar and veteran expert on the region’s tribal communities, the survival of groups like the Sentinelese and the Shompen is being jeopardized by a combination of unchecked industrial development, illegal resource extraction, and misguided welfare policies.

Chandi, who has spent decades working with organizations such as the Andaman Nicobar Environment Team and the Nature Conservation Foundation, asserts that the autonomy of these tribes is not merely a human rights issue—it is a vital component of the archipelago’s environmental health.

Biodiversity Guardians Under Siege

For generations, the tribal reserves of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have functioned as some of the most effective conservation zones in the country. Chandi points out that these areas consistently outperform official government wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. Because these lands have been left untouched by commercial timber harvesting and modern infrastructure, they have managed to preserve the complex biodiversity of their unique island habitats.

However, this ecological balance is increasingly fragile. Coastal buffer zones, which serve as essential foraging grounds for Indigenous groups, are routinely breached by commercial fishing trawlers and poachers. These illegal operations target marine life such as sharks, lobsters, and turtles, effectively stripping the tribal communities of the natural resources they rely on for daily subsistence.

Furthermore, the government’s proposed mega-development project on Great Nicobar Island has raised alarm bells. The project overlaps directly with ancestral foraging territories and Shompen settlements, threatening to disrupt traditional lifestyles without obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of the Indigenous people themselves.

The Pitfalls of Modern Welfare

Beyond external commercial pressures, Chandi highlights a more insidious threat: government-led welfare initiatives that inadvertently undermine tribal self-sufficiency. He argues that some officials harbor a “primitive” bias against traditional hunting-and-gathering practices, leading to policies that replace a community’s independent food systems with state-provided rations.

By introducing dependence on market-based food supplies, these welfare programs force once-nomadic or autonomous groups into sedentary, small-scale reservations. This transition often serves a dual purpose for development interests: it clears larger ancestral territories for denotification, potentially opening up these protected lands for commercial exploitation or tourism.

“Autonomy and self-sufficiency are critical indicators of human welfare,” Chandi remarked in a recent interview. He emphasizes that rather than imposing an external, paternalistic view of “progress” on these communities, the administration must respect their right to determine their own destiny.

A Call for Institutional Change

Chandi describes the current state of engagement between the establishment and the islands’ Indigenous people as a “festering wound.” He contends that the government’s reluctance to invest in genuine, scientifically informed research—and its failure to communicate the value of these cultures to the broader population—has left the tribes vulnerable to exploitation.

As the islands face intensifying pressures, the path forward remains clear to those working on the ground: the protection of the Andaman and Nicobar tribes requires a shift from dependency-based welfare to a framework of autonomy. Only by recognizing these communities as sophisticated stewards of their land—rather than obstacles to development—can the region ensure the survival of its most vulnerable inhabitants and the rich biodiversity they protect.

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