Drone North Sentinel Island

Location of North Sentinel Island

North Sentinel is located 59.6 kilometers (37.0 mi) north of South Sentinel Island and 36 km (22 km) west of Wandoor in South Andaman Island. It is also 50 km (31 mi) west of Port Blair. Its area is approximately 59.67 km2 (23.04 sq mi), and its shape is generally square. Coral reefs encircle North Sentinel, which is devoid of natural harbors. Except for the shore, the entire island is covered in trees....

North Sentinel Island on Map

You can explore the location of North Sentinel Island via the Google map link: Google Earth North Sentinel Island...

North Sentinel Island People

The Sentinelese are an indigenous tribe who live on North Sentinel Island and who use force to defend their choice to live alone. Research from 2012 estimated their population to be between 50 and 400 persons. The 2011 census in India estimates 15 residents in 10 houses, although that information is only an estimate, according to the Times of India, and is a “wild guess.”...

North Sentinel Island Tribe

On North Sentinel Island in the Andamans, there is a pre-Neolithic Negrito tribe known as the Sentinelese. The Indian government has classified Sentinelese as one of its Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Sentinelese people reside in slanted-roof lean-to shelters. In a comparatively shallow, calm seas inside the reef, they construct small, narrow outrigger canoes that they steer with long sticks. The Sentinelese gather crabs and fishes from those canoes. They carry knives, spears, bows, and arrows to keep intruders away. They are also used to support their lifestyle as hunter-gatherers....

Why is Sentinelese Isolated?

After the British proclaimed Sentinel Island to be a part of their colonial possessions, a young Royal Navy commander Maurice Vidal Portman took over command of the Andaman and Nicobar colony. Portman, an anthropologist, landed on North Sentinel Island in 1880 alongside a group of naval officers. The tribe members hid in places further inland when they became aware of the undesirable guests. The group led by Portman captured an elderly couple and four kids and took them to Port Blair. The elderly couple passed away in Port Blair shortly after they fell ill upon their arrival at Port Blair. Subsequently,  the four unwell kids were returned to North Sentinel’s beach. The tribe is kept in isolation to prevent “mainland” infectious diseases against which the residual indigenous society (presumably) lacks acquired immunity....

Drone North Sentinel Island

Drone flying is thrilling and enjoyable, but all pilots need to follow the applicable rules and laws in North Sentinel Island. Travel to the island and anywhere within five nautical miles is prohibited by indigenous tribe protection rules in the area to keep tribal populations safe from exotic diseases to which they lack immunity. The Indian Navy monitors the area. This information indicates that using a drone to fly above North Sentinel Island is not prohibited. One should still first communicate with the Indian government, though. Secondly, once the drone is detected, the North Sentinelese will probably shoot it down because they are extremely xenophobic and resistant to outside influences....

Anthropological Visits to North Sentinel Island

A team of Indian anthropologists initially got in touch with them in 1991. In 1967, TN Pandit became the first anthropologist to set foot on the remote Andaman island of North Sentinel. Pandit visited their remote island village over several years while serving as the regional head for India’s Ministry of Tribal Affairs....

Why is North Sentinel Island Dangerous?

Whether the boats were accidentally grounded on the nearby coral reef or were merely visiting the island on purpose, the Sentinelese have regularly attacked approaching watercraft. The islanders have been seen firing arrows at boats and helicopters that are flying close by. These assaults have caused harm and even fatalities. In 2006, islanders killed two fisherman whose boat had fallen ashore, and in 2018, John Chau, a 26-year-old American Christian missionary, was killed after he made three attempts to reach the islanders and bribed local fishermen to take him there. These are some of the reasons why North Sentinelese Island is considered dangerous....

Death of John Allen Chau by Sentinelese in North Sentinel Island

John Allen Chau, an American evangelical Christian missionary (December 18, 1991 – November 17, 2018), was killed by the Sentinelese, an isolated native tribe in India, after visiting North Sentinel Island in an effort to inform the group about Christianity....

North Sentinel Island Shipwreck

The Nineveh, an Indian trade ship, struck aground on the reef. Twenty crew members and 86 passengers made it to the beach by swimming and splashing. After three days of staying on the island’s beach, the ship’s crew members were ambushed. A prisoner attempted to escape the Great Andaman Island Penal Colony in 1896 on a raft that washed up on North Sentinel Island. A few days later, his body was discovered by a colonial search party, his throat had been slit, and he had numerous arrow wounds....

Recent Developments in North Sentinel Island

The ANSI claims that the “right of the people to the island is non-negotiable” in a policy statement that was released nearly two years after American John Allen Chau was purportedly assassinated on the island by the Sentinelese. This first comprehensive policy draught for the Sentinelese island was created at the Andaman and Nicobar Administration’s request....

Way Forward

Instead of a policy of no interaction, the scholars contend that the appropriate course of action is one of “managed contact” with these populations. The best way to prevent the spread of disease is through carefully controlled contact, which also allows for the development of trust and the provision of aid and medical assistance if needed. Contact with the outside world can aid governments in documenting their way of life, preserving their culture, and fostering their overall development....

Questions & Answers on North Sentinel Island & Sentinelese People

1. Why is North Sentinel Island illegal?...