The Jarawa Tribe of the Andaman Islands: The Road Through Their Forest

1.1 Where do the Jarawa live?

The Jarawa live in South and Middle Andaman. These are islands in the Andaman group in the Bay of Bengal. They are one of five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of the islands. The others are the Onge, Great Andamanese, Shompen and Sentinelese.

1.2 What do the words Jarawa and Ang mean?

A neighbouring Great Andamanese language uses “Jarawa” to mean “stranger”. The people call themselves Ang, which means “We people”.

1.3 How long have they been there?

Andaman peoples are believed to have lived on the islands for thousands of years.

2.1 How do the Jarawa get food?

They hunt, gather food and collect honey. They hunt pig and turtle and fish with bows and arrows. They also gather fruits, wild roots and tubers.

2.2 How are they organised?

They are nomadic. They move through the forest in bands of about 40 to 50 people.

2.3 What do they know about the forest?

They know more than 150 plant species and 350 animal species in detail.

3.1 When did contact begin?

The Jarawa resisted outsiders until the late 1990s. In 1998 they began to come out of the forest. They started to visit nearby settlements.

3.2 Why is contact dangerous?

Small isolated groups have little protection against diseases from outside. Measles struck the Jarawa in 1999 and again in 2006. The 1999 outbreak hit about 60 per cent of 300-odd people.

4.1 What is the Andaman Trunk Road?

It is a 333 km road. It cuts through the home of the Jarawa.

4.2 Why does the road matter?

Settlers argue that the road is needed to carry essential supplies. They also say people on the far side of the reserve need it to reach medical services in the capital.

4.3 What is the reserve?

An area of 1,028 sq km is reserved for the Jarawa, from Constance Bay in South Andaman to Lewis Inlet Bay in Middle Andaman.

5.1 What were the human safaris?

Daily convoys went along the road to see a limestone cave and a mud volcano on Baratang island. They quickly became known as human safaris. Tourists hoped to see the Jarawa. Hundreds of tourists used the road every day.

5.2 What went wrong?

Tourists threw biscuits. Some made Jarawa women dance for food. The Observer newspaper exposed the safaris in January 2012.

5.3 What rules apply to convoys now?

As reported in 2018, convoys leave Jirkatang four times a day, at 6 am, 9 am, noon and 2.30 pm. The speed limit is 40 km per hour. There is no overtaking, and no photography or videography.

6.1 What happened in 2002?

On 7 May 2002 the Supreme Court passed a set of orders. They included closing the Andaman Trunk Road. The authorities ignored the closure order.

6.2 What happened in January 2013?

The Court barred tourists from the road as an interim measure. The order cut the number of vehicles entering the reserve by about two thirds.

6.3 What happened on 5 March 2013?

The Court refused to make the ban on tourists permanent. It reportedly asked the Andaman authorities whether they wanted the Jarawa kept in isolation or assimilated into the mainstream.

Dates are from the Guardian, Down To Earth, Survival International and the Indian Express.

7.1 What is the policy?

In 2004 the authorities announced a new policy. It says no attempts should be made to bring the Jarawa into the mainstream of society.

7.2 How is their health looked after?

Exclusive medical wards have been set up at the Primary Health Centres at Tushnabad and Kadamtala, and at GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair. The Kadamtala centre has a separate four-bed ward. Informal education for Jarawa and Onge children uses a bilingual, bicultural curriculum.

7.3 How many Jarawa are there?

The Census of 2011 counted 380 Jarawas. The Directorate of Health Services gives 645 for February 2025. Their numbers are steadily growing.

Counts differ by source and year. Always check which year a question names.

8.1 Which mistakes are common?

• PVTG is the Jarawa’s special category.
• The Jarawa and the Sentinelese are different groups. The Sentinelese policy is “eyes-on and hands-off”.
• The January 2013 ban was interim. On 5 March 2013 the Court refused to make it permanent.
• The authorities ignored the 2002 closure order.
• Counts differ by source: 380 in the 2011 Census, 645 in February 2025.