The Sentinel Islanders

The Sentinel Islanders, also called the Sentinelese, are one of the five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. They live in the North Sentinel Island of the Andaman group of Islands situated in the Bay of Bengal. They are, perhaps, the only truly isolated hunter-gatherer tribal community in the world today. Of the five PVTGs, the Sentinel Islanders are usually described as the ‘most uncon­tacted’ and ‘most reclusive’ people on earth. Till today, this group has maintained their independent existence, repelling all attempts to directly engage with and contact them. They remained steadfast in opposition to all the efforts of the colonial and post-colonial administration to contain them with the might of their bows and arrows. Incredibly, they also managed to survive the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which had a devastating effect on the people of the lsland groups.