Lakshadweep
(2001 est. pop. 61,000). Lakshadweep is an Indian union territory (capital, Kavaratti) that includes the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi islands, which are scattered in the Arabian Sea some 300 kilometers off the Malabar Coast of South India. An isolated and picturesque archipelago of twelve tropical atolls and three reefs and submerged sand banks, Lakshadweep's thirty-six small islands cover a total area of only thirty-two square kilometers located between between 8° and 12°N latitude, 71° and 74°E longitude. The coral archipelago is built on the submarine Chagos Ridge, like the Maldives archipelago farther south. The Amindivi Islands occupy the northern part of Lakshadweep, the Laccadive Islands the central part, and Minicoy is the southernmost island.
Due to their exposed location, the islands were ruled by the Portuguese, Indian rajas, Tipoo sultans, and British rulers until the islands were absorbed into independent India. Ten of the islands are inhabited; islandto-island traffic is either by boat or helicopter. Though originally Hindu, the population has followed the Muslim faith since the fourteenth century. They are classified as Scheduled Tribes (ethic subgroups who have faced discrimination and economic privations). They speak Malayalam, except on Minicoy, where they speak a Sinhalese dialect. The isolation of Lakshadweep's population has meant that they suffer from health and education deficits when compared with mainland Peninsular India. Lakshadweep is seriously overpopulated, with nearly two thousand persons per square kilometer, and this overpopulation is causing tremendous economic problems as the economy is mainly based on coconut products, fisheries, and tropical fruit and vegetable gardening, though dairies and poultry farms were established in the 1980s. Tourism was introduced in 1988 with the opening of the resort on Bingaram Island, intended to diversify the narrow and backward economy. This formerly uninhabited island is ringed by a fringed coral reef. The favorable dry and sunny tourist season is from October to April. At other times of the year, the channels between the islands are often affected by harmful currents. Heavy monsoon storms also visit the Lakshadweep islands and seas.
Further Reading
Mukundan, T. K. (1979) Laksha Dweep: A Hundred Thousand Islands. Gurgaon, India: Academic Press.
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