INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightIndian coastguard/Survival InternationalImage caption
The Sentinelese have always resisted outside
contact
An American man has been killed by an endangered tribe in India's Andaman and Nicobar islands.Fishermen who took the
man to North Sentinel island say tribespeople shot him with arrows and left his body on the beach.He has been identified as John Allen Chau,
a 27 year old from Alabama
Contact with the endangered Andaman tribes living in isolation from the world is illegal because of the risks to them from outside
disease.Estimates say the Sentinelese, who are totally cut off from civilisation, number only between 50 and 150.Seven fishermen have been
arrested for illegally ferrying the American to the island, police say.Image copyrightInstagram/John ChauImage caption
On 21 October, @johnachau posted that he was travelling to the region
Local media have reported that Chau may have wanted to
meet the tribe to preach Christianity to them.But on social media the young man presented himself as a keen traveller and adventurer
"Police said Chau had previously visited North Sentinel island about four or five times with the help of local fishermen," journalist Subir
Bhaumik, who has been covering the islands for years, told TheIndianSubcontinent Hindi."The number of people belonging to the Sentinelese
tribe is so low, they don't even understand how to use money
It's in fact illegal to have any sort of contact with them."In 2017, the Indian government also said taking photographs or making videos of
the aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.Image copyrightChristian Caron - Creative Commons
A-NC-SAImage caption
The Sentinelese stand guard on an island beach in 2005
The AFP news agency quoted a
source as saying that Chau had tried and failed to reach the island on 14 November
But then he tried again two days later."He was attacked by arrows but he continued walking."The fishermen saw the tribals tying a rope
around his neck and dragging his body
They were scared and fled," the report added.Chau's body was spotted on 20 November
According to the Hindustan Times, his remains have yet to be recovered."It's a difficult case for the police," says Mr Bhaumik
"You can't even arrest the Sentinelese." Image copyrightSurvival International Image caption
Few images of the
endangered tribe exist
Two Indian fisherman fishing illegally off North Sentinel Island were also killed by the tribe in
2006.Firing arrows at helicoptersGeeta Pandey, TheIndianSubcontinent News, DelhiI first heard of the Sentinelese in 2004 just after the
devastating Indian Ocean tsunami
I was at the daily press briefing by the authorities a few days later when we were told that the members of the isolated tribes had
survived.A navy helicopter on patrol had flown over the North Sentinel island of the archipelago where the Sentinelese live to check on
them.As they descended a bit to take a closer look, members of the tribe began firing arrows at them."So we knew that they were safe," the
pilot told us.Image copyrightSurvival International Image caption
An aerial shot shows North Sentinel Island that the
tribe inhabit
Global organisations like London-based Survival International have been campaigning to protect the indigenous
tribes living in the Andamans
The tribe live on their own island, roughly the size of Manhattan, but most of what is known about them comes from viewing them from a
'Understandable' fear The group's international director, Stephen Corry, called the incident a "tragedy" that "should never have been
allowed to happen"."The Sentinelese have shown again and again that they want to be left alone, and their wishes should be respected," he
said."The British colonial occupation of the Andaman Islands decimated the tribes living there, wiping out thousands of tribespeople, and
only a fraction of the original population now survive
So the Sentinelese fear of outsiders is very understandable."The two endangered aboriginal Andaman tribes - the Jarawa and the Sentinelese -
are hunter-gatherers, and contact with the outside world would put them at risk of contracting disease.The Sentinelese are particularly
vulnerable: their complete isolation means they are likely to have no immunity to even common illnesses such as flu and measles."It's not
impossible that the Sentinelese have just been infected by deadly pathogens to which they have no immunity, with the potential to wipe out
the entire tribe," said Mr Corry.Groups have also voiced concern about the Jarawa - a tribe that has some contact with the outside world,
including a road that cuts through their territory that is used by some tourists for "safari" trips.
