Would you fancy leaving your abode and living on an island?
Did you know, 50 years ago, nearly 330 ex-servicemen and their families were relocated to the Nicobar Islands for security purposes?
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are of immense strategic significance for India.
An article that appeared in The Hindu on March 26th 1969 says:
“Govt had decided to allot land to armymen in NEFA and Nicobar areas free of cost and all expenditures incurred in making it productive would be borne by the government “
In the 1960s, the island was habituated by just a small number of aboriginals known as shompens
Located more than 140 km away from the Sabang island in Indonesia and 640 km away from Myanmar, the Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar is a strategically important island located at least 1,250 km from the Indian mainland.
However, in the mid-1960s, there were worries of poachers from Myanmar frequenting Great Nicobar Island
Following this, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1969 launched the pilot resettlement programme for ex-servicemen and their families
Only ex-servicemen were considered for the scheme as they would require disciplined personnel since the Nicobar islands is strategically important to the country
Each family got 11 acres of land for cultivation and homestead besides cash assistance to the tune of Rs 17,540 to meet the cost of transportation from their homes, purchase of utensils and free ration for three years
Initially, 31 families from Punjab were settled in the islands
Ex-servicemen who were below the age of 50, whose land holding did not exceed 5 acres in the home State and who would live in the islands permanently were eligible for the scheme
Over the years, nearly 300 more families of ex-servicemen across 10 states were moved to the island
What followed was years of toiling on the land by these ex-servicemen
Five decades later, the government continues to make plans for the development of the islands, with the Great Nicobar Project being the latest one
However, whether such projects affect the pristine environment of the islands remains a matter of concern
Production : Gayatri Menon
Research : Gayatri Menon & Murali N Krishnaswamy
Photo: Dinesh Krishnan & Akhila Easwaran
Voiceover: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
