Time ticking for India's Jarawa tribe - Features - Al Jazeera English:
Port Blair - At 120km north of capital Port Blair in India’s archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar, Baratang is an important point of transit for travellers looking to cross shallow stretches of sea that separate towns of middle and North Andaman.
In the last 10 years, Baratang has also become popular among tourists for its active mud volcanoes and beautiful limestone caves spread across narrow waterways around the island.
But often it's the lure of meeting the "Jarawa" that brings thousands of Indian and foreign tourists every year to the area.
Till a decade ago the name "Jarawa" evoked only fear. The bow and arrow-wielding tribesmen were known to be extremely hostile to outsiders. The Jarawas would also occasionally attack settlements adjoining their habitation.
Considered one of the most isolated people on earth, the Jarawa are a hunter-gatherer tribe that has lived in the dense forests of Andaman Islands completely cut off from the outside world for thousands of years. But things are changing fast as modern influences creep in.
Many of the Jarawas who could only speak their native tongue are now fluent in Hindi [Picture courtesy: Survival International]
