Tragedy in Andamans

The death of a missionary committed to proselytising Sentinelese tribals ended in tragedy with the American being shot with arrows and killed in North Sentinel Island on November 17. No human should meet such an end even if it’s hard to empathise with anyone whose mission is to “market” his God to those who wish to be left to their own devices as an ancient tribe of hunter-gatherers. The Sentinelese, whose numbers have dwindled to near extinction, believe in a primitive life and speak their own language, totally shun modernity and avoid contact with other humans. They may be a strange anachronism in these times, but they have been known to harm only those who try to break into their secluded lives.

There was little need for this young man to paddle his own kayak to North Sentinel Island to reach out to these tribals. John Allen Chau reached the remote area after buying the help of local fishermen, breaching the blanket security that should be around the Andamans, which is the base for the Tri-Services Command. India’s blue-water navy is headquartered in Port Blair and may have assisted the nuclear-powered submarine Arihant on its recent historic mission that completed India’s nuclear triad. Given a scenario where the Indian government itself doesn’t venture to this particular island, to have a missionary slipping past the Coast Guard and trying to make contact with the Sentinelese is disappointing. Will modern humans stay away from them, so that they don’t pass on the diseases and microbes in them to this antediluvian setting of around one score people?