Interview: Releasing Nicobar report would be like ‘opening can of worms’, says anthropologist https://scroll.in/article/1077603/interview-releasing-nicobar-report-would-be-like-opening-can-of-worms-says-anthropologist A largely uncontacted tribe of about 250 people, the Shompens live on the Great Nicobar island, the southernmost landmass of India. In 2021, the Modi government announced plans to develop a massive infrastructural project on the island at a cost of Rs 72,000 crore, which many fear could endanger the island’s native tribal communities and unique flora and fauna. Pandya submitted a video report to the administration, which included interviews he had conducted with members of the island’s tribal communities, the Shompens and the Nicobarese, as well as settlers from the mainland who had been living there for decades. “We never heard from the administration after that,” Pandya told Scroll.
The Shompens have the argument that it will destroy the area’s soil regeneration system. Each part of the forest is associated with streams of the Galathea and Alexandra rivers crisscrossing the island. When the river overflows in the rainy season, the alluvial soil is deposited downstream, which makes it possible for Shompens to regenerate their tapioca gardens and horticultural plots.
Government reports used to call Shompens “shy”. Hostile Jarawas, aggressive Sentinelese, docile Onges – these are the terms reports used. Why would the Shompen be shy? These are all the categories created because of the way [the administration] interacted with them and the way it suits the scheme of our development. Shompen are aware of the outside world and are articulate that they do not want the outsiders here. And that’s why they became “shy”.