page_title: Andaman and Nicobar Islands
section_title: After independence
hierarchical_section_title: Andaman and Nicobar Islands / History / After independence
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Occupation of the Nicobar Islands, 1945 Members of the Japanese military delegation salute Lieutenant Colonel Nathu Singh, commanding officer of the Rajput Regiment, after they arrived on board HMS ROCKSAND to arrange for the British occupation of the islands.
context_page_description: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union territory of India comprising 572 islands of which 37 are inhabited, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
  The territory is about 150 km north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar by the Andaman Sea. It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 150 km wide Ten Degree Channel, with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west.
  The territory's capital is the city of Port Blair. The total land area of the islands is approximately 8,249 km². The territory is divided into three districts: Nicobar District with Car Nicobar as capital, South Andaman district with Port Blair as capital and North and Middle Andaman district with Mayabunder as capital.
  The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.
  The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, an uncontacted people.
context_section_description: During the independence of both India (1947) and Burma (1948), the departing British announced their intention to resettle all Anglo-Indians and Anglo-Burmese on these islands to form their own nation, although this never materialised. It became part of India in 1950 and was declared as a union territory of the nation in 1956.
  India has been developing defence facilities on the islands since the 1980s. The islands now have a key position in India's strategic role in the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait.
caption: Japanese military delegation salute Lieutenant Colonel Nathu Singh, commanding officer of the Rajput Regiment, following their surrender of Islands, 1945
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