The Indian Islands

• Island: An island is a region of land that is smaller than a continent and surrounded by water.

The Indian Islands:

• Along the coast of India's mainland, there are numerous small and large islands.
• These are included in the coastal island group.
• Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep are India's two major island groups.
• The former group consists of 572 islands and are located in Bay of Bengal, and the later one has 27 islands and are located in Arabian Sea.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands are primarily of tectonic and volcanic origin.

a) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

• These islands are situated on a raised portion of the submarine mountains.
• Since these islands are so close to the equator, the climate is hot and humid throughout the year, with dense forests.
• The island group covers an area of approximately 8,249 square kilometres.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of more than 300 islands out of which 265 are uninhabited. 
• The entire group of islands is divided into two. They are Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south. These island groups are extremely strategic for the country.
• The administrative capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is Port Blair. The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Nicobar Island includes the southernmost point, Indira Point.
• The Great Andamans are five large islands that are grouped together, and to the south is the island of Little Andaman. There are 204 islets.
• These islands are highly dissected and rise to a height of 730 metres. There are 550 islands, the majority of which are too small to be inhabited.
• The Nicobar Islands are located 121 kilometres south of Little Andaman. There are 19 islands, seven of which are uninhabited. The main islands are Great Nicobar and Car Nicobar. These are volcanic islands. The Barren Island is home to India's only active volcano. Narcondam is another volcanic island in this group. They are surrounded by coral reefs and have narrow coastal plains.
  

  An Island

b) Lakshadweep Islands

• This is a small group of coral islands off India's west coast. It has a total area of 32 square kilometres. Its administrative capital is Kavaratti. The Eight Degree Channel separates the Lakshadweep Islands from the Maldives. The uninhabited “Pitt Island” of this group has a bird sanctuary. Previously, it was divided into three sections: Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi. In 1973, it was given the name Lakshadweep.
• It is a group of 36 islands, of which only 11 are inhabited. It is located approximately 280 to 480 kilometres off the coast of Kerala. It was established as a Union Territory in 1956 as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, and renamed Lakshadweep in November 1973. The northern region is known as the Amindivis. The remaining islands are referred to as the Laccadives (including Minicoy Islands).

c)  Offshore Islands

• India has a number of islands along its Western and Eastern coasts, in the Ganga delta region, and in the Gulf of Mannar. Many of these islands are uninhabited and are managed by neighbouring countries.