Part of the country series of articles.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: EXERCISE CAUTIONPARSTATE advises that East India has strict laws on drug carriage and use, and that the Commonwealth has no ability to interfere in legal proceedings. Normal travel precautions apply.
| East Indian Socialist Republic | |
|---|---|
| One-party socialist state | |
 |
|
| Capital | Port Blair |
| Languages | English, and many regional languages |
| Population | 540,000 |
The East Indian Socialist Republic (also East India) is an island country in the eastern Bay of Bengal, comprising more than 300 islands that form the boundary between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. Port Blair on South Andaman Island is the capital and largest city.
The archipelago divides into two groups: the Andamans in the north, comprising over 300 islands and the majority of the population, and the Nicobars in the south, comprising 19 islands and containing most of the republic’s fresh water. The groups are separated by the Ten Degree Channel. Only about three dozen islands across the archipelago are permanently settled. The climate is tropical, with heavy monsoon rainfall between May and September. Dense tropical forest covers most of the islands and supports largely undocumented indigenous flora. The surrounding seas contain fish, turtles, sea snakes and saltwater crocodiles.
The islands were visited by Arab traders in the ninth century and by Marco Polo in the thirteenth century, occupying a position on trade routes between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Denmark claimed the islands in the eighteenth century before selling the claim to the UK, which established colonies at Port Blair and Rangat. Following Indian independence, the islands were incorporated as a union territory of India. The government’s response to the July 1955 tsunamis generated widespread unrest, compounding existing nationalist sentiment; a referendum held in 1966 produced a majority for independence, which was achieved under a coalition led by the Nicobarese Socialist Party.
East India maintains close political, military and economic ties with Vekllei and is a member of the COMOC. It trades with island states across the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives. Healthcare and education have improved substantially across the more populated islands since independence.