East Indian Socialist Republic

Part of the world series of articles

The East Indian Socialist Republic (also East India) is an island country in the easternmost edge of the Bay of Bengal. Comprising more than 300 islands, East India constitutes the boundary between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the East. Port Blair on South Andaman Island is its largest city and capital. Its many tropical islands are home to 540,000 people.

Although East India consists of hundreds islands and islets, only about three dozen have human settlements. The archipelago has a hot, wet tropical climate moderated by sea breezes. The majority of its islands are covered by thick tropical forest, which receive heavy rains in the monsoon season between May and September. The islands are home to a few native mammals, including pigs and deer, but are most known for the dense and largely undocumented indigenous flora. Its seas are plentiful with fish, turtles, sea snakes, and crocodiles.

East India consists of two island groups: the Andamans, in its North, which number more than 300 islands and are home to the majority of its population, and the Nicobars, in its South, which number 19 islands. They are separated by the Ten Degree Channel.

The Andamans are rough and hilly, with little flat land except in a few valleys. The Nicobars contain most of the republic’s fresh water, and are more diverse in terrain.

As a historical trade link between the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, East India was visited by many historic travellers between East and West, including 9th Century Arab traders and Marco Polo. It was claimed in the 18th Century by Denmark, which later sold its claim to the United Kingdom after the UK had established successful colonies at Port Blair and and Rangat.

After the independence of the India and the exit of the UK from South Asia, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were incorporated as a union territory of India. Unrest over the government response to the July 1955 Tsunamis compounded growing nationalist sentiment, and a referendum was forced in 1966, which resulted in independence under a coalition lead by the Nicobarese Socialist Party.

Although a developing country, East India has much improved healthcare and education across its most populated islands. Long-held hostilities with the Indian mainland have fostered an independent Andamanese and Nicobarese identity, and they trade extensively with other island states in the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives. It also maintains close political, military and economic ties with Vekllei, and is a member of the Community of Oceans.