Aminidivi
The Aminidivi Islands, are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the northern group of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Laccadive Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel north.[1] The total land area of the group is 9.26 km².
Aminidivi അമിനിദ്വീപ് Amindivi Islands | |
|---|---|
Island subgroup
 Aminidivi (India) | |
| Country | India |
| State | Lakshadweep |
| District | Lakshadweep |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.26 km2 (3.58 sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Vehicle registration | LD |
Formerly the Union Territory was known as Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands,[2] a name that was changed to Lakshadweep by an act of Parliament in 1973.[3] The Aminidivi group forms a taluka or subdivision.[4] The islands of Amini, Kiltan, Chetlat, Kadmat and Bitra are inhabited. The population numbered 18,876 at the 2001 census and Islam is the main religion of the islanders.[5]
Aminidivi has the highest recorded rainfall in India in a 24-hour period, at 1,168 mm on 2004-05-06.
Geography
Aminidivi consists of atolls with islands, three reefs or atolls with only unvegetated sand cays above the high water mark, and four submerged banks.[6] In addition, there is the island that gives its name to the group, Amini, which is located at 11°06′N 72°45′E at the northwestern end of Pitti Bank, a largely sunken atoll.
| Atoll/Reef/Bank (alternate name) | type | Land Area (km²) | Lagoon Area (km²) | No. of islets | Pop. Census 2001 | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amindivi Islands | ||||||||
| Cora Divh | bank | - | 339.45 | - | - | 13°42′N 72°11′E | ||
| Sesostris Bank | bank | - | 388.53 | - | - | 13°08′N 72°00′E | ||
| Bassas de Pedro (Munyal Par, Padua Bank) | bank | - | 2474.33 | - | - | 13°07′N 72°25′E | ||
| Cherbaniani Reef (Beleapani Reef) | reef | 0.01 | 172.59 | 2 | - | 12°18′N 71°53′E | ||
| Byramgore Reef (Chereapani) | reef | 0.01 | 57.46 | 1 | - | 11°54′N 71°49′E | ||
| Chetlat Island | atoll | 1.14 | 1.60 | 1 | 2289 | 11°42′N 72°42′E | ||
| Bitrā Island | atoll | 0.10 | 45.61 | 2 | 264 | 11°33′N 72°09′E | ||
| Kiltān Island | atoll | 2.20 | 1.76 | 1 | 3664 | 11°29′N 73°00′E | ||
| Kadmat Island (Cardamom) | atoll | 3.20 | 37.50 | 1 | 5319 | 11°14′N 72°47′E | ||
| Elikalpeni Bank | bank | - | 95.91 | - | - | 11°12′N 73°58′E | ||
| Perumal Par | reef | 0.01 | 83.02 | 1 | - | 11°10′N 72°04′E | ||
| Amini Island 1) | atoll | 2.59 | 155.09 1) | 1 | 7340 | 11°06′N 72°45′E | ||
Climate
| Climate data for Aminidivi (1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.7 (98.1) |
35.7 (96.3) |
37.2 (99.0) |
37.7 (99.9) |
37.5 (99.5) |
36.2 (97.2) |
33.3 (91.9) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.9 (93.0) |
36.4 (97.5) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.1 (95.2) |
37.7 (99.9) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.8 (89.2) |
32.4 (90.3) |
33.0 (91.4) |
33.8 (92.8) |
33.5 (92.3) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.8 (85.6) |
29.7 (85.5) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.6 (88.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.1 (77.2) |
24.6 (76.3) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.2 (77.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.9 (66.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
20.0 (68.0) |
16.6 (61.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
21.0 (69.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
21.3 (70.3) |
19.7 (67.5) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 15.9 (0.63) |
1.6 (0.06) |
3.2 (0.13) |
10.0 (0.39) |
147.7 (5.81) |
373.5 (14.70) |
336.0 (13.23) |
231.2 (9.10) |
187.2 (7.37) |
146.0 (5.75) |
90.5 (3.56) |
31.3 (1.23) |
1,574.3 (61.98) |
| Average rainy days | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 16.8 | 16.1 | 13.3 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 5.1 | 2.2 | 80.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 68 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 72 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 77 | 74 | 70 | 75 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department[7][8] | |||||||||||||
History
The islands were inhabited from ancient times by people of nearby Kerala to which were added later people of Arab descent. Vasco da Gama visited these islands around 1498. In the mid 16th century all the inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep were conferred as jagir on the ruling family of the Cannanore Kingdom (Arakkal Kingdom) by the Chirakkal or Kolattiri Raja in order to grant protection from the Portuguese.[9]
In the latter quarter of the 18th century the islands of the Amindivi group of the Lakshadweep revolted owing to the rigours of the enforcement of the monopoly of coir rope trade.[10] Following the uprising, the northern islands put themselves under the rule of the Kingdom of Mysore in 1784, then ruled by Tippu Sultan. The southern group of the Cannanore Islands, however, remained loyal to the Arakkal Kingdom.[11]
In 1792, as a consequence of the Third Anglo-Mysore War and the defeat of Tippu Sultan, the Amindivi Islands came under the East India Company rule following the treaty of Srirangapatna. The Amindivi subgroup was then attached to the South Canara collectorate of the Madras Presidency of the British Raj in 1799,[12][13] hence they also became known as the South Kanara Islands.[14]
Bibliography
- R. H. Ellis, A Short Account of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy. Government Press, Madras, 1924
- K.P. Ittaman, Amini Islanders: Social Structure and Change, Abhinav Publications, Delhi, 1976, ASIN B0060D0XK8
References
- GEBCO Gazetteer of undersea feature names
- Lakshadweep | union territory, India | Britannica
- The name of the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi islands
- Lakshadweep Tehsil Map - Maps of India
- Web123India
- Prakash Chauhan & Shailesh Nayak, Detection of submerged reef banks in the Lakshadweep Sea using IRS-P4 OCM satellite data
- "Station: Amini Divi Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 39–40. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M113. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- The imperial gazetteer of India (Volume 8)
- William Logan, Malabar Manual, p. CCLXXIX
- Logan, William (2004) [1887]. Malabar Manual. New Delhi: Asian Education Services. p. 2. ISBN 81-206-0446-6.
- Times of India, dated 2005-07-25
- 1902 Encyclopedia - Laccadives (also known as: Laccadive Islands; Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands; Lakshadweep)
- R. H. Ellis, A Short Account of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy. Government Press, Madras. 1924. p. 61
External links
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