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Battle over resort 'threatening Andamans tribe'

The Indian Supreme Court is currently considering whether a controversial tourist resort in the Andaman islands should close. The resort is near a forest reserve, which is home to the endangered Jarawa tribe. The BBC's Geeta Pandey, who has visited the area, reports from Delhi.

A handful of Jarawa tribesmen recently broke into a house in the village of Mathura in the Andaman islands. They left after taking away rice, sugar and coconut.

The first people to successfully migrate out of Africa, the Jarawas came to the Andaman islands 60,000 years ago, scientists believe.

Essentially hunter-gatherers, the tribespeople have traditionally survived on the raw meat of wild boar.

But in the 1970s, a road (the Andaman trunk road or ATR) was built, cutting through the 1,000 sq km forest reserve in which they live. It has brought momentous change to their lives.

Read entire article at BBC