In the bay of Bengal, there lies an Island that is said to be one of the most dangerous islands in the world. The danger has nothing to do with its location or even some crazy wildlife. Nope, this island is deadly because of it’s human inhabitants.
North Sentinel Island is home to the Sentinelese tribe, which is the last stone-age tribe of people on the planet. You read that correctly, for 60,000 years this civilization has remained completely untouched by modern man. So how can a tribe of people stay isolated for thousands of years despite all efforts to make contact with them? Easy, they kill anyone who tries to come ashore. In 1986, a convict escaped a nearby prison on another island and had the misfortune of having his raft wash ashore on Sentinel Island. His body was found a few days later full of arrows and his throat slit. Even after the massive Earthquake in India in 2004, the Indian coast guard sent helicopters to check on the island, and they were chased off by men throwing rocks and shooting arrows.The Indian Coast Guard was chased off again in 2006 when they tried to recover the bodies of some illegal fishermen who landed on Sentinel Island and were killed.
Despite their seemingly brutal nature, according to the The Daily Mail: “Survival International reported late last year that it had received reports that fishermen are targeting the area, with seven men being apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard. One of the fishermen reportedly stepped foot on the island in close proximity to the tribe’s members, and he managed to leave unscathed. Survival International, which advocates for tribal peoples’ rights, describes the Sentinelese as ‘the most vulnerable society on the planet’ as they are likely to have no immunity to common diseases such as flu and measles. Due to their complete isolation, the chances of them being wiped out by an epidemic are very high, according to the organization.”
I personally commend the Indian government for protecting the island and occasionally trying to check on the welfare of the Sentinelese people. It seems that the tribe, whose numbers are unknown, has absolutely no interest in the “modern” world, and it should stay that way. You have to admit, though, it is fascinating to know that there is a tribe of people living on the planet today that is completely untouched by the modern world. So little is known about them because of the dense foliage on the island… and that pesky “we will kill you if you land here” thing.
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