"Destroying the corals of Nicobar is like wiping out hundreds and hundreds of tigers in one stroke. It's the equivalent of destroying Project Tiger - and almost nobody is talking about it."
I recently travelled to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and saw firsthand what is at stake in Great Nicobar.
To better understand the implications of the Great Nicobar Project, I sat down with two people who have spent their lives studying these islands: Dr. Vardhan Patankar, a coral reef biologist who has been diving Nicobar's reefs since 2005, and Dr. Manish Chandi, a researcher who has worked across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands for over twenty-five years.
We spoke about one of the most biologically unique places on Earth, the Shompen and Nicobarese communities who have lived there for generations, the disappearing coral maps, and how the Forest Rights Act was bypassed in the process of pushing this project forward.
What they told me genuinely shocked me. I think every Indian needs to hear it.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why tribal communities ran from the tsunami while others walked into receding ses
- A king cobra on the beach, and what makes these islands unlike anywhere else on Earth
- Giant leatherback turtles that cross oceans to nest at Galathea Bay
- The disappearing coral maps, and why fringing reefs were suddenly relabelled as "atolls"
- Why Nicobar's coral reefs are protected under the same law, at the same level, as tigers
- How the Forest Rights Act was bypassed - "it's like holding the Gram Sabha in Delhi"
- Twenty years after the FRA, not a single title has been granted to the Nicobarese communities
🎥 I've also released an exclusive ground report on the Great Nicobar Project. Watch it here:
My guests:
Dr. Vardhan Patankar - Coral reef biologist; studying Nicobar's reefs since 2005.
Dr. Manish Chandi - Researcher; over 25 years of work across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, including with the Shompen and Nicobarese communities.
If this conversation matters to you, please listen, share, and help spread the word. The more Indians who understand what is at stake, the harder it becomes to do this quietly.
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