Also: Lakshadweep Islands, Laccadive Islands, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands
Definition
India's smallest Union Territory, a group of 36 coral islands, atolls and reefs in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast, of which about ten are inhabited; Kavaratti is the capital and Minicoy, the southernmost island, lies across the Nine Degree Channel.
The islands sit on top of an undersea ridge that runs south from the western Indian coast through the Maldives to the Chagos archipelago. Over millions of years, coral polyps grew on the shallow parts of this ridge and built reefs; as the underlying volcanic base subsided, the reefs kept growing upwards and formed atolls, rings of low coral land around shallow lagoons. Most islands rise only a few metres above sea level and are covered with coconut palms on sandy soil.
Historically the islands were linked by sea trade with the Malabar coast, and most of the people are Malayalam-speaking Muslims, while Minicoy has a distinct culture and speaks Mahl, close to the Dhivehi of the Maldives. The islands passed through the hands of the Arakkal rulers of Kannur and Tipu Sultan before coming under British control. After Independence they became a Union Territory in 1956 under the name Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, and were renamed Lakshadweep in 1973. The population is overwhelmingly Scheduled Tribe, and entry for outsiders requires a permit.
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