Impact of Tourism
A major problem is the volume of sightseeing tours that are operated by private companies, where tourists view, photograph or otherwise attempt interactions with Jarawas, who are often begging by the highway. These are illegal under Indian law, and in March 2008, the Tourism Department of the Andaman and Nicobar administration issued a fresh warning to tour operators that attempting contact with Jarawas, photographing them, stopping vehicles while transiting through their land or offering them rides were prohibited under the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956, and would be prosecuted under a strict interpretation of the statute. It has been alleged, however, that these rules are openly being flouted with over 500 tourists being taken to view Jarawas daily by private tour operators, while technically being shown as transiting to legitimate destinations and resulting in continuing daily interaction between the Jarawa and day tourists inside the reserve area.
In 2006, the Indian travel company Barefoot had established a resort 3 km distant from the Jarawa reserve. The development was the subject of a recent court case brought by a small section of Andaman authorities who wanted to stop the resort, and appealed against a Calcutta High Court ruling allowing it to continue. Barefoot won that case.
Some Indian tourism companies are threatening the Jarawa way of life, by bringing the tourists too close to their secluded areas where they're tossed food from the caravans like in safari. In 2012, a video shot by a tourist showed women forced to dance by an off-camera policeman.
According to the 2001 Census of India, a total of 240 Jarawa were counted in Andamans. Of them, 236 had "Religion not stated" as their religion and 4 had "Hindu" as their religion. Compared to other tribes, it can be seen that the number of "Uncontacted" tribals are greater among the Jarawa. For example, out of the 43 Andamanese, 41 were Hindu and 2 were Christian. All 39 Sentinalese counted in 2001 had unrecorded religious affiliation. Only 5 out of the 96 Onge were Hindu and the remaining were "Religion not stated".
Read more about this topic: Jarawa People (Andaman Islands)
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