Neil Island

Neil Island is an island in the Andaman Islands of India. It is apparently named after James George Smith Neill, a British soldier responsible for several war crimes during the suppression of the 1857 Mutiny. It occupies an area of 18.9 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi). The island is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) north-east of Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is the southernmost island of Ritchie's Archipelago, save for uninhabited Sir Hugh Rose Island, which is another 3.8 km to the southeast of Neil Island. Administratively, the island is in the Neil Kendra panchayat, Port Blair sub-district of the South Andaman district, in the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

The population lives in five villages, which are numbered 1 through 5 (with population at 2001 census in parentheses):

1. Sitapur (267)
2. Bharatpur (564)
3. Neil Kendra (1064)
4. Lakshmanpur (372)
5. Ram Nagar (601)

There is a lone jetty at Bharathpur, which serves as the only entry–exit point of the island. The population of the island is 2868 as of the census of 2001. Agriculture is the primary occupation of the villagers, and the island supplies vegetables to the rest of Andaman. Despite its minuscule tourist infrastructure, an increasing number of tourists have chosen to stay at Neil Island instead of neighbouring Havelock Island. There are a handful of restaurants and basic beach hotels that cater to international and domestic tourists.

• Ritchie's Archipelago within the Andaman Islands

• Neil Island within Ritchie's Archipelago

Coordinates: 11°49′23″N 93°03′30″E / 11.82306°N 93.05833°E / 11.82306; 93.05833