The Lakshadweep-India’s Coral Islands

Lakshadweep, also known as Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islets, is a chain of islands inside the Laccadive Sea, located 200–440 kilometres (120–270 miles) off India’s southern shore. 

The Lakshadweep gets its name from the word “Lakshadweep,” which signifies “one lakh islands,” and its area covered is only 32 sq. km (12 sq. miles). The administration of the Union Government is in Kavaratti, and the region would be under the authority of the Kerala High Court.

 It was a part of the Maldives until it was given to India because the proximity of the Maldives and Lakshadweep (Maliku) made managing and providing necessities impossible. Now let’s read below to know why Lakshadweep is known as Coral Island?

The Geography of Lakshadweep

The geography of Lakshadweep consists of twelve archipelagos, three reefs, and five submerged banks, and ten inhabited islands for a total of approximately 36 groups of islands. Although mainly underwater, the reefs resemble atolls, having only a few non-forested sand cays visible well above their high points. 

Underwater coral reefs make up the aquatic banks. The majority of the atolls are oriented from the northeast-southwest. Islets surround the eastern border, with a partially buried reef surrounding a lagoon on the western rim.

Ten outlying islands include 17 deserted islands, linked islets, four freshly formed archipelagos, and five underwater reefs that make up the island chain. With ten segments, the area represents a single Indian division. The headquarters of the Union Government would be in Kavaratti, and the territory could be under the authority of the Kerala High Court.

The islands form the northernmost part of the Lakshadweep–and the Maldives–Chagos archipelago, which seems to be the summits of the Chagos-Lakshadweep Ridge, a massive underwater mountain chain. The Lakshadweep was once composed of 36 islets, but, owing to marine degradation, the Parali 1 peninsula has been buried underwater, leaving just 35 islands.

Due to the lack of native people, scholars have proposed several origins for establishing the islands. Fossil evidence supports human habitation in the area around 1500 BCE. The islets have historically been recognized by seafarers, as evidenced by an unidentified mention of the location in Periplus of something like the Erythraean Sea from the first century CE.

Kavaratti, Agatti, Minicoy, and Amini are the principal islands. As per the 2011 census, the country’s overall population is 64,429 people. There are regular flights connecting Kochi to Agatti’s airport. The Aminidivi grouping of islands includes Chetlat, Kadamat, Bitra, and Perumal Par and the Laccadive subdivision, which includes Androth Kalpeni Kavaratti, Pitti, and Suheli Par, has a submerged link through Pitti Bank.

They make up the Coral Isles of India throughout the Arabian Gulf, along with Minicoy Atoll, a lonely atoll just at the southern end of the 200-kilometre-long Nine Degree Channel. Corals have grown up on these islands, surrounding coral reefs adjacent to their beaches.

Fauna

The Islands Archipelago tropical wet woodlands ecoregion includes the Lakshadweep Archipelago, the Maldives, and the Chagos. It has about 600 marine types of fish, 78 coral lifeforms, 82 kelp species, 52 crab vertebrates, 2 lobster organisms, 48 snail genera, 12 bivalve genera, and 101 bird species. That’s one of India’s four coral reef regions. The corals may be a popular tourist destination.

Pitti Island is home to sea turtles and various migratory birds, including the brown noddy, the smaller crowned tern Sterna bengalensis, and the larger crested gull sterna bengalensis (sterna bergii). 

A bird sanctuary has been established on the island. Although the diversity of cetaceans off the coast of the Lakshadweep Archipelago and other places is higher than in other areas, an absence of detailed research leads to a lack of knowledge and conservation efforts. Various whales, such as pygmy blue, Bryde’s, sperm, and lesser cetaceans, such as orca, pilot whale 40, and dolphins, are among them.

Flora

The vegetation in the area is sparse, and practically all of the species may be found on India’s mainland. In addition, there is no woodland in the area. Nearly 400 flowering plant species have been identified, comprising three sea vegetation types: Cymodocea isoetifolium, Syringodium isoetifolium, and Thalassia hemprichii, angiosperms such as Pandanus, Tournefortia argentea, as well as Pemphis acidula, and also fungi, algae, or rather lichens.

Coconut groves, including coastal shrubs such as Pemphis acidula, Thespesia populnea, Cordia subcordata, Suriana Maritima, Scaevola Estacada, Guettarda speciosa, Dodonaea viscosa, and seagrasses such as marine lettuces, Codium, and Hypena, are among the prevalent vegetation of the coral sands.

Conclusion

Though the Laccadive Archipelago is only one section of the island of less than a hundred islands, the term “Lakshadweep” signifies “one lakh archipelago” in Malayalam. Malayalam is the official language of the area and is also the most generally spoken native tongue. 

The islands with about 32 sq km (12 sq mi) of total area is India’s smallest Union Territory. The lagoon encompasses around 4,200 square kilometres of land (1,600 sq mi) and territorial waters of 20,000 km2 (7,600 sq mi), including an exclusive commercial zone of 400,000 km2 (151,000 sq mi). Comprising ten subdivisions, the area comprises a single Indian district.