Socio-Economic Conditions of Karen Women in Andaman

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are characterized by two distinct native cultures. One is of the Negrito population in the Andaman, and the other is the Autochthones are the Mongoloid Nicobarese and the Shompens. This created two distinct cultural zones- the Andamanese (the Great Andamanese-OngeJarawa-Sentinelese) culture and that of the Nicobarese (Shompen) culture. During the pre- and post-British periods and even after Independence, these two cultures have maintained their distinct identities. During the pre-British period, the Andaman group island was predominantly tribal in culture were basically hunters and gathers, and had a simple social organizations and animistic religion. With the British occupation of this Islands and the establishment of the penal settlement, the cultural scenario started changing . This became even more so after Independence there was a greater inflow of settlers to the islands from the other parts of India: refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and settlers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Karnataka. The tribal’s become the minority and the immigrants emerged as the dominant group. People from different states, with varied linguistic and cultural affiliations, began to live in the same settlements side by side. Their cultural life began to assume some features