Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 creates a territorial and access-control framework to protect specified indigenous communities from harmful outside contact and exploitation. Its central mechanism is the declaration of reserved areas, within which entry and residence by outsiders are tightly regulated.

Protected communities and reserved areas

The Regulation applies to aboriginal tribes listed in its Schedule and enables the administration to demarcate areas for their protection.

• The competent authority may declare an area to be a reserved area through notification and may subsequently alter its boundaries.
• The territorial reservation protects tribal habitation, resources, privacy, and customary life by limiting unrestricted outsider presence.

Control over entry and contact

A person who is not a member of the protected tribe generally cannot enter or remain in a reserved area without lawful authorization.

• Entry is governed through a pass or permit system, allowing access only for approved purposes and subject to prescribed conditions.
• The authority may control the duration, route, purpose, and conditions of authorized entry.
• Unauthorized entrants may be removed, preventing tourism, commercial intrusion, or other unregulated contact.

Enforcement and protective purpose

The Regulation supports the access restrictions through administrative powers, rule-making authority, and penal consequences for contraventions.

• The administration may enforce exclusions and impose conditions needed to preserve the protected character of tribal reserves.
• The framework follows a precautionary approach because uncontrolled contact can expose isolated communities to exploitation, cultural disruption, and disease.
• Implementation must remain consistent with tribal welfare and dignity rather than treating protection merely as territorial exclusion.