Why Is it Illegal to Visit North Sentinel Island in India?
Along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the Bay of Bengal in India lies a remote island called North Sentinel. Covered by thick forests, North Sentinel Island has no roads, ports, or any modern infrastructure. For centuries it has been home to the Sentinelese, a hunter-gatherer community and one of the world’s most isolated tribes. Visiting the island has been illegal for decades. The government of India restricts entry to North Sentinel to protect the tribe from outside contact and preserve their way of life, largely because isolated groups such as the Sentinelese lack immunity to common diseases. For instance, the Great Andamanese, Onges, and Jarawas, once similarly isolated tribes, have witnessed drastic population declines after sustained contact with outsiders resulted in the spread of diseases, land encroachment, and exploitation.
Recognizing that attempts to visit the island could have devastating consequences for the Sentinelese, the Indian government has adopted an “eyes-on and hands-off” approach to protect the tribe. Several laws such as the Indian Forest Act, 1927; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, provide further protections such as prohibiting actions that could endanger tribal communities in India, including the Sentinelese.
An important safeguard is the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956, which prohibits anyone (Indian citizen or foreign national) from entering certain islands, including North Sentinel. The Indian government has declared North Sentinel and about 3 miles (5 km) radius of surrounding waters as a tribal reserve, meaning the land and resources found in this area are exclusively for the use of its indigenous inhabitants. It also bans the purchase or use of tribal land.
Another relevant framework is the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963, which governs the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) system. A RAP is a special entry permit required for foreign nationals visiting certain sensitive and strategic locations in India, including the entire union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In August 2018 the government temporarily removed RAP restrictions for 29 islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, including North Sentinel, in an effort to boost tourism. A few months later, American missionary John Allen Chau illegally traveled to North Sentinel Island and was killed by members of the Sentinelese community.
Some reports later suggested that the relaxation of RAP rules facilitated Chau’s journey. The Indian government rejected this connection and claimed that the relaxation of RAP had nothing to do with Chau’s death as he traveled to the island by evading authorities and without seeking any special permission from authorities such as the Ministry of Home Affairs. The government noted that, despite the relaxation of RAP, travel to the North Sentinel Island was still restricted under the 1956 regulation. In February 2019 the Ministry of Home Affairs reaffirmed that North Sentinel Island and the surrounding 3 miles (5 km) of waters is a tribal reserve, which makes unauthorized travel illegal.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to six indigenous tribes—Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Nicobarese, and Shompen. Of these, the Sentinelese remain an entirely no-contact tribe and the Shompen maintain extremely limited contact. The Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, and Nicobarese maintain varying degrees of contact with the outside world.
The Indian government closely monitors the North Sentinel Island through air and sea surveillance by the Navy, Coast Guard, and the local police “to ensure the protection and well-being” of the Sentinelese. Regular circumnavigation missions are also carried out by the government to assess the tribe’s welfare.
Efforts aimed at establishing contact with the Sentinelese have mostly ended in disaster for either the tribe or the visitors. The table below outlines key encounters with the tribe and their outcomes.
| year | who visited | purpose | outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | Team led by British officer Maurice Vidal Portman | Establish contact | Several Sentinelese were captured and removed from the island. The adults died of illnesses, and the children were sent back, possibly carrying diseases. |
| 1896 | Escaped Indian convict | Drifted onto island | He was found dead with wounds, likely killed by the Sentinelese. |
| 1974 | National Geographic team | Documentary filming | Sentinelese attacked the team with arrows. One member was injured, and the mission was aborted. |
| 1991 | Indian anthropological team | Gift-giving visit | After decades of cautious contact attempts dating back to 1967, an Indian anthropological team experienced a rare nonviolent encounter in 1991. The Sentinelese accepted coconuts and other gifts but remained wary. |
| 2004 | Indian coast guard helicopter | Post–2004 tsunami surveillance mission | Sentinelese shot arrows toward the helicopter. |
| 2006 | Two Indian fishermen | Boat drifted to island while they were sleeping | The bodies of both fishermen were left on the shore. |
| 2018 | John Allen Chau (American missionary) | Attempt to convert Sentinelese to Christianity | Chau was killed by the Sentinelese. |
| 2025 | American YouTuber | Illegally entered island | The YouTuber was arrested by Indian authorities. |