ABSTRACT
In 1986 the Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar, which are located in the Bay of Bengal, were visited by their Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. He could not discern any development activities on the islands and asked why this was the case. His question provoked enormous activity, most significantly, perhaps, an expert seminar held in Port Blair in 1987 to which I was also invited. The object of the seminar was to draw up a set of political options for development and environmental planning on the islands. The (mostly Indian) participants were divided over the question as to whether this group uf islands should be left in peaceful and happy complacency or whether they should be awakened from their slumber and guided into twentieth and twenty-first century reality, so that they could in turn contribute to the development of the Indian mainland. The line was drawn between economically orientated developers and more ecologically minded conservationists, whereby the local experts, scientists and administrators living in Port Blair, clearly favoured conservationist views, preferring to keep outside influence to a minimum. There were no tribal representatives present. It was interesting to observe that the conservationist view gained more influence as the week-long seminar progressed.
