->Izno at 17:04, 10 November 2021

2021-11-10T17:04:09Z

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{{short description|Karenic ethic group}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Karen people (Andaman Islands)
| image =
| image_caption =
| flag =
| total = 2,000
| total_ref = <ref name=Maiti/>
| rels = [[Christianity]]<ref name=Mittal/>
| langs = [[Karenic languages ]]([[S'gaw Karen language|S'gaw Karen]])<ref name=Mittal>{{citation |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=anthro_seniortheses.pdf |title=The Karen of Andaman Islands Labor Migration Indian Citizenship and Development of a Unique Cultural Identity |author=Tanvi Mittal |year=2015}}</ref>
| related =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
}}

The '''[[Karen people|Karen]]''' are a nation native to the [[Kayin State]] of [[Myanmar]]. They live in the villages of [[North and Middle Andaman district]] the Union Territory of [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], [[India]].

== History ==
In 1924, Dr. Marshall, the principal of the [[Karen Baptist Theological Seminary]] visited [[Michael Lloyd Ferrar]], the [[Chief Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]. Following the visit, Dr. Marshall encouraged the remaining ancestors of the Karen people to settle there.

In 1925, the first thirteen families arrived, led by a priest, named Reverend Luige. In 1926, another fifty families arrived and the first Karen village, named Web, was founded on the [[Middle Andaman Island]].<ref name="Maiti">{{citation |url=http://island.giee.ntnu.edu.tw/ISISA2004/ISISA8/115%202-2-C-4%20Sameera%20Maiti%20_India_.pdf |title=The Karen – A Lesser Known Community of the Andaman Islands |author=Sameera Maiti |year=2004 |work=ISLANDS of the WORLD VIII International Conference - “Changing Islands – Changing Worlds”, 1–7 November 2004, Kinmen Island (Quemoy), Taiwan}}</ref> The people of Web worked as foresters, which was the original reason the [[British Raj|British government]] had for moving them to the Islands, with the help of the missionaries.<ref>{{citation |title=Development and Ethnocide: Colonial Practices in the Andaman Islands |first=Sita |last=Venkateswar |publisher=IWGIA |year=2004 |isbn=978-87-91563-04-1 |page=16}}</ref> The population of the village was about 500 people in 2009.<ref>{{citation | journal=The Irrawaddy |title=Island of Peace |author=Edith Mirante |year=2009 |volume=17 |number=5}}</ref>

In 2004, the total population of Karen in the Andamans was about 2,000 people, living in eight villages in the [[Mayabunder]] (Web, Deopur, Law, Lucknow, Karmatang-9 and Karmatang-10) and [[Diglipur]] (Borang and Chipon) [[tehsil]]s of the [[North and Middle Andaman district]]:<ref name="Maiti" /> On 12 December 2005, the government [[Reservation in India|reserve]]<nowiki/>d government jobs and places in higher education for the Karen as one of the [[Other Backward Classes]] in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<ref>{{citation | chapter=The Struggle for OBC |author=Philipp Zehmisch |title=A Xerox of India Policies and Politics of Migration in an overseas colony |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-9809131-1-9}}</ref>

Today, the Karen group form a small yet vital community on the island. They are currently trying to attain the status of [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|Scheduled Tribe]] in India, a title which would grant them more special privileges and concessions when compared to under-developed groups within the country.

The Karen people believe that in order to respect nature they should avoid spitting or urinating in forests. They promote sustainable harvesting and avoid killing female animals when hunting. They use a variety of forest plants for construction. For example, they make canoes from the trunks of mulberry trees ([[artocarpus|''artocarpus chaplasha'' Roxb.]]) and use a paste of the [[acorus calamus|sweet flag]] ''vanity'' with other aromatic plants as a poultice for colds and headaches.<ref name=phyto>{{citation |title=Traditional Phytotherapy among Karens of Middle Andaman |author1=MU Sharief | author2= S Kumar| author3= PG Diwakar|author4= TVRS Sharma |journal=Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge |year=2005 |pages=429–436 |volume=4 |number=4 | url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/8533/1/IJTK%204%284%29%20429-436.pdf}}</ref>

To educate the community, the Government Secondary School (GSS) in Web was established in 1928 by the family of Reverend Luigi. The Karen language was not formally taught for about 50 years and Karen language textbooks were not available. The country's first textbook in the Karen language was published in 2010 after a group of local teachers convinced the district administration to support the initiative. As of 2018, Karen is officially taught as a language till Class V at GSS Web.<ref name="2018HinduLittleMyanmar">{{cite news |last1=Rao |first1=Mohit M. |title=A little Myanmar in the Andamans |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/a-little-myanmar-in-the-andamans/article24894384.ece |website=The Hindu |accessdate=26 October 2020 |language=en-IN |date=8 September 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes]]
[[Category:Karen people]]

{{ethno-group-stub}}

Karen people in the Andaman Islands - Revision history

->Izno at 17:04, 10 November 2021