Island Groups like Lakshadweep is an archipelago of islands in the Arabian Sea. After Sikkim, Lakshadweep is India's second-most sparsely inhabited state. This is our country's tiniest federal territory. The Union territory of Lakshadweep has Kavaratti as its capital. The coral that makes up this Indian island group is the source of its name. Atolls are coral reefs that are round or horseshoe-shaped. This article will explain to you about the Island Groups of the Arabian Sea which will be helpful in Geography preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Lakshadweep Islands

• Lakshadweep is a series of islands in the Arabian Sea. After Sikkim, Lakshadweep is India's smallest populous territory.
• This is our country's tiniest union territory. The capital of the Union territory of Lakshadweep is Kavaratti.
• This Indian island group is made mainly of coral islands. Atolls are reefs with a round or horseshoe form that are classified as coral reefs.
• Lakshadweep is an archipelago made up of 36 islands that span an area of around 78000 square kilometres in the Arabian Sea.
• The Arabian Sea, located in the northern Indian Ocean, is bordered on the north by Pakistan, Iran, and the Gulf of Oman.
• The archipelago of Lakshadweep consists of twelve atolls, three reefs, and five submerged banks, with a total of roughly 39 islands and islets.
• Although mainly underwater, the reefs are atolls, with only little unvegetated sand cays visible above the high-water mark.
• Sunken atolls make up the submerged banks.
• The islands are divided into three groups:
  • Amindivi Islands
  • Laccadive Islands
  • Minicoy Island

Lakshadweep

Amindivi Islands

• The Amindivi Islands are one of three groupings of islands in India's Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
• It is the Lakshadweep's northern group, generally divided from the Laccadive Islands subgroup by the 11th parallel north.
• Aminidivi is made up of four submerged banks, three reefs, and three atolls with only unvegetated sand cays above the high water line.

Laccadive Islands

• The Laccadive Islands are one of three groupings of islands in India's Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
• It is the Lakshadweep's core subgroup, divided roughly by the 11th parallel north from the Amindivi Islands subgroup, and by the 9 Degree or Mamala Channel from the atoll of Minicoy considerably to the south.
• The island of Agatti, which has the sole airport in Lakshadweep, and the Bangaram Atoll, which has a tourist resort on Bangaram, its biggest island, are both part of the Laccadive subgroup.
• Agatti, Androth, Kavaratti, and Kalpeni are populated islands. The islanders' primary religion is Islam.
• The Laccadive Islands subgroup is made up of atolls with islands and a submerged bank.
• Pitti Bank, a largely drowned atoll, serves as an undersea link between the Amindivi and Laccadive subgroups.

Minicoy Island

• Minicoy, also known as Maliku is an island in the Indian state of Lakshadweep.
• It is located on Maliku atoll, the archipelago's southernmost lagoon, beside Villingili.
• It is an administrative town in the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep.
• Minicoy is the second biggest and southernmost of the Lakshadweep archipelago's islands.
• It's 201 kilometres south-southwest of Kalpeni, at the mouth of the Nine Degree Channel.
• The lagoon on the northern side of Maliku Atoll has two entrances: Saalu Magu on the northeast and Kandimma Magu on the northwest.
• Its western side is surrounded by a thin reef and a swath of coral rocks. The lagoon's interior is sandy and quite deep, with scattered coral patches.

Lakshadweep Islands - Flora and Fauna Diversity

• The Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago tropical wet forests ecoregion includes the Lakshadweep Archipelago, the Maldives, and the Chagos. It is one of India's four coral reef areas.
• The corals are a popular tourist attraction.
• Pitti Island is home to sea turtles and a variety of pelagic birds, including the brown noddy (Anous stolidus), lesser crested tern (Sterna bengalensis), and larger crested tern (Sterna bengalensis).
• The vegetation in the area is sparse, and practically all of the species may be found on India's mainland.
• In addition, there is no forest in the area.
• Nearly 400 flowering plant species have been identified, including three seagrass species.
• Coconut groves and coastal bushes are widespread among the coral sands' vegetation.

Lakshadweep Islands - Population

• More than 93 percent of the indigenous population is Muslim, with the majority belonging to the Shafi School of the Sunni Sect.
• Malayalam is spoken on all islands except Minicoy, where residents speak Mahl, a Divehi script language that is also spoken in the Maldives.
• Due to their economic and social backwardness, the whole indigenous people have been categorised as Scheduled Tribes.
• In this Union Territory, there are no Scheduled Castes.
• The people's primary occupations include fishing, coconut planting, and coir twisting. Tourism is a very new sector.

Lakshadweep Islands - Significance

• Lakshadweep's geographic position allows the Indian Navy to patrol and monitor the western Indian Ocean with broader reach.
• As a result, it may be quite useful in enhancing the Navy's force projection capabilities.
• The lagoons and EEZ around the Lakshadweep Islands include excellent fisheries and mineral resources that are of tremendous economic importance.
• People in rural areas/villages and all islands would be able to take advantage of cheaper and better connection as well as all of the benefits of Digital India, which will increase online education, telemedicine, banking, and online trade, as well as boost tourism and skills growth.
• Lakshadweep's mystique is enhanced by its natural landscapes, sandy beaches, wealth of flora and animals, and lack of a hurried lifestyle.

Conclusion

Lakshadweep is the northernmost of the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands. These islands are really the peaks of a massive underwater mountain range in the Indian Ocean known as the Chagos-Laccadive Range. The archipelago of Lakshadweep consists of 12 atolls, three reefs, and five submerged banks, with a total of roughly 39 islands and islets. In Malayalam and Sanskrit, the term Lakshadweep means "a hundred thousand islands."