Published on 09 Mar 2025
• Recently, a few members of the shompen tribe casted their votes for the first time in the parliamentary elections of 2024.
• The Shompen are one of the least studied Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India.
• This very little known tribal community resides in the dense tropical Rain forest of Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands.
• The Shompen habitat is an important biological hotspot and there are two national parks and one biosphere reserve namely Campbell Bay National Park, Galathea National Park and Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve.
• Though according to the 2011 census, the estimated population of this tribe is 229, the exact population is unknown till today.
• They are semi-nomadic hunter gatherer and their main source of livelihood are hunting, gathering, fishing and horticulture activities in a rudimentary form.
Shompen Tribe
PVTG
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
tribe
tribal community