TIMES International
Far from the Indian mainland, the southernmost point of India, Great Nicobar Island, has become the centre of controversy as the government moves forward with an $11 billion development initiative.
The island, closer to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia than mainland India, has a population estimated at fewer than 10,000, yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration plans a vast transformation: a transhipment port, a civilian-military airport, power infrastructure, tourism facilities, and a township for 350,000 residents, reports Al Jazeera.
The project, officially justified as a boost to maritime trade and economic development, has drawn criticism from environmentalists, Indigenous communities, and opposition leaders, who argue it endangers fragile ecosystems and tribal heritage.
Environmental concerns include deforestation of nearly a million trees and the displacement of fishing-dependent Nicobarese, while roughly 50 percent of the project overlaps with Shompen tribal reserves.
The Shompens, a seminomadic hunter-gatherer tribe, and the Nicobarese fear the plan could disrupt their centuries-old way of life.
Shekhar Sinha, former vice chief of the Indian Navy, emphasised the island’s strategic location near the Strait of Malacca, a critical shipping lane through which a third of global trade passes, including 80 percent of China’s crude oil imports.
“This island is well-placed to monitor traffic entering and exiting the strait. A commercial setup here would face no objections,” he said.
The government’s recent statements have leaned heavily on these security arguments, framing the development as central to India’s presence in the Andaman Sea and Southeast Asia.
Yet critics stress that the project was initially pitched as a commercial rival to Singapore, Colombo, and Hong Kong, not a military outpost.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi described it as “destruction dressed in development’s language,” calling it one of the gravest threats to India’s natural and tribal heritage.
He visited the island last month, meeting activists and residents, highlighting concerns over loss of ancestral lands and coastal alteration.
Former Andaman and Nicobar research board member Manish Chandi echoed these warnings, describing the plan as “colonial in approach” with commercial motives that have been rebranded under strategic narratives.
“It will be a liability for India, both environmentally and in terms of defence,” he said, noting the island’s location in seismic zone 5, the highest earthquake-risk category.
Defence analysts such as Harsh Pant of the Observer Research Foundation argue that the island could strengthen India’s maritime domain awareness.
The tri-service command in Port Blair, roughly 500km from Great Nicobar, could benefit from a forward position in monitoring traffic and security in the wider Indo-Pacific region.
However, Sinha cautioned that maintaining a blockade or control over the Strait of Malacca is impractical, given that it falls under Indonesia’s jurisdiction, similar to Iran and Oman controlling the Strait of Hormuz.
Environmentalists warn of extensive ecological damage. Nearly 964,000 trees are slated to be felled, and new construction could irreversibly alter biodiversity in one of India’s most pristine island ecosystems.
Tourism zones planned on Nicobarese lands further threaten traditional livelihoods, while critics note that large-scale infrastructure may cause unforeseen consequences due to the island’s geology and seismic vulnerability.
The Great Nicobar development plan remains politically charged.
While the Modi government insists the project balances economic, strategic, and defence objectives, opposition voices continue to call for reassessment, citing the threat to Indigenous populations, environmental stability, and the island’s delicate ecology.
As India positions itself in the Indo-Pacific, the debate over Great Nicobar reflects the tension between national security ambitions and preservation of local communities and ecosystems—a dilemma playing out in one of the country’s most remote yet strategically vital territories.
