History About Lakshadweep

Little is known about the early history of the Lakshadweep islands. There are references to the control of the islands by the Cheras in the Sangam literature Pathitruppaththu. A Pallava inscription of 7th century CE refers to the islands as Dveepa Laksham and lists them as part of the Pallava domain. The oldest inhabited islands in the group are Amini, Andrott, Kavaratti and Agatti. It was earlier believed that the Lakshadweep islanders were originally Hindus who later converted to Islam in the 14th century. However, recent archaeological evidence has established that Buddhist settlements had existed in the islands as early as the 6th or 7th century. According to popular tradition, Islam was brought to Lakshadweep by the Arab saint Ubaidulla in 41 AH. His grave is located in the island of Agatti. Muslim grave stones dated to 139 AH have also been discovered here. During the 11th century, the islands came under the rule of the Medieval Cholas.

In the 17th century, the islands came under the rule of Ali Rajahs/Arakkal Bheevi of Kannur, who received them as a gift from the Kolathiris.[3] The Portuguese took control to exploit coir production. The Portuguese invasion was a period of great brutality on the islands[citation needed], and eventually the islanders expelled the Portuguese. The islands are also mentioned in great detail in the stories of the Arab traveller Ibn Batuta.

The Amindivi group of islands (Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat and Bitra) came under the rule of Tipu Sultan in 1787. They passed to British control after the Third Anglo-Mysore War and were attached to South Canara. The rest of the islands came under the suzerainty of the Arakkal family of Cannanore in return for a payment of annual tribute. After a while, the British took over the administration of those islands for non-payment of arrears. These islands were attached to the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency. In 1956, despite the fact that most of the Islanders were Malayalis, the States Reorganisation Act separated these islands from the mainland administrative units, forming a new union territory by combining all the islands.