The Nicobar Islands

The Japanese in the Nicobars

by Dr. Simron Jit Singh

The following text is from Chapter 7 (pp. 221-226) of Simron Jit Singh's In the Sea of Influence - a world system perspective of the Nicobar Islands, Lund Studies in Human Ecology 6, Lund University, Sweden, 2003, ISBN 91-628-5854-8, ISSN 1403-5022. Copyright ©2003 Simron Jit Singh Footnotes are marked in the text with square brackets [ ] and can be found at the end of the following paragraph. For references mentioned in the text consult the printed book.

During the Second World War, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were occupied by the Japanese forces for a period of three years, that is, from 1942 to 1945. The interest of the Japanese in these islands is known to have been there for several years even before the war. Since the 1930s, a detailed survey of the islands and its inhabitants had been carried out by Japanese visiting in the guise of licensed fishermen and shell-collectors (Richardson 1947:28). A Japanese dentist and two photographers with their wives had been living in Port Blair for ten years with the main objective being to gain information about the islands (Tamta 1991:39). During the period of the war, when European powers busied themselves in Europe and the Pacific, Japan had the unique opportunity to occupy British territories in southeast Asia. Japan had declared war on England at the end of 1941 and the initial success they had was remarkable. The fall of Singapore in 1942 followed up the occupation of the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Malaya and Burma by the Japanese forces, and the assault on the Andaman Islands was inevitable since they flanked the approaches to Rangoon (Tamta 1991 :40). With only one British company to maintain law and order in the islands, the islands did not possess any elaborate defence structures or armed forces. With no hope of defending the islands against the Japanese, the evacuation of all British officers was ordered with only a skeleton staff left to run the administration. On 23 March 1942, the Andaman Islands were taken into possession by Japanese troops without any resistance and without firing a single bullet. Immediately thereafter, a Japanese administration was set up with the army commander assuming the position of governor of the civilian population (Tamta 1991:41).

The Japanese occupation was at first welcomed by the islanders. Those rendered unemployed due to the British evacuation were re-employed in higher positions vacated by senior officers. The attitude of the Japanese towards the islanders was friendly and they paid good prices for the goods they purchased in the shops. A year later, the Japanese established "The Andaman Miniseibu" with the objectives stated as being, "To protect the local population and also to promote their welfare, maintenance of public peace and order, development of industries, repairing of roads and prevention of epidemics in the islands but its main work to increase the production of food stuff, by establishing a selfsufficient system, on the other hand recognising their religious freedom much attention was given to education and also attempts were made to make the local people happy by encouraging whole sale amusement" (in Tamta 1991:42). The Government High School originally run by the British was re-opened and an additional Japanese school was opened as well. Several roads were constructed and an incompletely constructed air-strip begun by the British was completed in three months (ibid.)  

Meanwhile, an Indian National Army (INA) had come into existence under the command of Capt. Mohan Singh who had organised the Indian Prisoners of War formerly in British service across southeast Asia. Not wanting to alienate the large Indian population living in the formerly British-owned territories now under their control, the Japanese found it to their advantage to organise these Indians for an armed freedom movement against the British to liberate India (Tamta 1991:44). The INA was given a dynamic shape under the veteran Subhash Chandra Bose, who for this purpose was released by the Germans following an agreement with the Japanese (Tamta 1991:47). In October 1943, in a speech in Singapore, Bose inaugurated the Provisional Government of Free India. However, he knew that under international law a provisional government should have its own land. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands were ideally suited for the seat of the Provisional Government .of Free India (Tamta 1991 :49-50). Negotiations followed with the Japanese and in December 1943, Bose landed in Port Blair to unfurl the Indian flag - for the first time on liberated Indian soil (Tamta 1991 :56). However, this take-over of power from the Japanese was only a formality. The appointments of an Indian as the Chief Commissioner and a few other officers were only symbolic. While the Chief Commissioner remained under strict surveillance, the orders continued to come from the Japanese Governor (Tamta 1992:58).

Nonetheless, the news of Andaman and Nicobar Islands becoming the headquarters of the Provisional Government of Free India had great impact on the morale of the freedom movement in India. The provisional government was immediately recognised by Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Manchukuo and Nanking (Tamta 1991:50). The news of Bose's activities in southeast Asia and the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India was a terrible blow to the British. Bose's capacities were well recognised and British sovereignty in India was seen to be under imminent threat. Churchill appointed Louis Mountbatten to deal with the situation. Mountbatten, known for his naval warfare skills, chose the Andaman Islands as his first target in order to oust the Provisional Government of Free India and to take control over the islands. A secret organisation (called "one-three-six") was formed of people that had evacuated the islands on the eve of Japanese occupation. Their main task was to provide information on air-attack targets in the islands (Tamta 1991 :59-69). But before it could begin, the operation was cancelled by Churchill (Tamta 1991:62).

Meanwhile, the Japanese were running short of food supplies. Ships bringing in supplies were becoming the target of British air-raids and were being sunk just as they entered the harbour. By 1944, the Allied forces had sunk more than 750 commercial ships. Fearing that the news of vessels arriving into the harbour must be being given out by the islanders themselves, the Japanese became suspicious of anyone who spoke English. Several such persons were tortured and put to death (Tamta 1991 :54, 64). When the food situation further worsened in June 1945, the Japanese "dealt" with the crisis with a massacre of hundreds of local people, either rounding them up and throwing them into the sea, or shooting them in the forests (Tamta 1991 :65). More than a thousand people had to die in this way before the news of the Japanese surrender reached the islands on 15 August 1945.[1] The re-occupation forces arrived on 7 October 1945 and the islands changed hands once again without the firing of a single bullet (Tamta 1991:66).

1 The actual proclamation to the public was made by the Governor only on 21 August 1945 (Tamta 1991:66).

The situation in the Nicobars had been no different.[2] Before the Japanese arrived at Port Blair in March 1942, the British administration, in late February 1942, sent a small vessel to Car Nicobar to evacuate the Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Scott, and the wireless operator, Mr. Ghosh. Four months later, on 4 July, the Japanese arrived on Car Nicobar and surveyed the island for any weapons or hiding English troops. Satisfied that there were none, they returned the same day, after installing a post with an inscription in Japanese to mark the day ofthe occupation of the island (Richardson 1947:3).[3] Again, at the end of the year, on 24 December, the Japanese arrived on Car Nicobar and took with them 500 Nicobarese as labourers who were needed for building the airstrip at Port Blair. In the same trip, they took with them 300 pigs from Nancowry which they exchanged for hundreds of bags of rice, for food and for breeding purposes. Three months later, in March 1943, again 500 labourers were taken away for work at Port Blair with a promise to return the first batch upon the completion of a six-month stay. At the same time, Car Nicobar was surveyed as a possible naval base to be used during an attack on India (Richardson 1947:9).

2 Apparently, the effect of war in the Nicobars was mainly limited to Car Nicobar while Nancowry and other islands were affected to a much smaller extent.

3 The key source of information on events that took place on Car Nicobar during the Japanese occupation is the unpublished manuscript of John Richardson, a former student of Solomon and by then a key figure among the Nicobarese. Writing in 1947, Richardson provides a vivid description of the wartime situation on Car Nicobar and of the atrocities committed by the Japanese as he saw and experienced them. Officials at the Anthropological Survey of India. Port Blair. informed me, however, that Richardson's manuscript has now been published but as I could not obtain the published version, the year and page numbers cited here are from the original manuscript.

On 4 August 1943, some 200 Japanese arrived under the command of Capt. Veda to begin work on establishing a naval base and an airfield on Car Nicobar. A thousand Nicobarese were rounded up as forced labour to begin work on the jetty that was essential for ships to unload construction material for the naval base at Mus (Richardson 1947:10). With the completion of the jetty, ships sailed in regularly with stores, cement, vehicles and land-crafts. The Nicobarese were forced to unload day and night and transport the cargo to their destination (Richardson 1947:11). A young Japanese officer, Lt. Sumi, was appointed as the civil administrator for the island. Soon after, all headmen were ordered to take "an oath of allegiance to the King Emperor of Japan, with bowed heads which was done very awkwardly" (Richardson 1947:12). The headquarters of the civil administration was the hospital at Mus. Every Sunday morning, Lt. Sumi delivered a lecture to the headmen which consisted of:

how the [Japanese] Emperor was the descendant from the goddess and that the Japanese nation was the chosen race by God to establish a new order in the world. Japan was now the leader of the world. Her cities would become the seats of learning. She had defeated the greatest Empire ever known, including America. The audience was not interested at all (Richardson 1947:13).

Capt. Ueda soon discovered that the water in Mus was not good enough and that "it spoiled the taste of his tea" (Richardson 1947:14). A search was made for good water and finally it was decided to establish the naval headquarters in the interior of Malacca village. Again, Nicobarese labourers were employed to shift the materials, build new huts and construct roads to the new site. Richardson describes the plight of the Nicobarese during this time:

Sickness was rife at the time, of the worst kind, pneumonia, dysentery, sore-eyes, Yaws, etc. and no one was ever treated. A man was still fit to work as long as he was able to move his limbs. The roll was called every morning, the absentees were traced to their houses. Some were found to have high temperature; he was told to get up at once. One such sufferer was found lying in his hut with pneumonia; he was abused, kicked on the ribs, given blows all over the body and was sent to work. The poor fellow died in the following night. (Richardson 1947:14).

From September 1943, air-raids began to intensify over Car Nicobar and Nancowry, and so did the suffering and torture of the Nicobarese. The Japanese were convinced that some of the Nicobarese had ways to communicate secret messages (for example by sending up flares of light) to the British. Each time a raid occurred, all educated Nicobarese with any knowledge of English were rounded up for enquiries, and some were even killed (Richardson 1947:15,21). Richardson instructed all Nicobarese to make air-raid shelters in the village. In July 1945, attacks intensified even further, this time both from air and sea. Much of the existing infrastructure had been destroyed by bombs. A new camp was ordered to be constructed in the middle of the island. At midnight, about 300 Nicobarese, including the sick, were marched into the dense forest to build the huts. Some fell and died on the way. While the officers and the guards used the only hut for sleeping at night, the Nicobarese had to pass the nights on "wet ground worried by millions of mosquitoes" (Richardson 1947:23). The raids continued day and night. Ueda blamed the Nicobarese for these attacks and warned:

If the English will land, not a single Nicobarese will be left alive. Trees, animals, even a single leaf will not be left on the Island. It will be laid wasted and bare. You will bring this upon your own head (Richardson 1947:25).

 

A kareau of a Japanese soldier with a monster face - the Nicobarese invoked the help of spirits to free the islands from the Japanese.

The name of Richardson was eventually placed on the top of the list for execution. When he was to be taken away, however, one headman warned the officer, "If you kill him there will be general rising on the Island" (Richardson 1947:26). The plan was dropped, but interrogations continued. Finally, the Japanese decided to get rid of Richardson but just at that time the news of their surrender arrived and Richardson escaped the death penalty. The General in charge told him:

This is good news to you. Our Emperor is a lover of peace. He has stopped the war by his own effort, for he cannot bear to see any more sufferings to go on in the world. We can carry on the war for another one hundred years more. As you see here our weapons are all intact. But the sole wishes of our Emperor is peace (Richardson 1947:27).

To mend their reputation, the Japanese offered the Nicobarese compensation for the losses of their trees and poultry. The account that was settled was for 120,000 coconut trees, 5,000 pigs, 305,363 coconuts, 18,610 bananas, 2,491 chickens, and 1,535 cattle (Richardson 1947:28).[4] The loss of life was much mourned, as it amounted to 105 Nicobarese, all of them educated.

28 Richardson writes that the account settled was far below the actual damage, since the Nicobarese had stopped keeping account of losses after a while (Richardson 1947:28).

Of these, 90 were killed on Car Nicobar alone, while twelve were killed at Port Blair, two on Teressa, and one at Nancowry (Richardson 1947:28).

On 22 October 1945, the British re-occupation forces landed on Car Nicobar. Among them was Mr. Scott, the former Assistant Commissioner who now took up the position of Deputy Commissioner. Mr. Scott's landing on Car Nicobar was accompanied by deep emotions as described by Richardson:

Mr. R.W. Scott stepped out and walked on the jetty. He made straight for me; for a few seconds no word could be uttered by either of us; instead tear was rolling down. There was joy for being liberated; mingled with the deep sorrow for those no longer with us... Here I could find a friend in need and deed in the person of Mr. Scott, the lost friend whom I did not expect to see alive on this world of woe. To him I could now freely open my ear, for I knew he understood us thoroughly well and could also feel sympathy for us. He was hated by the traders for being in their way. I could feel myself on my feet again (Richardson 1947:29).

In February 1946, ten Nicobarese (six from Car Nicobar including Richardson, and four from Nancowry) were brought to Singapore as witnesses of the Japanese atrocities. The court in Singapore sentenced six Japanese officers to death while nine of them were imprisoned for various terms (Richardson 1947:31). The Japanese occupation of the Nicobars provided the islands with the first real introduction to violence, cruelty and to modem technology. Never in the past had the islands seen such a massive display and use of weaponry as during these two years. The destruction of existing British infrastructures and records, the torturing and killing of all educated Nicobarese with any knowledge of English, the introduction of trucks, tanks, and guns onto the islands could not but have shaken the Nicobarese out of their long-held security. Two air strips, and 60 kilometres of road encircling the entire island were constructed with local labour, and in two years, the whole landscape was changed with electrical installations, buzzing trucks and soaring aircraft. Ironically, the Second World War brought in a new arrangement of trade dynamics too. The Japanese warfare strategy on the Nicobars saw many traders put to death and only a few managed to flee the islands. According to Richardson, "that was the only benefit we got out of the war" (Richardson 1947:30).

The territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which in some respects was said to have been the first to become "free" with the unfurling of the Indian flag by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1943, remained British. However, not much is known of the activities that went on in the two years preceding the islands' transfer to India. Apparently, the British continued to administer the islands as before, while negotiations carried on about an independent India. In February 1946, the British appointed Mr. Inamul Majid as Chief Commissioner of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the first Indian to hold such a post. He continued to be the Chief Commissioner for some years after Indian independence.

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