Introducation of Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory of India. It consists of 12 coral atolls, three coral reefs, and five banks. The total land area of the territory is 32 km². The islands are located in the Arabian Sea, between 200 to 300 km off the coast of Kerala. Eleven of the islands are inhabited. There are numerous islets which are not counted in this number. Lakshadweep is the northern part of Old Lakshadweepa.

The inhabited islands are:

Agatti
Amini
Andrott
Bangaram
Bitra
Chetlat
Kadmat
Kalpeni
Kavaratti
Kiltan
Minicoy

The main islands are Kavarrati (where the capital city, Kavarrati, is located), Agatti, Minicoy, and Amini. The total population of the territory was 60,595 according to the 2001 census. Agatti has an airport where there are direct flights from Cochin. Tourists may need a permit to visit the islands; foreign nationals are not permitted to visit some islands.

The name of the archipelago literally means hundred thousand islands (laksha = one hundred thousand, dweep = island). Until 1973, the island group was known by the Anglicized name Laccadives (compare to Maldives, Sanskrit name Maladweepa and Suvadives).

The people of the islands speak a dialect of Malayalam. It is a folk belief that they are descendants of traders who where washed up on the islands during a particularly heavy storm.