Stone Age tribe on North Sentinel Island left to fend for themselves, as they should be

THERE is an island in the Bay of Bengal guarded fiercely by one of the world’s last remaining Stone Age tribes. Those who dare to visit are met by men and women wielding spears and arrows. Their language may be unfamiliar but the message is impossible to misinterpret: “You are not welcome here”. The consequence for failing to adhere to that message, as two crab fishermen discovered in 2006, is certain death. North Sentinel Island is twice the size of Norfolk Island. It is covered by dense jungle and surrounded by sandy white beaches and coral reefs. India has sovereignty over the island but has enforced a four-kilometre exclusion zone. No ecotourists, no holiday-makers, no fishermen, no government officials. But will they stay away forever? Can the civilised world really leave this ancient tribe to fend for itself without modern medicine or electricity? If you ask the experts, they say the same thing: “Leave them alone”. The rest of society needs to carry on without them.