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A Union Territory of India, Lakshadweep is a group of some two dozen islands with a total land area of 32 square kilometres scattered over 30,000 square miles of the Arabian Sea. Out of these islands, only ten are inhabited and they are Andrott, Amini, Agatti, Bitra, Chetlat, Kadmath, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Kiltan and Minicoy. These islands form the smallest of the Union Territories of India, and are the country's only coral islands. The name Lakshadweep means "Hundred Thousand Islands" in the Malayalam language and also in Sanskrit.
Climatic conditions are similar to that of Kerala coast. Average rainfall is 1600mma year with the major share from thesouthwest monsoon. Almost all islands experiance tropical climate with temperature ranging from 25 degrees c to 35 degrees c and humidity ranging from 70 -76 per cent during the most part of the year. March, April and May are the hottest months of the year.
The administrative centre is Kavaratti.The jurisdiction of the Kerala High Court extends over Lakshadweep.
It is generally believed that the first settlement on these islands was made by Cheraman Perumal, the last king of Kerala, as a result of shipwreck on the stormy Arabian seas. But the historical record shows that, around the 7th century, a Muslim saint was shipwrecked on the island of Amini. He converted the inhabitants here to Islam, despite initial opposition. After many difficulties he was able to carry out his mission, and to this day, the people of Lakshadweep follow Islam.
Although the sovereignty remained in the hands of the Hindu Raja of Chirakkal, it eventually passed to the Ali Raja of Cannanore (Kannur) in the 16th century, the only Muslim royal family of Kerala, and later, in 1783 to Tipu Sultan. Following the defeat of Tipu Sultan by the British, at Srirangapattanam in 1799, the islands were annexed by the East India Company. It remained with the British until Independence, when it was made a Union territory of the Indian Union in 1956.
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