Aerial photograph of North Sentinel Island. Photo source: Wikipedia
By Nava Thakuria*
A Ukrainian-United States national, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, who attempted to make contact with the uncontacted Sentinelese people on North Sentinel Island under the greater Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean, was arrested on March 31.
The police said the 24-year-old tourist, who was identified as a son of one Victor Polyakov of Arizona, USA, arrived in Port Blair on March 26, 2025, and “intentionally” ventured to reach North Sentinel island from Kurma Dera beach in the early morning hours of March 29, with a single-seat boat. He reached the island’s northeastern shore by 10 am and looked for the isolated inhabitants but reportedly saw none, even as he waited for an hour and blew a whistle to attract the attention of the Sentinelese. But that was in vain.
Later, he landed briefly for five minutes and left some offerings (a coconut and a can of soda) for the inaccessible inhabitants. The Kurma Dera beach fishermen spotted him in the evening hours along with GPS equipment and a video camera capturing footage on his visit.
The police are investigating his actual intention to visit the restricted tribal area. It’s revealed that Polyakov tried to reach the location in October 2023, too, but he was prevented by the hotel staff in Port Blair where he had stayed then. Later in January 2024, he arrived in the Baratang Islands and allegedly filmed the indigenous Jarawa tribe.
A police complaint is already registered against Polyakov under the Foreigners Act 1946, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation 2012. Currently, Polyakov is under police custody as the probe continues.
Meanwhile, Survival International (SI), a global organization based in London that advocates for the rights of Indigenous and tribal communities, expressed relief over Polyakov’s arrest. Terming the trespassing into the protected zone as deeply disturbing, the Sl director Caroline Pearce said, “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic. This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, but also put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk. It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out”. Pearce pointed out that the Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, and people fishing illegally in their waters.
It may be mentioned that the Sentinelese, who wish to avoid outsiders, are classified as a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) and their hostilities towards outside elements are well recorded. Nearly seven years ago, they killed an American missionary (John Allen Chau) in 2018 for reaching their remote island to convert the tribes to Christianity. The self-styled adventurer Chau was buried in isolation, and Survival International appealed to the authorities not to try to bring back his mortal remains so that the Sentinelese could be protected from any disease transmission.
“Uncontacted Indigenous peoples around the world are experiencing the invasion of their lands on a shocking scale. Countless uncontacted peoples in the Amazon are being invaded by loggers and gold miners,” Pearce said. She added that the uncontacted Shompen of Great Nicobar Island, not far from North Sentinel, will be wiped out if New Delhi goes ahead with its plan to transform their island into the Hong Kong of India. “The common factor in all these cases is governments’ refusal to abide by international law and recognize and protect uncontacted peoples’ territories,” she concluded.
*Senior journalist
