Bearing a haunted look today, the Ross Island was the Administrative Headquarters for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, before an earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 rocked it in 1941. The headquarters were then shifted to Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

. One can see remnants of an opulent past in the ruins of the church, swimming pool and the chief commissioner's residence with its huge gardens and grand ballrooms. There is also a cemetery and a small museum managed by the Indian Navy

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...

. The museum has on display a collection of old records.

The Ross Island is about 2 km east of Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

 and can be reached by a short boat ride from Phoenix Bay Jetty. The island is controlled by the Indian navy, which requires every visitor to sign in on entering.

The small island with its treasure of ruins in it became the hot tourists spot in the territory. People desire to know more and more about Ross Island. This Island the erstwhile capital of Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

 during the British regime, is a tiny island situated few Kilometers away from Port Blair city. The island presently houses the ruins of old buildings like Ballroom

Ballroom

A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

, Chief Commissioner’s House, Govt. House, Church, Hospital, Bakery, Press, Swimming Pool and Troop Barracks, all in dilapidated condition, reminiscent of the old British regime. Ever since Dr. James Pattison Walker arrived in Port Blair aboard the East India Company’s steam frigate ‘Senuramis’ on 10 March 1858, this island remained under British occupation till 1942. From 1942 to 1945, the island was under the occupation of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. However, the allies reoccupied the island in 1945 and later abandoned it. During British occupation, this island was the seat of power of the British.

The rise and fall of Ross Island

Ross Island, a few km from Aberdeen jetty at Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

, is yet another member of the Andaman group of islands. As in the case of its sister-islands, it also has thick forests. To any onlooker it may give the impression that it has no "life" — in the sense that there is no human habitation.

Yes, it is an island where no settlement is allowed by the authorities. But, a few decades ago, this island was the seat of "British power." Ross Island was the headquarters of the Indian Penal Settlement for nearly 80 years. It had everything — bazaar, bakery, stores, water treatment plant, church, tennis court

Tennis court

A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

, printing press

Printing press

A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...

, secretariat

Secretariat

Secretariat may refer to:* Secretariat , racehorse that won the Triple Crown in 1973* Secretariat , 2010 film about the racehorse...

, hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

, cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

 and what have you. Today, everything has disappeared except some buildings, which housed some of these landmarks.

After Archibald Blair

Archibald Blair

Archibald Blair was a naval surveyor in the Bombay Marine.He joined the Bombay Marine, received his first commission in 1771 and in 1792 was promoted captain. In 1772, as a midshipman, he went on his first survey mission along the coasts of India, Iran and Arabia. In 1780 he was lieutenant on a...

's survey of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1788-89, a settlement was established at a place, (now known as Diglipur

Diglipur

Diglipur is one of three local administrative divisions of the Indian district of North & Middle Andaman, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Diglipur is the largest and farthest town of North Andamans, 290 km from Port Blair.It is located at 13°16'0N 93°0'0E at...

), to the north of Port Blair (then called Port Cornwallis). At that time, Blair was said to have established a hospital and a sanatorium at Ross Island. But, the settlement was abandoned in 1796 as the mortality rate was very high.

Six decades later, the 1857 Revolt forced the British to turn to Andaman again and this time, their stay lasted a little over 80 years.

Penal settlement

In November 1857, the Government decided to establish a penal settlement in Andaman and send "hard-core elements" among those who took on the British. There were two reasons: One, to keep them away from other prisoners and the other, to send out a message that a similar treatment would be meted out to anyone who challenged the British authority.

Two months later, the British took possession of three islands in and around Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

 and Captain H. Man, Executive Engineer, hoisted the Union Jack flag. In March, J.P. Walker, an experienced jail superintendent, arrived in Port Blair with four European officials, an Indian overseer, two doctors, 50 naval guards and 773 freedom fighters.

Writer Gauri Shankar Pandey, who belongs to a family that had suffered torture during the Japanese occupation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has documented that it was water scarcity that had driven Walker out of Port Blair and go to Ross Island.

Named after the marine surveyor Sir Daniel Ross, the Island soon became the base. Initially, crude barracks of bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

 and grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 were put up for freedom fighters while the rest of the party stayed on board the ships that had brought them. Later, the freedom fighters built houses, offices, barracks and other structures at the Ross Island, after which they were promptly sent to Viper Island

Viper Island

Viper Island is near Port Blair in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India and was the site of the jail where the British used to imprison convicts and political prisoners. It has the ruins of a gallows atop a hillock...

, where the first jail was built. The bungalow, meant for the chief of the Penal Settlement, was constructed at the northern summit of the Island. Called Government House, the large-gabled home had Italian tiled flooring on the ground level. Now, some remains of the flooring are there, of course in a decrepit condition.

In 1872, the post of Superintendent was elevated to the level of Chief Commissioner and Sir Donald Martin Stewart, who was at Ross Island for one year, was made the first Chief Commissioner. Stewart held the post from July 1872 to June 1875.

After Stewart, Ross Island saw 24 chief commissioners. But, it was during the tenure of Sir Charles Francis Waterfall that the Island's position as the seat of power collapsed.

Waterfall, who became the Chief Commissioner in 1938, was captured by the Japanese in March 1942 when the latter invaded the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during World War II. He was held as a prisoner of war and his deputy, Major Bird, was beheaded by the Japanese at a clock tower in Aberdeen, Port Blair.

Netaji hoists tri-color

The Government House became the residence of the Japanese admiral also for three years (from March 1942 to October 1945). It was during this period that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who took the help of Japanese in his fight against the British, stayed at the Island for a day in December 1943. Netaji also hoisted the national tri-color at the top of the Government House.

The Japanese too left their imprint on the island which stood in the form of bunkers. The bunkers were used as watch points to safeguard the Island from any foreign invasion.

After the War, the Island came back under the control of the British but they never went back to the Island.

When the quake struck

About nine months before the Japanese take-over of the entire set of islands, Ross Island experienced an earthquake, which caused many people to leave the Island.
Except for a brief time when the Japanese occupied, the abandonment of Ross Island as a result of the quake continued.

Indian naval post

In April 1979, the island was handed over to the Navy, which set up a small post, INS Jarawa, named after one of the indigenous tribes of the Andaman group of islands.

In December 1993, a museum was established. It was declared open by the then Lt. Governor Vakkom Purushothaman

Vakkom Purushothaman

-Early life:Shri Vakkom B. Purushothaman, veteran Congress leader and Advocate, was born at Vakkom, Thiruvanathapuram district, Kerala, India on April 12, 1928 as the son of Shri Bhanu Panicker and Smt. Bhavani. Beginning his political life as an active worker of students Congress in 1946, he...

. A small guesthouse has been put up for the Navy officers.

There are frequent boat services from Port Blair

Port Blair

Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

to Ross Island. The authorities charge entry fee of Rs. 20 for adults. No entry fee for children up to nine.