Amini
Encyclopedia
Amini is a census town
in the Union Territory
of Lakshadweep
, India
. It is also the name of the island where the town stands and of the atoll
that contains that island.
Amini Island was one of the first islands in the archipelago to be inhabited. The artisans on this island are known for making walking sticks out of coconut
shells and tortoise
shells as well as carved stone and coral
motifs.
Amini Island, the most important of the Amindivi Islands, is oval
, with the long axis oriented northeast-southwest. It is 2.9 km long and up to 1.2 km wide, yielding a land area of 2.59 km². It is fringed by a reef 0.3 to 0.6 km wide.
Atoll), which is located at the opposite southwestern extremity of the bank. Pitti Bank, also oriented along a northeast-southwest axis, is 49 km long, in the northern part from 2 to 7 km wide and in the southern part up to 18 km wide. Pitti Bank may be considered a largely submerged and sunken atoll, with an estimated lagoon
area officially given as 155.09 km² (but apparently at least double that amount), with just the two islands Amini and Pitti remaining at its opposite ends. Kadmat island, although just 5 km northeast of Amini Island, is separated from it by a deep channel and thus forms a separate geographical unit.
, the town of Amini had a population of 7,340. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Amini has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 55% of the males and 45% of females literate. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Census town
In India, a census town is one which has:# A minimum population of 5,000# At least 75% of male working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits# A density of population of at least 400 persons per km2.In Ireland, a census town is;...
in the Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is also the name of the island where the town stands and of the atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
that contains that island.
The island
The island has a post office and a hospital. The channel between Amini Island and Cardamom Island is safe and deep, but depths of less than 10 meters project 0.5 mile south from the south tip of the reefs surrounding Cardamom Island. Amini Island Light is shown on the south point of the island. The village is in the middle of the west side of the Island. A raised stone platform, with steps leading to the beach, is in front of the village.Amini Island was one of the first islands in the archipelago to be inhabited. The artisans on this island are known for making walking sticks out of coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
shells and tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
shells as well as carved stone and coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
motifs.
Amini Island, the most important of the Amindivi Islands, is oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
, with the long axis oriented northeast-southwest. It is 2.9 km long and up to 1.2 km wide, yielding a land area of 2.59 km². It is fringed by a reef 0.3 to 0.6 km wide.
Pitti Bank
Amini Island lies at the northeastern extremity of Pitti Bank, 42 km from small, uninhabited Pitti Island (not to be confused with Pitti Islet of KalpeniKalpeni
Kalpeni is an inhabited island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It lies 71 km south of Androth and 201 km to the NNE of Minicoy, with the broad Nine Degree Channel between them...
Atoll), which is located at the opposite southwestern extremity of the bank. Pitti Bank, also oriented along a northeast-southwest axis, is 49 km long, in the northern part from 2 to 7 km wide and in the southern part up to 18 km wide. Pitti Bank may be considered a largely submerged and sunken atoll, with an estimated lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
area officially given as 155.09 km² (but apparently at least double that amount), with just the two islands Amini and Pitti remaining at its opposite ends. Kadmat island, although just 5 km northeast of Amini Island, is separated from it by a deep channel and thus forms a separate geographical unit.
The town
The village (census town) of Amini is located in the middle of the west coast. A raised stone platform, with steps leading to the beach, is in front of the village. As of the 2001 India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the town of Amini had a population of 7,340. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Amini has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 55% of the males and 45% of females literate. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.