Editing Andaman and Nicobar Islands (section)

===World War II===
{{further|Japanese occupation of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands}}
[[File:The British Occupation of the Nicobar Islands, 1945 SE5438.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Surrender of the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] to Lt.Col. [[Nathu Singh Rathore|Nathu Singh]], commander of the [[Rajput Regiment]], in 1945]]
During the [[Second World War]], the islands were invaded by the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] as a part of their attack on the [[Allies of World War II|allies]] in 1942. Port Blair was captured by the Japanese on 23 March 1942 and established control over the island.<ref name="Klemen">{{cite web |first=Klemen |last=L |url=https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/andaman.html |title=The capture of Andaman Islands, March 1942 |date=1999–2000 |work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726181150/https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/andaman.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The provisional control was passed on to the [[Azad Hind]] of [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] on 29 December 1943, based on the understanding with the Japanese with the islands renamed as ''Shaheed-Dweep'' (Martyr Island) and ''Swaraj-dweep'' (Self-rule Island).<ref name="Japan">{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/the-forgotten-story-of-the-japanese-ruling-over-a-part-of-india-8887379/ |title=The forgotten story of the Japanese ruling over (a part of) India |newspaper=Indian Express |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref> Bose appointed General [[A. D. Loganathan]] as the governor of the islands, who had limited power while the real control of the islands remained with the Japanese.<ref name="Japan"/> In the years under Japanese occupation, there have been reports of widespread [[looting]], arson, rape and [[Extrajudicial killing|extra judicial killings]].<ref name="Japan"/><ref name="Red"/>

Local people were often killed on trivial matters with the largest being the [[Homfreyganj massacre]] on 30 January 1944, where 44 local civilians were shot by the Japanese on suspicion of spying.<ref name="Red">{{cite book |title=Japanese in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Red Sun over black Water |first=Jayant |last=Dasgupta |pages=67, 87, 91–95 |isbn=978-8-170-49138-5 |year=2002 |publisher=Manas Publications}}</ref> Japanese Vice Admiral Teizo Hara and Major-General Tamenori Sato surrendered to [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Nathu Singh Rathore|Nathu Singh]], the commanding officer of the [[Rajput Regiment]] on 15 August 1945, on board the [[Royal Navy]] ship [[HMS Rocksand (F184)|HMS ''Rocksand'']] and the territory was officially handed back over to the British to Brigadier J. A. Salomons, commander of [[116th Indian Infantry Brigade]], and Chief Administrator Noel Patterson, in a ceremony performed at the Gymkhana Ground in Port Blair on 7 October 1945.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Rise and Fall of Imperial Japan |first=Stephen |last=Wynn |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-473-86551-8 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books Limited |page=124}}</ref>

Approximately 2,000 people in the Andamans are thought to have died as a result of the occupation, and at least 501 were tortured by the Japanese. The former figure represents 10% of the pre-war population of Port Blair.<ref>Dasgupta ''Red Sun over Black Water''  pp. 101, 131, 133; Mathur ''Kala Pani'' pp. 254–55</ref>