Minicoy Island
| Native name: Maliku | |
|---|---|
 Minicoy
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| Geography | |
| Location | Arabian Sea |
| Coordinates | 8°16′30″N 73°03′00″E / 8.275°N 73.05°ECoordinates: 8°16′30″N 73°03′00″E / 8.275°N 73.05°E |
| Archipelago | Lakshadweep |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Indian Ocean |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Major islands |
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| Area | 4.801 km2 (1.854 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Territory | Union territory of Lakshadweep |
| District | Lakshadweep |
| Island group | Minicoy Islands |
| Tehsils of India | Minicoy Tehsil |
| Subdivisions of India | Minicoy Ward |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | Malayali |
| Population | 10700 (2014) |
| Pop. density | 2,229 /km2 (5,773 /sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Malayali, Mahls |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| PIN | 682559 |
| Telephone code | 0489x |
| Official website | www |
| ISO Code | IN-LD-09 |
| Literacy | 84.4% |
| Avg. summer temperature | 32.0 °C (89.6 °F) |
| Avg. winter temperature | 28.0 °C (82.4 °F) |
| Sex ratio | ♂/♀ |
| unit_pref | Metric |
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (Dhivehi: މަލިކު [məliku]; Malayalam: മലിക്കു) is the southernmost atoll of the archipelago of Lakshadweep, India. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep.
The ancient name of Maliku (Minicoy) was Mahiladū, mahila (women) + dū (island) meaning women's island. However, now Minicoy is called Maliku in the local language. The name Maliku is thought to have been derived from the Arab trader's term for the island, Jazirat al-Maliku ('the island of the king'). Since it was the ancient capital of Lakshadweep.
Minicoy islanders have long settled in the Nicobar Islands across the Bay of Bengal. These settlers regularly travelled back to Minicoy. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands had a reputation in the Maldives and Minicoy of being inhabited by cannibals, and so collectively the Andaman and Nicobar groups were called "Minikaa-raajje" by Maldive and Minicoy islanders. This meant "cannibal kingdom".
A British official once asked a Minicoy islander what the name of his island was. The islander told the official that he was from Maliku but usually lived in "Minikaa-raajje" (Nicobar). The official thought Maliku and Minikaa were the same place and recorded the name of this islander's home as "Minikaa". This later became anglicised as Minicoy.
Little did this islander know that as a result of this cross-cultural exchange, his home would forever be called by a name that sounded like "cannibal" in his own language.
Minicoy is the second largest and the southernmost among the islands of the Lakshadweep archipelago. It is located 201 km to the SSW of Kalpeni, at the southern end of the Nine Degree Channel and 125 km to the north of Thuraakunu, Maldives, at the northern end of the Eight Degree Channel. The atoll is 10 km in length, having a maximum breadth of about 6 km. The closest geographic feature is the Investigator Bank, a submerged shoal located 31 km to the northeast.
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Wikipedia