Triloknath Pandit

Triloknath Pandit
Born	1935 (age 89–90) Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, British India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	T.N. Pandit
Alma mater	Delhi University (MS)
Occupation	Anthropologist
Known for	North Sentinel Island survey

Triloknath Pandit (born 1935) is an Indian anthropologist. He was the first professional anthropologist to land on North Sentinel Island in 1967, leading to the first friendly contact with the Sentinelese on 4 January 1991.

Early life and education

Pandit was born in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, British India, in 1935 ^[1] into a Kashmiri Pandit family. ^[2] His father was a professor at the University of Kashmir. ^[3] He studied science at the University of Kashmir and earned a Master of Science degree in Anthropology at the University of Delhi. ^[4]

Carrer

In 1967, Pandit was given the task to lead an expedition to North Sentinel Island by the governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ^[5] The expeditions were initially hostile as the Sentinelese hid in the jungle and shot arrows at him and his crew on later trips. ^[6] For 24 years, Pandit and his team brought a variety of gifts and offerings that eventually led to the first friendly contact in 1991. He was head of the Andaman & Nicobar Regional Centre of the Anthropological Survey of India. ^[7]

Works

• Pandit, T. N. (1985). The Tribal and Non-Tribal in Andaman Islands: A historical perspective. Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society 20:111-131.
• Pandit, T. N. (1990). The Sentinelese . Kolkata: Seagull Books.
• Pandit, T. N. & Chattopadhyay, M. (1989). Meeting the Sentinel Islanders: The Least Known of the Andaman Hunter-Gatherers. Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society 24:169-178.