First: The Shompen tribe casts ballots in the Andaman Islands

Seven members of the Shompen tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) of the Great Nicobar Islands, exercised their right to vote on Friday for the single LS seat in the Union Territory for the first time in the history of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to reports.

Members of the Shompen tribe not only used polling station 411, also known as “Shompen Hut,” which is housed within the forest staff quarters, to exercise their right to vote, but they also took pictures at a specially crafted cutout with the words “I vote for sure” by the Election Commission of India. A young Nicobari tribe member named “Mathiyas” served as an interpreter for the Shompen in their native tongue.

“This is the first time a total of seven members of the Shompen tribe exercised their right to vote,” Chief Electoral Officer B S Jaglan said. We previously sent a trainer to teach them about EVMs and VVPATs. It’s encouraging to see that they emerged from the jungle and cast their first ballot.