Kiltan or Kilthān Island is a
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
island belonging to the
Amindivi Subgroup of islands of the
Union Territory
Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...
of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
It is at a distance of 291 km away from
Kannur, 303 km away from
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
, and west of the city of
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
.
The nearest mainland body is
Cannanore and the nearest port is
Mangalore
Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...
.
History
Kiltan is settled during early periods of common immigration to the
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Amindivi Islands in the north, the Laccadive Islands (separated from Amindivi roughly by the 11th parallel north), and th ...
islands. The island was part of an international trade route between the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
Kiltan is the home of the Sufi saint Shaikh Ahmed Naqshabanthi.
Geography
Kiltan is one of the populated islands of Lakshadweep. It is located 51 km to the northeast of
Amini Island
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.
It lies west of the city of Kochi.
History
Amini Island was one of t ...
and 32 km to the southeast of
Chetlat Island, between 11° 28′ and 11° 30′ N latitude and 72° 59′ and 73° 01′ E longitude, and has an area of 2.20 km
2. The reef and lagoon (total area of ) are located to the west of the island and the dry land has 3.4 km length and 0.6 km width at the broadest point. On the northern and southern ends of the island, there are high storm beaches. This island is 291 km away from
Kannur, 303 km away from
Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
, and 394 km (213 nautical miles) away from
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
. Its lagoon area is 1.76 km
2.
Kiltan island also has crossed by
73rd meridian east through its landmark known as
Kulikkara is a tomb of a Lady venerated by natives.
Economics
Historically, the primary source of income on the island was fishing and coconut production. However, in recent times, the island's residents have diversified their livelihoods, venturing into various fields, including government positions (in education, police, communication, transportation, business, and IT) and private employment opportunities like construction (building and road development), plumbing, and electrical work.
Demographics
The population in Kiltan was 3945 as per census 2011. Most people from Kiltan, as in Amini and
Kadmat, belonged to the Koya, Mali and Melacheri families.
[R. H. Ellis, ''A short account of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy'', AES reprint 1992]
The language spoken is
Jeseri, a mixture of
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
and
Tamil influenced by
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
as in other islands. But the peoples don't use its script because its writing was stopped too earlier period. Kiltan has rich folk cultures and warm hospitality to its tradition.
The Island has a 41-metre lighthouse and an average Heliport t used by Administration for Emergency medical services.
In the past, Kiltan was nicknamed as
Cheriyaponnani meaning Little
Ponnani
Ponnani () is a Nagar Palika (Municipality), municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the est ...
because of the Islanders acquired knowledge from here during the pre-colonial periods in relative that the Ponnani was known for centre of Islamic Religious knowledge in
Southern India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
.
Administration
The island has a Sub Divisional Officer appointing by administration from
Kavaratti the Union capital of Lakshadweep commanding as executive and judicial head of islands. The Police station of Kiltan have dozens of constables and marines under a sub-inspector. Also there have a base camp for IRBN (
India Reserve Bettalion) for duties such as safeguarding of Treasury and use as additional force with police in case of an emergency.
Image gallery
File:20150107 Kiltan seen from south.jpg, Kiltan island seen from southern extreme point of reef also here is a small channel named Mooni
File:Lakshadweep.jpg, Satellite picture showing the atolls of the Lakshadweep except for Minicoy
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on Maliku atoll, the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian States and territories ...
File:Map of Lakshadweep-en.svg, Map
File:Kiltan jetty.jpg, Kiltan jetty
File:20150107 Kiltan seen from south.jpg, Kiltan island seen from southern extreme point of reef also here is a small channel named Mooni
File:IMG-20181007-WA0025.jpg, An evening from Cocafulluckyar Kiltan Island
References
External links
Lagoon sizes*
List of AtollsAn ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep archipelagoSources towards a history of the Laccadive Islands{{Lakshadweep
Islands of Lakshadweep
Atolls of India
Cities and towns in Lakshadweep district
Islands of India
Populated places in India