India, Jan. 23 -- Members of the Tribal Council of Great Nicobar say the Andaman and Nicobar administration has asked them to give up claims to some of the villages in which they used to live before the 2004 tsunami -- a request they are not keen to accede to because the old villages are an integral part of their culture and heritage.

In a meeting with a few reporters, including Hindustan Times', in New Delhi on Thursday, the members referred to a January 7 meeting at Andaman Public Works Department Guest House in Campbell Bay with the UT's administration, which included officials from the deputy commissioner's office and the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), a registered society monitoring and overseeing the welfare and protect...