‘My name is John and Jesus loves you': What we know about Christian missionary killed by reclusive Andaman tribe

John Allen Chau, according to various reports and his own admission was a Christian evangelist who wanted to introduce the unknown Sentinelese tribe to Jeus. 

He wrote in his journal to his parents that he came in contact with them and said: “I hollered, 'My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you.” He had added: “You guys might think I'm crazy in all this but I think it's worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. God, I don't want to die."

He attempted to contact the locals by offering gifts including a small football, fishing line, scissors and a medical kit.  The police said: “During his attempts to befriend the tribals, he was shot with an arrow by an unknown person.”

An MHA source said that there is nothing to suggest that John Allen Chau was ‘involved in any evangelical activities'. 

A source said: “There is nothing to suggest that US national John Allen Chau suspected to be killed in Andaman and Nicobar islands by tribals was involved in any evangelical activities like converting them to Christianity. It seems he was an adventurist.”

Their population is around 100, and because of their reclusive nature, they have no immunity or illness. Because of the remote nature of the community, they also have no immunity to disease or illnesses. 

Four members were removed by a British group in 1880s. Two of the elderly individuals died, while the children were returned to the tribe.

The Sentinelese people are among the tribes that survived the tsunami of 2004 without any help from the outside world. For the 2011 Census, enumerators could locate only 15 Sentinelese people - 12 men and three women. However, their numbers could be anything between 40 and 400, according to experts.

P C Joshi, professor of Department of Anthropology at Delhi University, said the tribe has remained completely isolated from the outside world and despite efforts of the Anthropological Society of India which has tried to contact them indirectly by leaving bananas, coconuts for them, they have failed to make contact.

"We have tried but the tribe has not shown any interest. They are the most private of the tribes in the Andamans. They are aggressive and are known to attack outsiders with arrows and stones. I do not know what made this American visit the island, but this tribe has stayed in isolation for so long that I do not blame them for what they saw as an intrusion and a threat," said the professor.

In 2006, two Indian fishermen, who had moored their boat near North Sentinel to sleep after poaching in the waters around the island, were killed when their boat broke loose and drifted onto the shore. In a major step earlier this year, the government excluded this island and 28 others in the Union Territory from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime till December 31, 2022.

The lifting of RAP meant that foreigners could be allowed to visit these islands without permission from the government.

Joshi said it was a cause of concern that this island, where the Sentinelese have lived for hundreds of years with no outside contact was recently opened for visitors. "These people are not specimens for tourists to see. They are extremely vulnerable to diseases and any contact might lead to their extinction. We cannot expose them for a few dollars. We need to respect their choice," said Joshi.

His family wrote: “He was a beloved son, brother, uncle, and best friend to us. To others he was a Christian missionary, a wilderness EMT, an international soccer coach, and a mountaineer. He loved God, life, helping those in need, and he had nothing but love for the Sentinelese people."