A mysterious community, virtually undisturbed by the events of history in the rest of the world, continues to live on an island in the Indian Ocean, as it has for nearly 60 000 years.
Anthropologist Richard Branson came upon the isolated civilization by accident, while he was conducting his research on the development of ancient cultures in Eastern India.
From the sky, the island that's about the size of Manhattan looks like an idyllic corner of heaven, with unbelievable beaches and thick forests, but tourists and fishermen don't dare set foot there because of the fearsome reputation of its inhabitants.
Anyone who decides to set foot on the island or even get close to it risks being attacked by the members of the tribe that inhabit it, tells Branson. The natives insist on having 0 contact with the outside world.
The rest of the world 1st heard about the islanders in 2006, when the tribe killed 2 men who had been fishing near their territory. But for those living on the nearby islands, the hostility of their neighbors is nothing new.
The region has been placed in the red zone for agricultural aircraft, since the islanders are notorious for their habit of shooting fire arrows at low-flying planes or helicopters on reconnaissance missions.
Located in the Bay of Bengal, the island is in theory part of India but in reality the government has no control over it. What is known is that it's been inhabited for at least 60 000 years. The island's official name is North Sentinel Island.
Untouched by modern civilization, we know very little about the Sentinelese, their language or their rituals. This is all due to the great danger posed by any attempt at contacting them.
They have rarely been photographed up close and almost never videotaped. The majority of photographs and video that exist are low quality.
Experts believe that the Sentinelese are the only still-living representatives of the indigenous population of India, which gradually disappeared and merged with the coming Aryans in the rest of the subcontinent.
