Passenger's 'Surreal' View From Plane Window Leaves Internet Speechless

Looking out of an airline window can result in some fantastic views, but one Indian passenger shared a "surreal" sight of the isolated North Sentinel Island—home to an uncontacted tribe—that left the internet stunned.

Reddit user DesiBwoy was flying from Port Blair, in the Bay of Bengal east of mainland India, to Kolkata in eastern India, when he caught a glimpse of the secluded island and took a photo.

The photo was taken in January this year, but DesiBwoy, originally from Delhi, decided to upload to it to the mildlyintersting Reddit group this month and it soon went viral. Since being shared on October 15, the post—which can be seen here—has received more than 33,700 upvotes and an estimated 1,900 comments.

"It was surreal to see it, we generally read about it on the internet and it almost seems like a mythical place that just exists somewhere," DesiBwoy told Newsweek. "Watching it in person kind of grounded me in the reality and made me realize that those are very real people there going on with their day-to-day lives."

North Sentinel Island is home to the indigenous Sentinelese people who have responded aggressively to visitors on the island. In 2018, a U.S. Christian missionary John Allen Chau, was killed by the Indigenous islanders.

Travel to North Sentinel Island is heavily restricted by the Indian government, which enforces a 3-mile exclusion zone in order to protect the native population against disease and exploitation.

DesiBwoy further shared his views on the Sentinelese and nearby island peoples, adding: "They have full right to their autonomy and on the way that they choose to live. It's worth pointing out that the rest of the Andamanese and Nicobarese tribes [of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal] deserve the same.

"They haven't been as lucky as the North Sentinelese when it comes to geographical isolation and have lost a lot due to colonization, displacement, and diseases introduced by people not native to the archipelago."

Newsweek has contacted Professor P.C. Joshi, former head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Delhi, in India, for comment via email.

Uncontacted Tribes Under Threat

The human rights organization Survival International, which campaigns for the rights of tribal peoples, said there are more than 100 uncontacted tribes around the world and described them as "the most vulnerable people on earth."

Survival International said there are cases where tribal peoples' lands are being stolen for cattle ranching, logging, oil drilling, and mining while missionaries and governments "attempt to forcibly make contact with them."

"As a result, whole populations are being wiped out by genocidal violence, and by diseases like flu and measles to which they have no immunity," Survival International added.

Online Reaction

The majority of people who commented on the Reddit post were curious about what the Sentinelese people think about the outside world.

Reddit user Alphagusta said: "I wonder what they think when they see the planes…it must be seen as an alien concept that people built these giant flying machines and that thousands of these machines are in the sky right now each carrying their island's entire population."

Grillsrgood added: "They gotta be at least aware of what we're capable of."

WittsandGrit posted: "The whole idea that a civilization exists on earth and we know next to nothing about them at this point is wild. They could have the secret of life on that island."