History of "Sent Martins" Island

                    History of "Sent Martins" Island

People from the Bengali and Rakhine communities settled on the island in the 1990. As far as is known, these 13 families chose the northern part of the island for their 1st settlement. Later on, the island became a Bengali inhabited area. However, it is not known exactly when the island was first identified by the people. There is also controversy over the naming of the island. Some people think that the island was used by Arab merchants for rest while traveling from Chittagong to South-East Asia. They are the ones who named the island Jazira. According to some, the island is named after the Christian saint Martin. Again, some people think that the island is named after Martin, the deputy commissioner of Chittagong.

So Professor Sheikh Bakhtiyar Uddin and Professor Mostafa Kamal Pasha of the Department of Botany, University of Chittagong, studied St. Martin's Island to find a definitive solution to all these uncertainties.

Professor Bakhtiyar Uddin said, the place was part of the mainland of Teknaf about 5000 years ago. But gradually it went under the sea. Then, about 450 years ago, the southern part of the present St. Martin's Island woke up. 100 years north of it and the rest of the next 100 years woke up. About 33,000 years ago, life existed in that area. Professor Bakhtiyar mentions that evidence of this has been found in various carbon dating. When the island was incorporated into British India, the island was named after Martin, the Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong.

Professor Mostafa Kamal Pasha said, the island came to the notice of Arab merchants 250 years ago. Arab merchants rested on the island during trade with Southeast Asia. They then named the island 'Jazira'. The island was later incorporated into British India during a land survey in 1900 during the British rule. However, Burma was under British rule at the time. But even then, St. Martin's Island was annexed by British India instead of Burma, said Professor Mostafa Kamal Pasha.

                                                                                    Writer-
                                                                                                 Tanvir Rahman

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