Isolation as resistance: reimagining post-colonial identity through the Sentinelese tribe

Identity is an integral part of human being’s existence. It gives a vivid picture of how individuals and communities perceive themselves and the world around them. This research paper aims to explore the relationship between identity and existence through the lens of the Sentinelese people, an indigenous group living on North Sentinel Island. The tribe represents a unique assertion of cultural autonomy by preserving a way of life and social identity that contrasts with modern society. It further underscores how self-imposed isolation plays a vital role in shaping the identity of the tribe and contrasts with traditional frameworks of identity formation. This research aims to bring to fore the tribe’s unique perspective of how identity is formed without hybridization or through external encounters. It also takes into account this tribe’s deliberate isolation and conscious choice to preserve cultural purity and autonomy by resisting the pressures of globalization and post-colonial cultural imposition. In doing so, the tribe defines ‘self’, its existence independently of the external factors discussed in the anthropological theories.