Cellular Jail
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| Cellular Jail | |
 Cellular Jail, Andaman |
|
| Building Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cellular Jail |
| Location | Port Blair, Andaman |
| Country | India |
| Architect | |
| Client | British Government |
| Construction Start Date | 1896 |
| Completion Date | 1906 |
| Cost | Rs. 517,352[1] |
| Style | Cellular, Pronged |
The Cellular Jail (also known as Kālā Pānī, literally 'Black water', a term for the deep sea and hence exile) situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) was completed in 1906. The prison was known to house many notable Indian activists during the struggle for India's independence.
Contents |
[edit] History
Though the actual prison was started only in 1896, the history of using the Andaman island as a prison dates back to the Indian rebellion of 1857.
Shortly after the rebellion was crushed, 200 Sepoy Mutineers were transported to the islands under the custody of Major James Pattison Walker. More prisoners arrived from India and Burma as the settlement grew.[2]
The remote islands were a suitable place to punish the mutineers. Not only were they isolated from the mainland, they would also serve to colonise the island for the British.
The independence movement had picked up momentum by the late 19th century. As a result, the number of prisoners being sent to Andamans started growing and a need for a high-security prison was felt.
[edit] Architecture
The construction of the prison started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The original building was a puce-colored brick building. The bricks used to build the building were brought from Burma, known today as Myanmar.
The building had seven wings at the centre of which, a central tower served as the fulcrum and was used by guards to keep watch on the inmates. The wings forked out of the tower in straight lines, much like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. A large bell was kept in the tower to raise an alarm in any eventuality.
Each of the seven wings had three stories upon completion. There were no dormitories and a total of 698 cells. Each cell was 4.5 metres x 2.7 metres in size with a ventilator located at a height of three metres.[3] The name, cellular jail, was derived due to this solitary formation of the cells that prevented any prisoner from communicating with each other.[4]
[edit] Inmates
The need for a solitary confinement arose as political prisoners and revolutionaries were required to be isolated from the populace. The Andaman island served as the ideal setting for this.
Most prisoners of the Cellular Jail were independence activists. Some famous inmates of the Cellular Jail were Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Bhai Parmanand, Sohan Singh, Vaman Rao Joshi and Nand Gopal. This resource may be referred to for a more comprehensive list.
After intervention by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore and hunger strikes by the inmates, the government decided to repatriate the political prisoners from the Cellular Jail in 1937-38.[1]
[edit] Japanese Occupation
The Empire of Japan invaded the Andaman islands in 1942 and drove the British out. The Cellular Jail now became home to British prisoners and those who sided with the British. During this period, Subhash Chandra Bose also visited the islands.
Two out of the seven wings of the Jail were demolished during the Japanese regime.
In 1945, the British reoccupied the islands after World War II ended.
[edit] Post Independence
Another two wings of the Jail were demolished after India achieved independence. This was however protested by several erstwhile prisoners and political leaders. The remaining three wings and the central tower were thus converted into a National Memorial in 1969.
The Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital was set up in the premises of the Cellular Jail in 1963. It is now a 500 bedded hospital with about 40 doctors serving the local population.[5]
Along with other parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Cellular Jail was also heavily damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. [6]
The Centenary celebrations of the Jail were held on 10 March 2006 where many erstwhile prisoners were felicitated by the Government of India.[7]
[edit] Trivia
Malayalm film Kaalapani was shot in cellular jail which told the story of indian freedom fighters who were kept in the prison.
[edit] See also
- Charles Tegart, British police commissioner
- Communist Consolidation
[edit] References
- ^ a b Article on Hinduonnet.com. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
- ^ Andaman Govt. website. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
- ^ MapsofIndia.com. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
- ^ India Govt. website. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
- ^ G B Pant Hospital on isro.org. Retrieved on September 3, 2006.
- ^ Article on rediff.com about the damage caused by Tsunami. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
- ^ Centenary celebrations described on the official website of Andaman Govt.. Retrieved on September 2, 2006.
