CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: For a moment, we were all in shock and silence. For the next two hours, no one in our group spoke; we were not in a state to talk. I am talking about the Cellular Jail in Andaman, which was once a symbol of British oppression and is now a national monument dedicated to the epic of India’s freedom struggle. Every brick of this prison stands as a witness, and every wall has stories to tell. I had the opportunity to visit this pilgrimage site during a national workshop along with Pramod Kumar Purohit, Prof. C.C. Tripathi, and Vandana Tripathi.
Along with Director C.C. Tripathi and Vandana Tripathi, we listened to stories about the freedom fighters and Veer Savarkar as we toured this infamous “Kala Pani” prison. Veer Savarkar composed the epics ‘Kamala’ and ‘Gomantak’ while imprisoned here. Entering his solitary cell and bowing in respect, I felt as if I was offering a small part of my patriotism.
The guide said, “Tears in the eyes and the water of the sea, the stories of these heroes run deep, and people often prefer to watch from a distance.” The Cellular Jail, famously known as “Kala Pani,” is located on the islands of Andaman, surrounded by the sea, symbolizing the mental and physical isolation for the prisoners. Visiting such a place that shakes your soul, stirs your emotions, raises goosebumps, and fills you with a renewed sense of patriotism is necessary to transfer the legacy of these martyrs to the new generation. The structure of the jail and the conditions there narrate the story of the countless brave revolutionaries who were martyred and struggled here.
According to scholars, the word “Andaman” is believed to be related to “Hanuman.” It is thought that the word entered the Malay language from Sanskrit and then became known as “Andaman.”
After the First War of Independence in 1857, the British decided to capture the islands and develop them as colonies to punish the freedom fighters. The British selected the Andaman Islands, isolated and impossible to escape from, for their penal colony. The harsh climate and extreme conditions posed another challenge for the prisoners. Another reason for choosing this place was the belief that crossing the sea would cause prisoners, mostly Brahmins and Kshatriyas, to lose their caste, which was highly valuable to every Indian.
The difficult environment, brutality, and the 1,200 kilometers of sea were enough to trap them in a natural prison. The penal colony began on March 10, 1858, with the arrival of the first group of 200 freedom fighters to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. All of them were patriots who had escaped death sentences in Burma and India, and were sentenced to long-term or life imprisonment in the Andaman penal colony. To make this punishment even harsher, the construction of the Cellular Jail began in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The construction work was carried out by Indian laborers and political prisoners.
How terrifying it must have been to work with the knowledge that they were building a prison for themselves. They had to work in unbearable conditions, and many died during construction. The massive three-story structure, shaped like a starfish, had seven wings extending from a central watchtower, which was a standard design for most British prisons, capable of housing 698 inmates in solitary confinement.
Freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was sent to Andaman in 1911 to serve a 50-year sentence, wrote in Marathi about his experiences in the Cellular Jail, describing the tortures and punishments he endured as a political prisoner. The conditions for prisoners in the Cellular Jail were extremely inhumane. They were chained and locked in small cells with little air and light. Prisoners were forced to perform hard labor, such as extracting oil from coconut fibers, cutting wood, operating mills, and other tasks. If they failed to work, they were whipped and hanged. No prisoner was kept in the same cell for long to prevent them from planning any collective action. If caught, they were publicly punished or executed, with some days witnessing the hanging of three prisoners at a time.
On the other hand, their struggle was not understood by some of their own countrymen, who had become puppets in the hands of the British. Witnessing their fellow prisoners die and break down every day while hearing the sounds of music and merriment from Ross Island must have deeply affected their mental state. Ross Island, now known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, was referred to as the “Paris of the East” by the British. Its grand buildings, beautiful gardens, clubs, churches, and luxurious lifestyle for the officials were clear evidence of the comfortable world they lived in.
For the British officers, this place was a haven where they celebrated every joy in life. But just two kilometers away, in the Cellular Jail, Indian freedom fighters were enduring unbearable torture for their country. Perhaps the greatest torture for those freedom fighters was the fact that while they fought to free the country from British rule, some people back home were serving the British, even participating in the tortures inflicted by them. This must have shaken their souls. Despite the mental and physical torment suffered by the freedom fighters in the Cellular Jail, they never wavered from their mission. Their indomitable courage and struggle form the foundation of our country’s freedom today. Salute to these martyrs.
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