Cellular Jail

Recently i came across a article in Wikipedia,its about the Cellular Jail situated in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.It gave some new interesting and new informations about the place and its Inmates.Here are the few informations which i read some more info.

The Cellular Jail also known as Kaala paani, literally 'Black water', a term for the deep sea and hence exile situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The prison was known to house many notable Indian activists during the struggle for India's independence.As a rememberance of this place,a movie has been created in the same name "Kaala paani",Acted by notable Malayalam actor "MohanLal" portrayed as doctor who has been sent to that place for supporting Indian worker getting assualted from his British employer.

The prison construction is started in 1896 and was completed in 1906.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.

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.

This jail later taken by "Empire of Japan" during the world war II in 1942.During that period "Subash Chandra Bose" Also visited that place. Two out of the seven wings of the Jail were demolished during the Japanese regime.But again In 1945, the British reoccupied the islands after World War II ended.

After independence another two wings of jail were demolished.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.


Raja A.S.
3-Sep-06


-- Courtesy Wikipedia