Cellular Jail’s Dark Past – The Forgotten Heroes

By Meera

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Amidst the cool breeze wafting from the Andaman Sea, we entered the historic site of the Cellular Jail – once derogatorily known as Kalapani (black waters). And, as we traversed cell after cell, it was impossible to not feel its dark past – The walls of this structure still seemed to hold the shrieks and moans of freedom fighters who were tortured and condemned to death inside this historic monument.

We quietly walked the dark cells & corridors from one end to the other. The silent, dark walls spoke of unspeakable horrors committed by the colonial British on freedom fighters with the start of India's War of Independence in 1857. It was nothing short of barbaric and the stories are so heart wrenching that it is difficult to be unaffected after a visit here. 

Presently, refurbished with detailed info, the cellular jail's painful history (built in different stages and levels) has been chronicled in a museum, very extensively with models, pictures, documents & of course, the light & sound show in the evening that attracts a lot of visitors. 

The model of the cellular jail is displayed in one corner which shows how it was the most protected site and escape route for the freedom fighters was impossible as it is bounded by the Andaman Sea on all sides.

The cellular jail took form in 1896 and was completed in 1906. Since the Colonial British were not satisfied with the Penal Colony islands here, they came out with this kind of penal settlement that was inhumane in every way. 

To make the Cellular Jail more severe and harsher, solitary cells were added it therefore has 698 solitary cells. So, one can only imagine the plight of 1000s of prisoners who were secluded without a hearing or any justice for decades. 

The well-maintained brick colored Cellular Jail has three floors with seven wings. In fact, each wing radiates in a different direction from the central tower. Dark & eerie, it still seems to hold the heavy negative energy from the countless tortured souls. It is such a difficult feeling to shake off, that I can still feel it as I am writing about it in this moment. 

Honaji was one of the five known soldiers of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi who were all brought to the Andaman Penal Settlement as convicts in 1858. He was sentenced for transportation for life imprisonment in Andamans. The other four soldiers were Itu Patel, Lalai, Sadashiv Narayan Parulkar and Devi Prasad. 

In the Andaman Islands, these freedom fighters were forced to work in inhuman works such as swamp filling, forest clearing, earth cutting and other miscellaneous tasks to eventually get a Free Ticket. However, few could survive the hunger, disease, torture and the gallows.

One can still see and feel how freedom fighters were treated inhumanely by the colonial British. This is especially evident in the the oil grinding sites where prisoners were chained, forced to grind oilseeds. If they were unable to finish their quota of work, they were beaten & tortured till they were total wrecks. The oil mill site is a stark reminder of an imperialist force.

Scanty food, polluted water, sea water for bathing and always being chained resulted in unbearable pain & deaths of the prison inmates. Freedom fighters were also executed almost daily and hence cremation was very common.

In addition to this, many a freedom fighter & other prisoners also committed suicide as they were unable to bear the torture and unlivable conditions.


More in part II.