FREEDOM IS NEVER FREE

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Over the years, I have learned that 'Freedom is never free.' Freedom costs us more than just sweat and blood or whatever we are forced to give.  It costs us the lives of our fathers, our sisters and brothers and many more. But while freedom is never free, we have to remember that, it has been bought at a great price and with it comes to great responsibility. As I stepped inside the great yet notorious cellular jail, a chill gone down my spine. And soon I realized that what actually freedom means. The twilight hush, the lazy evening sky, and a retiring sun may set our mind free but the boundary wall won’t let you go too far. As if, I am a kite but my movement is maneuvered by the invisible kite man. Though there were many visitors still I felt alone. The corridors, now echoing with the juvenile chirps of the young ones. But the silent screams of our brave heroes could be heard. 

Amar Jyoti: The Eternal Flame

Memorial to honor the first World War Indian soldiers and the Freedom Fighters

Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, stands as a dark reminiscence of the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. This most dreaded and grueling colonial prison situated in the remote archipelago was used by the British particularly to exile Indian political prisoners. Isolated from the mainland, this jail, also referred to as Kala Pani (where Kala means death or time and Pani means water in Sanskrit) witnessed the most atrocious punishments imposed on prisoners. India’s struggle for independence saw imminent freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar being incarcerated in this jail. The jail, completed in the year 1906 acquired the name ‘Cellular’ because it is entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement. It originally was a seven prolonged, puce-colored building with central tower acting as its fulcrum and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors. The central tower had a large bell for raising alarm and also during someone going in gallows. The building was subsequently damaged and presently three out of the seven prongs are intact. The Jail, now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom-loving people, has been declared a National Memorial. The jail museum here draws your memories back to those years of freedom struggle.

The path to History

The Tower

Those ropes and....

It was my fourth visit to the jail, yet every time I feel, there are more stories to come out, need to be told. But, who will tell us? The inmates had been killed or might had been silenced by the stroke of time. Only this mute spectator, the Jail, standing along with the Peepal tree, and without uttering a single word telling a lot that mere words can describe. Tears were rolling down the cheeks, grief and sadness engulphed my heart. I was eagerly showing my kids every corner of the cells and corridors and telling the stories I have heard earlier.

Our past laid behind this lock...

So many stories...

The chair of notorious General Barry

Oil machine for coconut oil.....
But in place of a bull, our freedom fighters were made to do the bull work

The freedom fighters in hundreds were sent to the island where they remained under the custody of jailer David Barry and military doctor Major James Pattison Walker. Notable freedom fighters confined in the jail included Batukeshwar Dutt, Diwan Singh Kalepani, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, and the Savarkar brothers - Babarao Savarkar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar among others. Being in solitary confinement the Savarkar brothers were unaware of each other’s presence in the same jail for two years. Many freedom fighters in the jail went through inhuman and unimaginable tortures, the very thought of which brings chills down the spines. The jail drew attention when its inmates observed hunger strikes in the early 1930s. Bhagat Singh’s associate in the freedom movement, Mahavir Singh went on a hunger strike in protest of such cruel treatment but died when authorities tried to feed him milk forcibly which went to his lungs. His body was thrown into the sea. In 1937-38 following intervention by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore the government decided on repatriating the freedom fighters.

From the Roof

My kids were pretty shaken seeing the rough clothes meant for the prisoners and the torture tools used by General Barry. But they should know that the freedom they are enjoying didn't come easy. They are standing on the sweat, blood, and flesh of our freedom fighters. The road was never easy, it wasn't meant to be.

Some quick note on Cellular Jail:

When was it built: From 1896 to 1906

Who built it: British

Time took: 10 years

Where is it located: Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Why was it built: As Solitary Confinement

Architectural Style: Cellular, Pronged

Visit Timing: 9.00 am to 12.30 pm, 1.30 pm to 4.45 pm

How to Reach: Port Blair is well-connected with many cities of mainland India by sea and air.

Light & Sound Show

It regularly holds Light & Sound (Son-et-Lumiere) shows on India’s freedom struggle in Hindi and English excepting on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The price of a ticket for The light and sound show is Rs. 50/- per adult. (rates may be revised)

P.S. I have visited the place in 2019, 2009, 1993, 1992

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@anindita