Cellular Jail of Andaman : Kala Pani

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Cellular Jail is what many know as 'Kala Pani' in India. The word means 'black water'. It was a dreaded word of its time and was synonymous to exile in deep sea. KalaPani or Cellular Jail is located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This jail was made by the British in 1906 to captivate Indian activist and keep them far away from the reach of other freedom fighters.

Its name is due to its' solitary cells which prevented any prisoner from communicating with each other.

British used to send prisoners to then deserted Andaman island since 1857. The construction of the jail was started in 1896. It got completed in 1906. Many popular activists were sent to kala pani for a life term sentence. The government found the islands suitable for the prisoners as they were distant from the mainland. The prison inmates were used to construct the buildings and other facilities of the prison. Many died a painful death in the jail under pressure and strict rule of the british forces.

Architecture of Cellular Jail

The jail took 10 years to complete. It had seven wings and a central watch tower. The wings were consturcted in such a way that it resembled bicycle spokes. There is a large bell in the central tower to raise an alarm. Every wing had three floors. There were a total of 698 cells in the jail with each measuring 4.5m x 2.7m. Each cell had a small window as a ventilator. The conditions of the cells were made to be dark and depressing for the prisoners.

Prisoners

The inmates of cellular jail were mostly freedom fighter and social activists. Some of the famous jailed activists were Allama Fazal Haque Khairabadi ( who died in prison ), Vinayak Damodar Sawrakar, Vaman Rao Joshi, Nand Gopal, and many others.

Japanese Invasions

Andaman was invaded by Japanese forces in the year 1942 and the britishers were driven out. The cellular jail then housed japanese prisoners. But in 1945, British reoccupied it from Japan during World War II. Two of the wings jail's wings were destroyed by the Japanese.

After-Independence

Another two wings of the jail were destroyed after the independence. After some protest from the former prisoners and political leaders, It was preserved as a National Memorial in year 1969.
Gobind Pant Hospital was constructed in the premises of Cellular Jail in 1963. It still serves local population with 500 bed and 40 doctors.

The jail got a yet another damage by Tsunami in 2004.

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