Of late much is happening with respect to the Cellular Jail or “Kala Pani” which once became synonymous with harsh and inhuman treatment, hard labour, torture and vile conditions endured by freedom fighters. The Cellular Jail at the Andamans, 1,200 km from the mainland, became a habitat of silent suffering during the colonial period. The British used it to exile those revolutionaries and freedom fighters they considered most dangerous for their regime. Despite extreme suffering, the prisoners’ resilience and unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom became stuff for legend that inspired generations to come.

In essence, the Jail represents the ultimate test of endurance and sacrifice for India’s independence, making it a deeply significant historical place. For quite some time, demands have been voiced both inside the Parliament and outside to give due honour and recognition to Bengali revolutionaries like Ullaskar Dutta, Hemchandra Das Kanungo and Barin Ghosh who were sent there for their anti-British activities. Keeping up the momentum, the Ullaskar Dutta Academy, a research group based in Kolkata, raised its voice for this long-standing demand, seeking immediate steps to name the cells at the Jail after the twelve revolutionaries of undivided Bengal who spent a lot of time there under harrowing circumstances. These revolutionaries were the first batch of political prisoners who were deported to the notorious prison following the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy trial.

It is to be noted that out of approximately 585 revolutionaries sent to the Cellular Jail between 1909 and 1938, close to 400 were from undivided Bengal. Previously, honour in the form of dedicated cells was given to two Indian bravehearts, namely Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Sachindranath Sanyal, but neither of them hailed from Bengal. With this demand, the Academy sent letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Culture Minister, the West Bengal Chief Minister and the Andaman and Nicobar administration so that recognition is given in the form of installing busts and naming cells after the 12 Bengali revolutionaries who gave their all for the independence of their motherland.

The Academy feels that recognition at Cellular Jail for this maiden batch of political prisoners from Bengal is a long-due tribute to their courage and sacrifice, as their glorious saga has been nearly wiped out from the pages of history. The Alipore Bomb Case (1908-1909), in which twelve Bengali freedom fighters were deported to “Kala Pani”, was a unique case. It was the first state trial of any magnitude in India. Also known as the Muraripukur or Manicktolla Bomb Conspiracy, it was a pivotal legal and political event of the Indian independence movement. The case arose in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on British magistrate Douglas Kingsford by young Bengali nationalists Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki.

This act led to the arrest of approximately 20 suspected Bengali revolutionaries from several hideouts. The trial dragged on with preliminary hearings in the Magistrate’s court, involving 1,000 pieces of evidence and 222 witnesses followed by a trial in the Sessions Court, involving 1,438 exhibits and 206 witnesses. Although Pramathanath Mitra, one of the founding members of the Anushilan Samiti, was appointed as the Defense Counsel, he was relieved of his duty by Aurobindo Ghosh and Chittaranjan Das was appointed in Mitra’s place. The final judgement was given by Judge Beachcroft on 6 May 1909 after a protracted trial of one year.

Aurobindo Ghosh who was considered the mastermind behind the conspiracy was later acquitted due to lack of evidence. Khudiram Bose was executed; Chaki committed suicide; and Barindra Ghosh, Ullaskar Dutta and 10 others were sent to the Cellular Jail. Of the twelve revolutionaries sent to the Andamans, the British authorities considered Barin Ghosh, Ullaskar Dutta and Hemchandra Das Kanungo the most dangerous. Ghosh was an ideologue and journalist credited with establishing bomb-making units and underground cells throughout the state.

was an expert in bomb-making who was tortured in such a barbaric way that he remained one of the most tragic cases of jail brutality at the Andamans. Hemchandra went to Paris to learn the techniques of assembling picric acid bombs from exiled Russian revolutionaries. The other nine lesser-known revolutionaries deported to Kala Pani in the Alipore Case were Abinash Chandra Bhattacharya, Upendranath Banerjee, Bibhuti Bhushan Sarkar, Indubhushan Roy, Paresh Chandra Moulik, Hrishikesh Kanjilal, Biren Chandra Sen, Sudhir Kumar Sarkar, and Nirapada Roy.

Designed in the shape of a huge starfish with seven massive tentacles-like wings spreading out from a central watch tower, the Cellular Jail housed seven three-storey wings of which only three remain now. The prison had 698 solitary cells and its high walls and long corridors tell us of the horrors inflicted upon the prisoners. The construction work of the jail began in 1896 and it took ten years and a staggering investment to complete the dreaded prison. It was to this jail that the British sent into exile those they considered the most dangerous for their rule in India. The revolutionaries in Cellular Jail were treated not as political prisoners, but as ‘seditionists’ or ‘anarchists’.

Inhuman and brutal torture was inflicted on them – ranging from backbreaking manual work, miserable living conditions and poor food, to the hurling of abuses and flogging. Many of the convicts were educated and came from respectable families, yet they were employed in the most excruciating tasks. One of the forced tasks was to beat the coconut shells several times with a wooden hammer until the fibres, used for certain fabrics, remained and became soft. Another gruelling job was the manual mill, where the prisoner had to turn a large wheel with his hands to grind coconuts or mustard seeds and produce thirty pounds of oil per day.

Those who failed to complete their assigned tasks were whipped mercilessly. There were times when prisoners went on hunger strikes in protest against the torture and hard labour forced on them. In response, the British officials decided on force-feeding. A doctor would insert a tube through the prisoner’s nose to reach his larynx and forced a mixture of milk, sugar and eggs into his stomach. Despite being stopped by guards, some coughed loudly to push the tube away. Some died of pneumonia when the milk entered their lungs. The dead bodies were then thrown into the sea after being put in bags with stones to prevent them from floating. The torture of jail authorities crossed all limits and any protest would be met with the severest of punishments. Many of the inmates committed suicide or died of this inhuman torture and humiliation.

Indu Bhushan Roy was one of them. Several memoirs or autobiographies of Cellular Jail convicts depicted the barbaric torture and agonizing routine in great detail out of which mention can be made of Barin Ghosh’s “The Tale of My Exile”; Upen Banerjee’s “Nirvasiter Atmakatha” (The Autobiography of an Exile); Ullaskar Dutta’s “Twelve Years of Prison Life” and Savarkar’s “Majhi Janep” (in Marathi). But many others in the jail had remained in anonymity, desertion and poverty. The harrowing torture by British jail keepers were also summed up by Colonel Wedgewood, a member of the British parliament in an article in the Daily Herald with the title “Hell on Earth ~ Life in the Andamans”.

The Cellular Jail remains a haunting reminder of India’s struggle for independence and this colonial-era prison symbolizes the resilience and sacrifice of freedom fighters who endured unimaginable hardships and torture for the liberation of their motherland from the yoke of British rule. Hence due honour must be accorded to those revolutionaries who spent years inside the dark chambers of this isolated prison. Today many people visit this site and try to feel the suffering and sacrifices of those bravehearts who were deported here by the British to crush the armed rebellion against their rule. Since Bengali revolutionaries comprised the overwhelming majority among the freedom fighters sent to this dark prison, there is a need to pay tribute to their courage and sacrifice.

The 1908-1909 Alipore Bomb Case created anti-British tremors across the country, significantly intensifying anti-colonial sentiment and strengthening organised revolutionary networks. The trial sparked national pride and accelerated militant nationalism, inspiring future leaders like Bhagat Singh to carry on the fearless legacy of the Bengali revolutionaries. The case directly led to the arrest of stalwart nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak for defending the courageous Bengali revolutionaries and marked a critical juncture in the freedom movement, shifting the focus from moderate protests to radical and militant action.

It is high time that the authorities give long-due recognition to the twelve Bengali revolutionaries accused in the famous conspiracy trial. The activities of Ullaskar Dutta, Barin Ghosh, Hemchandra Das and others created a sensation among all Bengalis and freedom fighters of other parts of India and shook the mighty foundations of British rule. We must remember that the colonial rulers did not gift us our freedom, it was achieved through daring activities and sacrifices of our freedom fighters. It would be a sin if there is any further delay or procrastination to pay homage to these liberation fighters.

(The writer, a Ph D in English from Calcutta University, teaches English at the Sailendra Sircar Vidyalaya. He is also the Research Head of Ullaskar Dutta Academy)

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