When visiting the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Cellular Jail or Kaala Paani is a place that must not be missed. Once the symbol of British oppression, today, the Cellular Jail is a National Memorial dedicated to India’s epic freedom struggle. Nestled in the heart of Port Blair, this prison complex is a testament to the blood and sweat that our freedom fighters spilled to free India from British Oppression.
Remember that this place is a mausoleum to the greatest freedom fighters, and it is important to be respectful when on the premises. This blog gives you information about the Cellular Jail and a few vital things you should know as a visitor before your visit.
Cellular Jail, Port Blair
Table of Contents
The Construction of Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail was constructed to punish the Indian freedom fighters who revolted against British rule. The jail is strategically placed, as more than half of the outer wall is surrounded by the sea. The construction began in 1893 and was completed in 1905-06. The jail is strong enough to resist earthquakes, considering the major earthquake on the islands in 1881.
The Architecture of Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail was built uniquely, with only cells and no dormitories. The Three-storied structure has 673 cells spread out like seven spokes of a bicycle wheel.
All entry and exit points were controlled by a central watch tower. The seven blocks were not at equal angles from the center. These blocks were constructed so that a single guard on duty could supervise all seven wings from this vantage position. The top of the original brick tower was damaged during the 1941 earthquake and was later replaced with a timber canopy.
Each cell measured 13.5 x 7 feet, with only one ventilator at a height of 3 meters (9.8 feet). Each cell wing was sealed off by an iron grill door. The locks of the prison cells were designed so that the inmates would never be able to reach them. Another unique feature was the total absence of communication between prisoners in the different wings since the front row of one cell faced the back of another.
Each of the three stories of the seven wings had wardens. The wardens maintained vigil around the clock. Special precautions were taken to manage the corridors and staircases and minimize communication among the prisoners.
The Cellular Jail was built with over 30,00,000 bricks, rolled iron beams, and joists. The jail complex also included a hospital and an administrative block.
Indian Freedom Fighters
This jail housed some of the most well-known revolutionaries of the Indian Freedom struggle. The list includes the Savarkar brothers, Motilal Verma, Babu Ram Hari, Pandit Permanand, Ladha Ram, Ullaskar Dutt, Barin Kumar Ghosh, Bhai Parmanand, Indu Bhushan Roy, Prithvi Singh Azad, Pulin Das, Trailokyanath Chakravarthy, Gurumukh Singh, among others.
A group of revolutionaries charged in the Alipore Bomb case, Nasik Conspiracy Case, Lahore Conspiracy Case, Chittagong Armoury Rajd case, InterProvincial Conspiracy Case, Gaya Conspiracy Case, etc, were brought to the Cellular Jail for long-term imprisonment. Each brick in this prison has seen the sacrifice and efforts of these heroes.
Prison Conditions
The Cellular Jail is also known as “Kalapani,” meaning black water or the place of death. It was the place from where none returned (Kal is time or death, and pani is water – water of death or place of death). True to its name, the inmates of the Cellular Jail were treated inhumanely, and many lost their lives to the atrocities faced there.
An excerpt of Veer Savarkar’s experiences in the Cellular Jail is translated below.
“We were to be yoked like animals to the handle that turned the wheel. Hardly out of bed, we were ordered to wear a strip of cloth, were shut up in our cell, and made to turn the wheel of the oil mill. The door was opened only when the meal was announced. The man came in, served the meal in the pan, and went away, but the door was shut. If, after washing his hands, one were to wipe away the perspiration of his body, the jamadar, who was the worst of gangsters in the whole lot, would go at him with loud abuse. There was no water for washing hands.
Drinking water was to be had only by propitiating the jamadar, but while at Kolu, you felt very thirsty. The waterman gave no water except for a consideration which was to palm off to him some tobacco in exchange. If one spoke to jamadar, his retort was,” A prisoner is given only two cups of water, and you have already consumed three. Whence can I bring you more water? From your father?” we have put down the retort of the jamadar in the most decent language possible. If water could not be had for washing and drinking what can be said of water for bathing?”
Work
The most difficult work was coir-pounding and oil-grinding. Each one was given the dry husk of twenty coconuts. First, the husk had to be placed on a piece of wood and then beaten with a wooden hammer till it became soft. Then the outer skin had to be removed, dipped in water, moistened, and then again one had to pound it. The entire husk inside drops off by sheer pounding, leaving only the fibers. These fibers had then to be dried in the sun and cleaned. Each one was expected to prepare a roll of such fibers weighing one seer daily.
Punishments
Those inmates who failed to meet the quotas were gruesomely punished. Sackcloth uniforms, unhygienic diet, bar fetters, crossbar fetters, neck ring shackles, leg irons, and chains were a few of the brutal punishments. It varied from handcuffs for a week and fetters for 6 months to solitary confinement. More crucial and continued punishments were given to those who went on strikes.
Food
Breakfast was always Ganji or Kanji, boiled rice chunks in water, or rice porridge. The daily ration per meal is as follows – rice 6 oz, flour for roti 5 oz, dal 2 oz, salt 1 dram, oil ¾ dram, and vegetable 8 oz. Each prisoner was given an iron plate which was not cleaned at all.
Nature Calls
The prisoners had to control the demands of nature for hours together to use the arrangement in the cell itself. Morning, noon, evening – these were the only hours when prisoners were let off for this purpose, and at stated time only. It was an outrage to ask the jamadar for this convenience at any other moment than the stipulated hour.
The prisoners were locked in their cells at six or seven o’clock in the evening, and the lock was opened only after six the next morning. A sort of clay pot was given to use for that purpose during the night. The pot was so small that one could not discharge into it even once during the night. As for nature’s call, one had to go down on his knees in front of the Jamadar to beg to be let out.
The Cellular Jail Today
Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore launched a campaign to shut down the jail, and the colonial government decided to repatriate the political prisoners from the Cellular Jail from 1937 to 1938. The Cellular Jail was forced to empty in 1939. Two years later, the Japanese seized the islands, transforming the complex into a prisoner-of-war camp for incarcerating the British. In 1945, the Andamans became the first Indian territory to be declared independent.
The Cellular Jail Museum is located at the entrance of the complex. It contains all the information about the Cellular Jail – its construction, famous inmates, etc.- which has been described in the museum. Visit the museum before touring the Cellular Jail.
An eternal flame of Freedom-Swatantrya Jyoti has been erected in the complex in memory of all the Freedom Fighters and Martyrs.
Only three of the seven wings remain today. The rest were demolished after independence, and a hospital was constructed there. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, or Veer Savarkar, was put in a separate cell with grilled protection and maximum security in the Cellular Jail. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison and spent 11 years in the Cellular Jail.
At the main entrance of the jail stands the double-storeyed administration block. The hospital is another two-storeyed building on the left side near the entrance. An exhibit is kept at the jail premises, which showcases the oil mill, the clothes they wore, and the fetters used. You can also visit the hanging cell (right side near the entrance), capable of hanging three prisoners at once, which had a separate door in the outer compound wall for removing the corpses. Adjacent to the gallows were kitchens with Hindu and Muslim sections. A well was dug between two sections to supply sweet water in the yard.
In Popular Culture
Kaalapani played a significant part in the Indian Freedom Struggle and has been mentioned in movies such as:
- Kaalapani, 1996
- Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, 2024
Entry Fee
- INR 30 for Indians
- INR 100 for foreigners
- Free entry for islanders and students with a valid ID
- Extra charges for video camera or shooting
From the jail entrance, free tour guides will show and explain the important spots of the jail. You might have to wait longer if they are occupied.
Sound & Light Show
This spell-minding show centered around the wandering spirits of the inmates of Cellular Jail transports you back to those years of freedom struggle. It’s a show that always leaves you with a lump in your throat.
Sound & Light Show fees: INR 300 for adults and INR 150 for children between 5 and 11 years of age.
| Language | Show Timings | Show Days |
| Hindi | 5:50 PM, 7:50 PM | All Days |
| Hindi | 6:50 PM | Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday |
| English | 6:50 PM | Monday, Wednesday, Friday |
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