Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail was a literal hell on earth, the kind of place, you would not even wish for your worst enemies. It became a place, where the British Government sent, those freedom fighters, whom they regarded as particularly dangerous. And Savarkar to them was a far more bigger danger, than any of the petition pushing Congress leaders. The prisoners were put to the worst form of torture, to break their spirits. The most vicious Pathans were employed to beat the prisoners, and they had absolutely no qualms whatsoever.
Built between 1896-1906, te Cellular Jail was so called, because of the 696 cells here, spread out among seven wings, radiating from the central watch tower in straight lines, based on Jeremy Bentham's concept of the Panopticon, a design he came up with for better control over human beings. Each of these seven wings had three stories, and the cells by themselves were 4.5 by 2.7 metres (14.8 ft × 8.9 ft) in size with a ventilator located at a height of 3 metres (9.8 ft). The cells were designed in such a way, that their face saw the back of another cell, ensuring prisoner to prisoner communication was impossible. Which effectively meant you had to spend years in solitary confinement.
Cellular Jail was India's equivalent of Auschwitz, the Soviet Gulags and Devil's Island, a hell on earth. The idea came around the late 19th century, when the number of prisoners, most of them rebelling against British rule, sent to the Andamans grew in large number. The need was felt for a high security prison, and the task was given to Charles Lyall, the home secretary and A.S.Lethbridge, a surgeon in the British administration. After an investigation they concluded that a penal settlement was necessary, where transported prisoners would be subject to harsh treatment on arrival. The islands were also called as Kala Pani, basically a reference to the taboo, prevailing then, travelling across the seas would result in the loss of one's caste.
Maharaja, the name of the ship that was transporting Savarkar to the Andamans,an ironical name if ever there was one.
"Embarking on that ship by a lifer, was akin to being carried alive on the bier".
Once again he was taken to the ship's lowest deck and locked in the cellar, a small dank area with no air. Soon he began to have chest pains, and was unable to breathe, was then allotted a place near the bar for some fresh air. As the ship steamed out of Madras harbor the wailing of the convicts, being sent away for life from their homes echoed all around. The stench, the filth, the stifling heat made it unbearable for Savarkar, but he kept his mind strong with the sayings of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Sant Ramdas. The days passed, meanwhile the traders on board gave the convicts a meal of fish, rice and pickles to express their respect for Savarkar.
Finally the ship docked at Port Blair, on July 4, 1911, on a date, when America celebrated it's independence, Savarkar would be stepping into a life time of slavery. As the prisoners disembarked, some of them were taken straight to prison, and Savarkar in the custody of English officers was taken there. But his thoughts were on how these islands could be the outposts of a free India. n a way it was prophetic too, when Netaji began his long armed struggle, he first captured Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which he promptly renamed as Shahid and Swaraj.
As the doors of the Cellular Jail, opened with a creaky sound, Savarkar's heart skipped a beat, as he surveyed the gloomy atmosphere around. Rows and rows of tiny cells, cut off from each other, housing the hapless prisoners. From the upper middle part of the iron gates, hung deadly instruments of torture, the hand cuffs, fetters enough to scare any prisoner into submission. But then Savarkar was made of sterner stuff, having read biographies of Russian, Italian revolutionaries, he was impressed by their stern resolve and courage.
As he was lost in the thoughts a stout European officer, stood in his way, none other than Barrie the tyrannical superintendent of the prison. A man feared for his sadistic nature and cruelty by the prisoners. As Barrie checked out Savarkar, they spoke about his attempted escape at Marseilles, and another interesting fact came out that Barrie was once an Irish revolutionary himself. But had changed his views later, and it became a case of the once oppressed become even worse than the oppresors. When Savarkar queried, if it was age or late wisdom that made him change his stance, Barrie responded back with "Murders will always be murders", and warned him of not even attempting to escape from here.
He was first locked up in the 7th barrack, but before that he was asked to take a bath. Having not showered for 4-5 days, Savarkar looked at this as a welcome relief. However the experience was bitter, as he discovered that the three bowls of water he got were salty. His eyes smarting from the burning sensation, his body became more sticky, and his hair turned rough. Taken to the barrack's third floor he was locked up, and kept in solitary confinement with only three burly Pathan guards for company.
Kept in solitary confinement for 14 days, he was bought down and given the work of threshing coconut husks, one pound of them. As he began to pound the husks, his hands got more and more blistered and after sometime, they began to bleed. When Savarkar showed his bleeding hands, and requested for some other type of work, the superintendent haughtily replied.
"Every one experiences the same trouble. be thankful that the Government does not provide yu two pounds of husks"
After a month or so, the superintendent told Savarkar he would have to go the oil press or in Barrie's words a "promotion to the upper class". Savarkar was called the next day by Barrie, and informed that he had to work on the oil press, as per instructions of his superiors. He however was willing to give Savarkar 14 days, and not burden him like other prisoners. In return Savarkar should avoid any kind of insubordinate action, that would result in punishment.
Savarkar was taken to barrack number 6, where he had to work the oil press along with a Burmese convict. For some one not used to hard labor, It was back breaking work, but then that was the intention of the British authorities, to break the prisoner's spirit. Wearing just a loin cloth, Savarkar had to go around in circles, pressing the hand oil press. The nonstop circumambulation made him giddy, while his body ached with pains at night. Savarkar could not meet his daily quota, and when Barrie chided him saying, that his next door prisoner, gives 30 lb of oil by 2 PM, while you struggle and give less than that by evening. And he shot back, mustering all the self respect he had.
"If I were a coolie I would have felt ashamed, you ask that convict to compose a poem in an hour and see how much time he takes to finish it. I would take not more than half an hour, yet the convict need not be ashamed, because composing poems is not his job. You on the other hand should be ashamed for appointing illiterates as clerks, and make educated men work the oil press".
The long hours at the oil mill, made his body sweat, covered with flour and chaff, filth sticking to it, to such an extent, that he loathed his own, filthy, naked self. One day he experienced cramps in the stomach, due to intense heat, felt giddy and sat down for some time. When he regained consciousness, he felt blank and impassive, akin to death, a sense of helplessness pervading all around. For the first time, he tried to attempt suicide, but he reasoned that it was not really worth it.
Savarkar not just bore the indignities inflicted on him, he also lifted up the spirits of his fellow prisoners. For most of them living a life, sapped out of energy, Savarkar's very presence, lifted their spirits. Savarkar felt that Ujjain being in the center of India, was the right capital for it, not Delhi at all. Around the same time, an assassination attempt was made on Lord Hardinge. The man responsible for it Rash Behari Bose, fled to Japan, where he would later found the INA. In the meantime, Savarkar began to educate the prisoners on political science, economics and Constitutional law. He fought with the authorities to secure the rights of prisoners, and give them the basic amenities. He impressed upon the prisoners, the need for education especially on economics and constitutional law. In future, when India would be free, that knowledge would be need a lot for governance.
"Knowledge without action was lame and action without knowledge was limited"
Yogavasistha and the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempts, were two books that were Savarkar's personal favorites. However Savarkar felt it was time, people in India get to know of the horrors of Cellular Jail. One Hotilal Verma, secretly managed to send a letter to Surendranath Banerjee, one of Savarkar's staunch admirers, on the horros of the Cellular Jail. Indu Bhushan Roy, Ulaskar Dutt arrested for the Alipore bomb case, Nani Gopala, were some of those who had suffered the most. As the news of the horrors of Cellular Jail, spread in the Indian press, there was massive outrage all over. The Imperial Council questioned the British Government, public opinion began to grow against the atrocities, and finally they sent their home secretary Craddock in 1913. In the meantime Savarkar along with Nani Gopala, went on a hunger strike, before it ended with assurancs from the authorities. Finally faced with a hostile public opinion, stinging criticism in the press, the British government relented and decided to release those prisoners whose conduct they deemed satisfactory.
In the meantime Savarkar, made use of his solitary confinement to write. However with no reading and writing material, he used the prison as his medium. The walls of the prison turned into pages, the stones and thorns became the pens, and he wrote no less than 10,000 lines of poetry. An epic ballad on Panipat, composed entirely on the walls of his prison, one of the greatest literary feats ever. He was one of the greatest writers ever, often rated equivalent to Kalidasa, by the Marathi critic Madkholkar. His magnum opus Kamala is often regarded as the Shakuntala of modern India, in it's usage of similes, and it's graceful composition. He also introduced a blank metre verse called Vinayak in Marathi poetry.
His long time in Andaman, and the solitary confinement, began to bring a philosophical outlook towards life. Having experienced the worst ever indignities and torture, for him death really held no fear. And this was the time, when he began to formulate the philosophy of Hindutva.