Cellular Jail ( Kala Pani)

History

One of the most fanstastic historical place of  Andaman and Nicobar (Portblair ) is Cellular Jail. Cellular jail also know as Kala Pani in previous time and now  a days also. It was a colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Island, India.

The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago. Many notable dissidents such as Batukeshwar Dutt, Yogendra Shukla and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for India's independence.

Today the complex is serve as a place of history for the tourist came to Andaman and Nicobar Island.

It was constructed in  between 1896 and 1906. The remote islands were considered to be a suitable place to punish the independence activists. Not only were they isolated from the mainland, the overseas journey (Kala Pani) to the islands also threatened them with loss of caste, resulting in social exclusion.

Architecture

Prison was constructed in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The original building was a puce-colored brick building. Bricks used in construction on the prison from Burma.

Cellular Jail was constructed in the form of seven wings with one tower in the center of the wings. The tower was used by guard to keep look at   inmates in prison.  This format was based on Jeremy Bentham's idea of the Panopticon. The wings radiated from the tower in straight lines, much like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. A large bell was kept in the tower to raise an alarm.

Now after independence, govt has turned this jail into museum for people. You can visit this place with your family as this will provide you full package for your family holiday. As, you can visit museum and enjoy unique live music and light event in evening everyday. Also, one can enjoy the beautiful Andaman islands and its coral reef through scuba diving and other adventure sports.

So, pack your bags now and come visit the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar Island.