Kalapani’s forgotten Punjabi prisoners

Stressing the urgent need to rewrite the history of India’s struggle for freedom in the context of the Punjab narrative, Jagtar Singh and Gurdarshan Singh Bahia have written a book on Punjabis incarcerated at the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The authors argue that Punjabis have not been given their due recognition in the history of the freedom struggle. They say the Cellular Jail, once notorious as Kalapani, stands testimony to the contribution of Punjab in general and the Sikhs in particular to liberate India.

The first major group of freedom fighters from Punjab to be transported to Cellular Jail was from the Ghadar Party. An exhaustive list at the end tells us that 41 Ghadarites served time here, besides 55 held guilty in Soldier’s Mutiny case. The authors say that the convicts from Punjab resisted torture and hence faced more torture in the process. The martyrdom of Baba Bhan Singh is an oft-quoted “story of savagery”. They also cite the example of Master Chhattar Singh, who was caged in a cell for three years (unprecedented in the history of Cellular Jail) because he raised his voice against the injustice meted out by jail authorities.

The authors insist that this part of history be introduced in textbooks to make the younger generation aware of the glorious chapter of Punjab.