Cellular Jail

Cellular Jail
Entrance of the Cellular Jail
Alternative names	Kālā Pāni
General information
Type	Prison for political prisoners (Indian independence activists)
Architectural style	Cellular, pronged
Town or city	Port Blair, Andaman
Country	India
Coordinates	11°40′30″N 92°44′53″E / 11.675°N 92.748°E / 11.675; 92.748
Construction started	1896
Completed	1906
Cost	₹517,352[1]
Client	India
Owner	Government of India

Cellular Jail

Notable prisoners
Batukeshwar Dutt Bhai Parmanand Diwan Singh Hare Krishna Konar Hemchandra Kanungo Mahavir Singh Mohan Kishore Namadas Mohit Moitra Sachindra Nath Sanyal Shiv Verma Sohan Singh Bhakna Sudhangshu Dasgupta Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Yogendra Shukla

The Cellular Jail, also known as 'Kālā Pānī' (transl. 'Black Water'), was a British colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prison was used by the colonial government of India for the purpose of exiling criminals and political prisoners. Many notable independence activists were imprisoned there during the struggle for India's independence.^[2] Today, the complex serves as a national memorial monument.^[3]

Originally built with seven wings, the building suffered extensive damage during the earthquake in 1941.^[4] Later, two wings were dismantled during the Second World War by the Japanese, who repurposed the bricks for constructing bunkers and other structures. After India gained independence, two more wings were demolished in the 1950s to make way for the nearby Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital. Today, only the watchtower and three wings (1, 6, and 7) remain.^[5]