Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail Summary and Explanation
PSEB Class 12 English Chapter 8 Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail Summary, Theme, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from A Rainbow of English Book
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PSEB Class 12 English Chapter 8 – Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail
by Dr. Harish K. Puri
The extract is from an account of the Cellular Jail or Kala Pani Jail in Port Blair, Andaman Islands by Dr. Harish K. Puri, highlighting the Ghadar Party, Ghadar Movement and the Ghadarites in the Kala Pani Jail, briefly but effectively.
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Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail Summary
The extract first delves into the history of Ghadar Party. The Ghadar Party was organized by Indian immigrants and revolutionary exiles like Lala Har Dayal in the year 1913. Eventually, these political immigrants and exiles left the USA and Canada and returned to India to launch their planned struggle for freedom from British rule. However, their mutiny failed in February 1915 and the captured revolutionaries were either hanged or put in the Cellular Jail, located on Port Blair, also known as the ‘Devil’s Island’ due to the infamous jail. The jail was built away from the mainland to isolate the hardcore criminals from the rest of the civilians. Britishers considered the political prisoners as hardcore criminals as they threatened to destroy and overthrow British rule. The jail opened in 1906 and held political prisoners from the mutiny of 1857, the Alipore Conspiracy Case, Nasik Conspiracy Case, Lahore Supplementary Conspiracy Case, Mandalay Conspiracy Case and many more cases in which ghadarites and other revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the government. Not only were the political prisoners isolated from the mainland and the rest of the civilization, but were also put in separate small dingy cells and were isolated from each other. The conditions were horrible, with infestations and inadequate and unclean food. Moreover, they were forced to work as labourers in the oil mill to extract a minimum of 30 pounds of coconut oil and pound coconut husk to produce coir threads. In case the quantity of oil produced by a prisoner was less than the required quantity, they were beaten with around 30 lashes of the whip, the air filled with their loud cries of agony and blood coming out of the skin due to the harsh treatment. Barin Bhose and other political prisoners described Jailor David Barry, Superintendent Murray and other warders and officers to be ‘demi-gods’ or ‘smaller gods’, or butchers, or the prodigies of Satan (the devil as per Christianity). Jailor David Barry himself said that God did not come close to Port Blair. The Ghadari Babas resolved to retaliate against the abuse. Jhansi hit Barry but was severely punished for retaliating. Bhan died in the hospital due to the severe punishment. Ram Rakhan died within two months of being in jail. Chatter Singh once slapped Superintendent Murray and was put in bar chains. The ghadarites took up soul-force to fight against their brutal force with non-violence, something that would be later incorporated in the Gandhian philosophy. Strikes from work and food were organised. Jyotish Chandra Pal went mad due to the month- long hunger strike. The prisoners sang patriotic songs and recited the Gurbani. They were successful. The participants of the hunger strike reached more than 100 and the authorities were forced to reduce the severity of their harsh treatment. Soon, the prisoners were either released or put in jails on the mainland. With that, and with Sarvakar’s escape from the prison, these graphic and horrendous stories soon came to light and astonished the entire country.
Summary of the Lesson Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail in Hindi
यह अंश सबसे पहले ग़दर पार्टी के इतिहास पर प्रकाश डालता है। ग़दर पार्टी का गठन 1913 में लाला हरदयाल जैसे भारतीय प्रवासियों और निर्वासित क्रांतिकारी लोगों ने किया था। अंततः, ये राजनीतिक प्रवासी और निर्वासित लोग अमेरिका और कनाडा छोड़कर भारत लौट आए और ब्रिटिश शासन से आज़ादी के लिए अपना नियोजित संघर्ष शुरू किया। हालाँकि, फरवरी 1915 में उनका विद्रोह विफल हो गया और पकड़े गए क्रांतिकारियों को या तो फाँसी दे दी गई या पोर्ट ब्लेयर स्थित सेलुलर जेल में डाल दिया गया, जिसे कुख्यात जेल के कारण ‘शैतान का द्वीप’ भी कहा जाता है। यह जेल मुख्य भूमि से दूर बनाई गई थी ताकि कट्टर अपराधियों को बाकी नागरिकों से अलग रखा जा सके। अंग्रेज़ राजनीतिक कैदियों को कट्टर अपराधी मानते थे क्योंकि वे ब्रिटिश शासन को नष्ट करने और उखाड़ फेंकने का खतरा पैदा करते थे। यह जेल 1906 में खुली और इसमें 1857 के गदर, अलीपुर षडयंत्र केस, नासिक षडयंत्र केस, लाहौर पूरक षडयंत्र केस, मांडले षडयंत्र केस तथा कई अन्य मामलों के राजनीतिक कैदियों को रखा गया, जिनमें ग़दरियों और अन्य क्रांतिकारियों ने सरकार को उखाड़ फेंकने का प्रयास किया था। राजनीतिक कैदियों को न केवल मुख्य भूमि और शेष सभ्यता से अलग-थलग कर दिया गया था, बल्कि उन्हें अलग-अलग छोटी-छोटी गंदी कोठरियों में भी रखा गया था और एक-दूसरे से अलग-थलग कर दिया गया था। हालात बेहद भयावह थे, जहाँ कीड़े-मकोड़े और अपर्याप्त व गंदा खाना मिलता था। इसके अलावा, उन्हें तेल मिल में मज़दूरी करने के लिए मजबूर किया जाता था ताकि कम से कम 30 पाउंड नारियल का तेल निकाला जा सके और नारियल की भूसी पीसकर नारियल के रेशे के धागे बनाए जा सकें। अगर कोई कैदी माँगी गई मात्रा से थोड़ा भी कम कमाता था, तो उसे लगभग 30 कोड़ों से पीटा जाता था, जिससे उसकी तेज़ चीखें गूंज उठती थीं और कठोर व्यवहार के कारण उसकी त्वचा से खून बहता था। बारिन भोस और अन्य राजनीतिक कैदियों ने जेलर डेविड बैरी, अधीक्षक मरे और अन्य वार्डरों और अधिकारियों को ‘अर्ध-देवता’ या ‘छोटे देवता’, कसाई या शैतान के चमत्कार बताया। जेलर डेविड बैरी ने खुद कहा था कि पोर्ट ब्लेयर में भगवान भी नहीं आते। ग़दरी बाबाओं ने दुर्व्यवहार का प्रतिकार करने का संकल्प लिया। झांसी ने बैरी को मारा, लेकिन प्रतिकार करने के लिए उसे कठोर दंड दिया गया। कठोर दंड के कारण भान की अस्पताल में मृत्यु हो गई। राम राखन की जेल में रहने के दो महीने के भीतर ही मृत्यु हो गई। चत्तर सिंह ने एक बार अधीक्षक मरे को थप्पड़ मारा और उसे सलाखों की ज़ंजीरों में डाल दिया गया। ग़दरियों ने उनके क्रूर बल का अहिंसा के साथ मुकाबला करने के लिए आत्मबल अपनाया, जिसे बाद में गांधीवादी दर्शन में शामिल किया गया। काम और भोजन से हड़तालें आयोजित की गईं। ज्योतिष चंद्र पाल एक महीने की भूख हड़ताल के कारण पागल हो गए। कैदियों ने देशभक्ति के गीत गाए और गुरबानी का पाठ किया। वे सफल रहे। भूख हड़ताल में भाग लेने वालों की संख्या 100 से अधिक हो गई और अधिकारियों को अपने कठोर व्यवहार की गंभीरता को कम करने के लिए मजबूर होना पड़ा। जल्द ही, कैदियों को या तो रिहा कर दिया गया या मुख्य भूमि की जेलों में डाल दिया गया। इसके साथ ही, और सर्वकार के जेल से भागने के साथ, ये भयानक और भयावह कहानियाँ जल्द ही प्रकाश में आईं और पूरे देश को चकित कर दिया।
Theme of the Lesson Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail
The chapter is centered on patriotism, freedom and revolution. The account highlights the struggles of the freedom fighting revolutionary figures like Baba Sohan Singh Bhakhna, Prithvi Singh, Parmanand Jhansi, V.D. Sarvakar, and many more. It sheds light on the inhuman treatment of the political prisoners in Cellular Jail by the Britishers in charge to break the patriotic and determined spirit of the freedom fighters. It delves into the fight between political prisoners and Jailor David Barry, Superintendent Murray, and other officials and warders, and the different ways the political prisoners engaged in resistance and retaliation against the brutal abuse
Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail Lesson Explanation
Passage: Ghadar Party was organized by Indian immigrants and revolutionary exiles like Lala Har Dayal in USA and Canada in 1913 with a view to launch an armed struggle for the freedom of India by overthrowing the British rule. Several thousand of them returned to India for that purpose from October 1914 onwards. Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Baba Nidhan Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Vishnu Ganesh Pingley were among the prominent leaders. The stipulated rebellion in February 1915 failed and a large number of them were hanged and punished to long terms of life in Jails.
Word-meanings:
revolutionary (adj): a political or dramatic change which is rebellious in nature
exile (n): the state of being barred from one’s native country, typically for political or punitive reasons
overthrowing (v): remove forcibly from power
stipulated (v): demand or specify as per an agreement
Passage Explanation: Ghadar Party was a political party launched in USA and Canada in the year 1913. It was organized by the Indians who had gone to these two countries or had been barred from India due to their revolutionary actions against British rule. One of those people was Lala Har Dayal. The aim of the political party was to free India by forcibly removing power the British had over India. With this objective, many Indian immigrants and revolutionary exiles returned to India. Some of the main leaders were: Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Baba Nidhan Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha and Vishnu Ganesh Pingley. The mutiny was put to action from October 1914. However, it failed in February 1915 and many of them were given the death penalty by hanging and the rest were put to jails with long-term sentences.
Passage: The Cellular Jail in Port Blair, Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal was rightly described as ‘the Devil’s Island’. It was also called Kala Pani Jail. Initially, the penal colony was created to isolate and torture for life the rebels of the Ghadar (Mutiny) of 1857 and other hardened criminals. The newly constructed jail was opened in 1906. Bengali revolutionaries convicted in Alipore Conspiracy Case were the first group of 27 political prisoners brought there followed by others of the Nasik Conspiracy Case, such as V.D. Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar. The Ghadarites (Ghadari Babas) constituted the largest single group of political prisoners sentenced to transportation for life; 40 of them convicted in the Lahore Conspiracy Case were brought there in December 1915. More than 30 from the Lahore Supplementary Conspiracy Case and Mandlay Conspiracy case followed later. Unlike the other groups of revolutionary prisoners, many among the Ghadar prisoners were quite old. Nidhan Singh was 60 years old; Kehar Singh 62, Kala Singh 55, Gurdit Singh 50 and a large number of them, including Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna were 45 years and above. They were therefore addressed as Babas with respect.
Word-meanings:
cellular jail: a jail where prisoners were forced to stay in solitary small rooms named ‘Kaal Kothris’ by the people. This jail consisted of 690 cells. Each cell meant for one prisoner was thirteen feet by seven feet and was closed from all side except the iron door
penal colony (n): a settlement used to exile criminals and other often revolutionary individuals, far from the general population
Alipore Conspiracy Case (Alipore Bomb Case): 1908-1909 related to the trial of a large number of revolutionaries of Bengal on charges of conspiracy against the British government and killing of British officials
conspiracy (n): a secret plan by a group of people to do something harmful or illegal
Nasik Conspiracy Case 1910: The Case in which Ganesh Damodar Savarkar elder brother of V.D. Savarkar was tried for waging a war against the King Emperor. Later a number of his other comrades were tried as a part of the same conspiracy
V.D. Savarkar: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a prominent revolutionary based in London from 1905 to 1910. His book on the revolt of 1857, titled Indian war of Independence 1857, became a Bible for the revolutionaries at that time. He was convicted in 1911, punished to deportation for life and was sent to Andaman Jail
Lahore Supplementary Conspiracy Case: The Ghadarites were tried in a series of Conspiracy cases which came to be known as Lahore Conspiracy Case 1915 supplementary Lahore Conspiracy Case and later Second, Third and Fourth Supplementary Lahore Conspiracy Cases
Mandalay Conspiracy: Also Known as Burma conspiracy cases in which Ghadar revolutionaries arrested in Burma and Siam (Thailand) were tried for conspiring to overthrow the British Government in India
Passage Explanation: Port Blair is a city in the Southern part of Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Port Blair was earlier called ‘the Devil’s Island’ because of the Cellular Jail or the Kala Pani Jail, where the Britishers locked up and tortured the Indians whom they saw as revolutionary criminals. In other words, the Cellular Jail was a penal colony, a place where people who were seen as criminals were punished by life imprisonment, isolation, and torture. It was opened in 1906, and it first held the rebels of the Ghadar or Mutiny of 1857 and other criminals. Then, Bengali revolutionaries were imprisoned. They were caught in the Alipore Conspiracy Case. They were the first 27 political prisoners there. Then came the revolutionaries convicted in the Nasik Conspiracy Case, such as V.D. Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar. The Ghadarites or Ghadari Babas, were the people belonging to the Ghadar Party. They were the largest single group of political prisoners sentenced to transportation for life. In December 1915, 40 ghadarites were caught and brought to the jail after the Lahore Conspiracy Case. More than 30 gadarites were caught from the Lahore Supplementary Conspiracy Case and Mandalay Conspiracy case later on. Most of the groups of revolutionary prisoners were young. However, the ghadarites were much older. They were all 45 years and above. Baba Sohan Singh Bhakhna, who was one of the prominent leaders of the party, was 45 years old. Nidhan Singh, another prominent leader, was 60 years old. Kehar Singh was 62, Kala Singh 55 and Gurdit Singh 50 years old. Because they were older and the largest group, they were called ‘Babas’ out of respect.
Passage: Given the highly inclement weather, the area infested with mosquitoes and blood-sucking leeches, and thoroughly bad and inadequate food, many were frequently sick with dysentery, high fever, tuberculosis, and asthma. Working on the oil mill (kohlu) to extract a minimum of 30 pounds of coconut oil and pounding coconut husk to produce coir threads etc. constituted daily rounds of hard labour. If the quantity produced was less, filthy abuse, up to 30 lashes of a whip in public, loud cries and blood oozing from the skin were a part of the patently revolting experience. With each one of the patriotic prisoners confined to a small dingy cell, communication between the prisoners was totally disallowed. The recorded accounts of victims and eye-witnesses of over a dozen prominent revolutionaries such as Barin Ghose, V.D. Savarkar, Trailokyanath Chakrabarty, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Wasakha Singh, Udham Singh Kasel, Prithvi Singh Azad and others provided graphic and heart-rending details of vengeful methods of sadistic torture of political prisoners. All the accounts refer to the Jailor David Barry, the Superintendent Murray and the Chief Commissioner as ‘butchers’ and virtual ‘progeny of the Satan’. Barin Ghose, brother of Aurobindo Ghose, convicted in the Alipore Conspiracy Case, related how David Barry would address every new group of political prisoners asking them to strictly follow the rules and orders. ‘If you disobey me, may God help you! At least I will not, that is certain. Remember also that God does not come within three miles of Port Blair. The red turbans you see there are warders. And those in black uniform are petty officers. You must obey them’. The warders, petty officers, and Jamadars who were appointed out of old hard core criminals ‘derived sadistic pleasure in torturing the political prisoners’. Barin Ghose called them ‘smaller gods’ who would abuse, humiliate, and ill treat the political prisoners and made their life most miserable. The stories which were smuggled out by Savarkar relating to young Nani Gopal’s piercing cries because of beastly whip lashing, his hunger strike that continued for 72 days, and the long strikes against tortures, the suicide committed by Indu Bhushan and that of the highly educated Ullaskar Dutt driven to insanity, raised a storm in the country’s newspapers.
Word-meanings:
inclement (adj): increasing in an unpleasant manner
infested with: full of (The kitchen was infested with ants.)
leech (n): a small worm that usually lives in water and that attaches itself to other creatures and sucks their blood
inadequate (adj): incompetent or not enough (The system is inadequate for the tasks.)
dysentery (n): an infection of the bowels that causes severe Diarrhoea with loss of blood
kohlu: a crude, rural device for extracting oil from the seeds. This machine was pulled by bullocks. In place of bullocks, freedom fighters were forced to work as a device to punish and torture them
pound (v): A British measure of weight which is equal to 0.454 kilogram
filthy (adj): very dirty and unpleasant substance
oozing (v): slowly trickle or seep out of something
patently (adv): clearly, surely, without any doubt
revolting (adj): disgusting
confined (v): locked or chained in a room
dingy (adj): gloomy and drab (dark)
graphic (adj): giving clear and vividly explicit details
heart-rending (adj): disturbing and tragic
vengeful (adj): showing a desire to punish somebody who has harmed you
sadistic (adj): a pleasure obtained by hurting other people, making people suffer physical pain and mental harassment or humiliation
progeny (n): child, offspring
convicted (v): proven or declared guilty of an offense, especially after a legal trial
petty (adj): secondary or less important rank
jamadars (n): junior officials in the jail
Passage Explanation: When the Ghadarites arrived, the weather was becoming warmer and more humid. The area soon became infested with mosquitoes and leeches which sucked blood out of them and put them in a bad shape. The food given to the prisoners was not just insufficient in amount but of low quality as well. So, because of the mosquitoes, leeches and poor quality of basic necessities, the prisoners were often suffering from dysentery, high fever, tuberculosis, and asthma. Additionally, regardless of the inhuman conditions, the prisoners were ordered to do tiring and hard labour in the oil mill. They extracted a minimum of 30 pounds of coconut oil and pounded coconut husk to produce coir threads among many other tasks. If the quantity of oil they produced was less than that required, the prisoner would be tortured and abused with 30 lashes of the whip, right in front of the other prisoners. The other prisoners had to watch the disgusting way the punishment occurred, which was accompanied by loud cries of agony of the prisoner and the sight of blood seeping out of the body where the whip had hit them repeatedly. The patriotic prisoners were put in separate small gloomy and dark cells and were not allowed to talk to their fellow prisoners. We have detailed accounts of the inhuman experience of the Cellular Jail from various prominent revolutionary leaders like Barin Ghose, V.D. Savarkar, Trailokyanath Chakrabarty, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Wasakha Singh, Udham Singh Kasel, Prithvi Singh Azad and many others. All of them paint vivid imagery of abuse and suffering, mainly from three people: Jailor David Barry, the Superintendent Murray and the Chief Commissioner. The three have been described as demons, the children of Satan, and even as butchers who skin and flay meat. Barin Ghose was the brother of Aurobindo Ghose, an Indian yogi and nationalist. He was captured by the British in the Alipore Conspiracy Case 1908-1909 along with many other Bengali revolutionaries. He told the world the harsh words of the jailor, David Barry to the new captured groups. David Barry ordered them to follow every rule and command, and if anyone disobeyed them, then there would be no mercy for them from his side. He also said that God could not save them because even God was afraid to come close to Port Blair. With this, David Barry aimed to instill a sense of fear and helplessness in the revolutionary prisoners. Warders were officers in red turbans. The low-ranking officers wore black uniforms. However, David Barry commanded the prisoners to not fight against the low-ranking officers and doing so would again result in hellish torture and abuse. All of the warders, officers and junior officials were there for one purpose- to make the prisoners suffer and to enjoy their suffering. Barin Ghose called them ‘smaller gods’. Smaller because they weren’t as mighty as gods but still had complete control over the lives of the prisoners. Sarvakar was a prominent revolutionary who escaped Port Blair and traveled to France for his freedom. However, the French authorities did not give Sarvakar the freedom he begged for and handed him back to the British. Although Sarvakar could not be free in the end, he was able to get the horrific and graphic happenings of the Cellular Jail outside, which shook the rest of India and its newspapers. He talked of his own hunger strikes that went on for 72 days and the strikes that would last for a long time after an innocent prisoner was punished for unfair reasons. He talked about a revolutionary Nani Gopal, who was one of the youngest prisoners there, and how his cries of pain and agony while he was inhumanly whipped still haunted him. He talked of the suicide committed by Indu Bhushan. He told everyone about the highly educated Ullaskar Dutt and how someone of such high intellect was turned mad which describes the extent of torture meted out to the prisoners.
Passage: On arrival there, the Ghadarites learnt about the sufferings, the hard struggles of resistance and also the minor relaxations gained by the Bengali and Marathi political prisoners. Right in the beginning, the Ghadarites resolved not to suffer any indignity or abuse without a determined retaliation. When Parma Nand Jhansi was abused and threatened by the Jailor Barry for not producing the required quantity of oil, Jhansi retaliated and hit the Jailor. As the Jailor fell down, Jhansi was mercilessly beaten by the warders. The fall of the ‘demi-God’ and the horrendous torture of Jhansi created quite a stir in the small world of the Jail. In another case of retaliation against severe cruelty, when Chattar Singh slapped the Superintendent Murray hard, he was put in a cage with standing bar chains. Bhan Singh was beaten so hard that he died in the hospital. Resistance and most cruel punishment killed Ram Rakha within two months of his arrival there. Altogether eight Ghadarites lost their lives in the Cellular Jail. But they continued repeated strikes from work and hunger strikes led by Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Prithvi Singh, Udham Singh Kasel and Wasakha Singh, joined by 25 others for their rights as political prisoners, and in defence of their fellows. At one time, the number who joined the strike rose to about 100. On a long hunger strike, Jyotish Chandra Pal, passed blood in stool; refused to relent and after a month went totally mad and was removed to a mental hospital. Prithvi Singh continued the hunger strike for four months, resisting entreaties even by the best friends. ‘Never in the history of the Andamans had a strike on such a large scale been organised or lasted for such a long time’. It was a measure of such resistance that the Jail authorities were forced to discontinue some of the practices of bad treatment of political prisoners. The determined collective resistance in the face of horrible suffering created legendary stories of their struggle. Singing Vande Mataram and patriotic songs, reciting Gurbani and taking the harshest physical punishments in their stride, it was like making of a new culture of the dignity of fighting brutal forces with soul-force, until they were either released in 1921 or transferred to jails on the mainland. The sufferings and the daring resistance of these living martyrs, were indeed decidedly more severe and testing than the death by hanging of a number of martyrs. Bhakna explained that the crux of the songs which the revolutionaries sang in the jails was something like this: ‘Hey Matribhoomi, this is true that we could not liberate you, but so long as even one of our comrades is alive he will sacrifice everything to remove your chains’.
Word-meanings:
resistance (n): dislike or opposition to a plan
indignity (n): anger
retaliation (n): action that a person takes against somebody who has harmed him in some way
horrendous (adj): extremely shocking/horrifying
stir (n): a commotion or disturbance
standing bar chains (n): refers to the ball and chain or leg irons historically used as a restraint device
relent (v): give in, to finally agree to something after refusing
entreaty (n): a serious and often emotional request
legendary (adj): very famous and talked about a lot
to take in one’s stride: to take or accept advances or setbacks as the normal course of events
brutal force (n): savagely violent force
soul-force (n): the moral and spiritual power that resides within individuals, enabling them to resist injustice and oppression through nonviolent means
daring resistance (n): open disregard
living martyr (n): the persons who sacrifice everything while they are living for a belief, cause or country
crux (n): the most important or difficult part of a problem or an issue
matribhoomi (n): hindi word meaning motherland
Passage Explanation: When the members of the Ghadar Party or the ghadarites arrived in the Kala Pani Jail, they learnt about the abuse their fellow revolutionaries had gone through. They heard about the difficult struggles of the prisoners and how the officials and jailers were slowly weakening their opposition to the British with continuous abuse. As soon as they arrived, the Ghadarites made a firm decision amongst themselves- if the jailers, warders and officials abused and tortured them for their own enjoyment, the Ghadarites would not simply suffer and bear the anger and abuse. The Ghadarites resolved to fight against the harm that would be inflicted on them. So, when Parmanand Jhansi was abused and threatened by Jailor Barry for not producing the required quantity of oil, Jhansi did not stay quiet. Instead, he refused to let Barry’s words make him fearful, and physically fought back and hit Barry. Barry fell down, but the warders quickly took control of the situation. Jhansi’s retaliation did not go unpunished, and was beaten up by the warders. Barry was described to be a Demi-god. Demi-gods are beings who are half god and half human. This was because he controlled the entire Kaala Pani jail and was cruel, inhuman and sadistic like gods, but he was a human being biologically. When Jhansi hit Barry, the Demi-god of the jail fell down. The fall and the extremely horrifying torture and abuse of Jhansi to punish him created a disturbance in the Cellular Jail. Then, there was the second case of resistance and retaliation when Chattar Singh slapped Superintendent Murray hard. Chattar Singh was put in a cell with a standing bar chain.Bhan Singh had also retaliated, but he was punished so harshly and severely that he had to be taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, his abuse was so achingly severe that Bhan Singh died in the hospital. Ram Rakha resisted their control and was punished so cruelly that he died within two months of his arrival in the hellish jail. So, due to the Ghadarites’ resolve to resist and retaliate, eight Ghadarites had died within a few months of their arrival. However, they did not give up, and instead of violence, they took up non-violent methods of resistance and retaliation. They conducted work and hunger strikes. They were led by prominent leaders like Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, Prithvi Singh, Udham Singh Kasel and Wasakha Singh. The strikes were supported by around 25 political prisoners, either to stand up for their freedom and revolutionary ideals, or to support the members who had been unfairly and inhumanely treated by the people in charge. One time, the number of participants of the strike went up to 100 prisoners. The hunger strikes could be short and long. On one particularly long hunger strike, a political prisoner named Jyotish Chandra Pal, passed blood in stool due to the long hunger strike. However, he refused to give in and continued participating in the hunger strike. After a month, Jyotish Chandra Pal went mad with hunger and was removed from jail and moved to a mental hospital. Prithvi Singh continued the hunger strike for four months, and even his friends and fellow political prisoners tried to persuade him to eat. However, Prithvi Singh firmly refused to eat, not giving up on his silent retaliation. The strike had reached such a large scale that the cruel authorities had no choice but to give relaxation to the prisoners. Some of the ways they would use to torture them were stopped, which was a huge victory for the political prisoners. The prisoners would sing patriotic songs like Vande Mataram and Gurbani while tolerating the harsh and inhuman punishments that would be inflicted on them. The political prisoners responded to the brutal force with soul force, a way to fight against oppression with nonviolence, spirituality and morality, something that would be later reflected in the Gandhian philosophy. The political prisoners were given some relaxation in the year 1921. They were either released or transferred to a jail in the mainland, where the treatment was not so horrible. It was observed that the martyrs who were living had suffered more than the dead martyrs. The dead martyrs were hanged to death as punishment, but the living martyrs suffered due to their resistance and retaliation, which required more courage and endurance than facing death. Their survival was a testament to their ability to remain resolute and determined even in the face of inhumanity and abuse. One of the prominent leaders of the Ghadar Party, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna recounted the songs he sang with the other political prisoners in the Cellular Jail. The main theme of the songs was- ‘Hey Matribhoomi, this is true that we could not liberate you, but so long as even one of our comrades is alive he will sacrifice everything to remove your chains’. This lyric means that the political prisoners knew that they were unable to free their motherland from the chains of confinement and oppression of British rule. However, the revolutionary prisoners were ready to sacrifice everything, and would live and fight for freedom till their very last breath.
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Conclusion
This post gives a summary and explanation of the lesson from PSEB Class 12 A Rainbow of English textbook Ghadari Babas in Kalapani Jail. Students can check out the summary and prepare the lesson quickly.