Cellular Jail, Colonial prison in Port Blair, India
Cellular Jail is a former colonial detention facility in Sri Vijaya Puram that now operates as a memorial and museum. The compound consists of seven wings radiating from a central watchtower in a star-like formation, though only three wings remain standing today.
British authorities built the facility between 1896 and 1906 to confine Indian independence activists on a remote island far from the mainland. After India gained independence in 1947, the site closed as a working detention center and later became a national memorial.
The name "Cellular Jail" refers directly to the building's design of complete isolation, where each room held one person with no possibility of contact. Today visitors walk through the same narrow corridors and peer into the small chambers where freedom fighters spent years in silence.
The museum opens daily except Monday with separate morning and afternoon hours, and admission requires a small fee. Walking through the remaining wings and central tower usually takes about an hour to complete.
The three remaining wings still show cells in their original condition, with heavy iron doors and narrow air vents placed near the ceiling. Originally there were seven wings, but four were demolished after independence to make space for public buildings.
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