मेरा आजीवन कारावास / माझी जन्मठेप (स्वातंत्र्यवीर सावरकर - काले पानी का ऐतिहासिक संस्मरण)

Oh, Now I remember By the way, as I am writing, I remember what the Capital of Calcutta had written about my brother. It had published the news that my brother had been appointed in this jail to run the wireless. You will please understand, my reader, that the news was not altogether without foundation! In vain, did we threaten the Capital with a suit and exact its apology! Yes, my brother was, indeed, working the code; the mistake lay in the fact that he communicated by it with two or three rooms close by, and not, as it had alleged, with Germany during the outbreak of the first World War. But what is 'space' and 'time' to the philosopher of the Capital ? We conveyed our messages through this device to all the political prisoners in our jail, and whatever we pro posed to do, we did, all as one man. Mr. Barrie was ever at the throat of the warders to extort how the communication was effected and how combined action was undertaken. The Pathan warders were ignorant blockheads. They made no head or tail out of the sounds they heard, They did not grasp why the handcuffs were sounded or knocked in a particular manner. If any one of them shouted out to enquire, we said we were keeping tune to the singing of religious songs, which we recited inwardly. At last one of them suspected foul play. He made out sound responding to sound in regular sequence all. over the building and in the rooms of the prisoners. And he reported his suspicion to Mr. Barrie. One night Mr. Barrie went silently over all the blocks in the building. He heard these sounds and their rhythmic beats. It was not difficult for him to make out what it was. He went back with an order to the warders not to let the devils make these noises. But who would listen to the warders? Who would obey the order? Were we not out for passive resistance? During this period of noise and disobedience, we were every day taken out for our dinner for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening. Mr. Barrie kept standing before us during the hour, lest we might talk to one another. For two or three days at the beginning, everything went on quietly. On the fifth day, however, while all of us had sat down to our meal and we were however, while all of us had sat down to our meal and we were eating it, each from his own plate, we heard some one lecturing to us. The opening words that fell on our ears were, "Brothers ! We are free !" Every one was startled and looked up. And behold, here was Nani Gopal who had uttered the words to defy the 'silence' order of Mr. Barrie. And he went on "Brethren, we are all born free. It is our birthright to speak to one another with love and kind greetings. If an enemy were to deprive us of that right, we must challenge him. Here I am speaking to you and will continue speaking." Hardly had these words escaped his lips, when, bursting with rage, Mr. Barrie, Mirza Khan and the Pathan warder rushed at him. Nothing