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

Part II CHAPTER I Consolidation and propaganda in the Andamans In the first part of this narrative I have given an account, not of prisoner's life and condition only but mainly that of the political convicts in the prison-house of the Andamans. The story is brought down to the year 1914. The struggle, the courage, the tenacity of will, and the fight for principle of the political prisoners during the period, had their effect on other Hindu prisoners in that jail and had instilled into them the spirit of social and co-operative endeavour. They had gradually begun to realise the meaning and significance of words like 'country', 'religion', and 'service' in relation to themselves and to the larger community of which they were also social units. The Mussulman Warder as also the Mussulman prisoner had each his copy of the Koran to read in the jail. And, sometimes they apparently read the Koran to put off their normal work. This facility was denied to their Hindu brethren in that jail. These had no religious books given them to read and understand. They could keep none of them themselves; and it was an offence to read them openly. Either the superior officer strictly banned them, or the lesser man—the Mussulman Jamadar—would not get them any copy of their religious scriptures. If a few of them even on a holiday gathered together sometime to read and hear the Ramayana of Tulsidas, the Muslim warder or Jamadar would suddenly disperse the assembly by force and loud abuse. I had seen these happenings myself, and several times. Looking at the pictures in such a book, they denounced as indecent; and they regarded it as a religious duty not to allow prisoners to see and read such stuff. Not tolerating such interference and coercion, the political prisoners often carried the matter to the superior officers. And this knocking at the door resulted, in the long run, in the prisoners' freedom to keep a religious book. After his day's work, from that time onwards, the prisoner could openly keep also a slate and pencil to con his alphabets and write them. There was extreme partiality on the part of the authorities as regards their holidays. On a Mohammedan holiday, the Mussulman prisoner was allowed to spend the whole day in idleness and free talk with his fellow-men. The Hindu prisoner, on the other hand, got very few holidays in the first instance. Some holidays were not even recognised as holidays for Hindu prisoners of that jail. And when they got the holiday at all, their warders and jamadars gave them the Hobson's choice of work or solitary confinement in their own cells. The prisoners at this threat went quietly to work for they knew by experience what the other alternative had meant for them. To put an end to this glaring partiality, I induced all of them to stop work and also joined them in the strike. When the Superintendent came on the spot and found the atmosphere too hot for him, he turned to me and spouted, "The Hindus shall have their due holidays but they must not make such a