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

greeting between the relieving and the retiring petty officer in those days. They had forgotten their task of persecuting the poor prisoners; the hard discipline of the prison had relaxed; the petty officer and the prisoners had developed the spirit of comradeship, and the tie was the common news about the war and its idle forecasts. Otherwise they used to quarrel as soon as they saw one master for another; they would growl like dogs; they began abusing each other; and there used to be resentment and discontent all round. The war had changed this : there was eagerness and curiosity on the one side, and the willing loquacity on the other. Whatever be the news for the day, the only end to it was, "Well, only a few days now, and we are free." That was the form of leave-taking between the petty officer and his ward. I resolved to take full advantage of this eagerness for war news among the prisoners, though I knew that it had no deeper root in their heart than the selfish longing to be free. But the awakening should not be allowed to spend itself on nothing. I desired to plant in their hearts love for their country and interest in the politics with which her future was so intimately bound up. Every one approached me for news. Even the Mussulmans, who bore me a grudge on account of the Shuddhi movement, were reconciled to me by this common need. And they listened to me with patience and devotion. As for the political prisoners who had allied themselves with Mr. Barrie, they gave them news about the war after the pattern of their master. But myself and others along with me, told them frankly what we knew about it. And this bait of daily and faithful news had caught; it made them learn to read and write as I guided them. Among the millions and millions of India's teeming population, the whole world was divided into two or three States. If one happened to be a Hindu, the boundaries of the world did not stretch for him beyond England on the one side and Kabul on the other. All his knowledge of Geography and politics did not go beyond this range. He was surprised to learn that there were other kingdoms in the world besides these. He knew them not even by their names. The Britisher and the Afghan—Ungrez and the Amir—these were his familiar figures. If one were a Mussulman, he would add to them the name of Turkey. So that, for days together after the war had started, they believed that it was a war between England and Turkey —between the King of England and the Sultan of Turkey. They never thought that there could be any other kingdom on this habitable globe. They were familiar with Mussulmans on the one hand and Britishers on the other. Taking advantage of the war, I asked them to repeat the names of all countries in the world, to understand the map of the world, and the maps of several countries along with it, before I agreed to give them any news. With a piece of brick I used to draw these outline maps on the whitewashed walls of the prison-rooms and explain them to the prisoners. My political colleagues helped me considerably in that work. Those who would never learn geography for anything in the world, became its apt pupils for the sake of the news that they wanted from me. Germany, France, Austria, Russia, Egypt, Belgium and Servia became to them as familiar names as England, Afghanistan and Turkey. I had made them repeat the names and had pointed out their location on the maps I drew for them. And I explained to them the news of war in the light of Geography that they had thus studied. To the cleverer ones among them, I explained the constitution of these countries. They