Andaman Lucknow share deep historical links to India's freedom movement LG

    Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov 7 (PTI) Andaman and Lucknow hold a significant place in India's freedom struggle, symbolising the courage and sacrifices of those who fought against British rule, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Dr Dinesh Sharma has said.

    Addressing a seminar at Kalicharan Degree College in Lucknow on Friday on the role of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the freedom movement, Sharma said the Cellular Jail stands as a reminder of the torture and hardships endured by freedom fighters, an official release said.

    He said the British established a penal settlement in the Andaman Islands to punish revolutionaries, isolate political prisoners from the mainland and suppress the freedom movement.

    Popularly known as 'Kala Pani', Cellular Jail became a centre of brutal treatment of political prisoners, he added.

    Freedom fighters, including Veer Savarkar and Batukeshwar Dutt, were imprisoned there and subjected to inhuman treatment, he said.

    Highlighting the historical connection between the two regions, Sharma said Lucknow played an important role in the Revolt of 1857, while the Andaman Islands became a symbol of the sacrifices made by revolutionaries in the later freedom struggle.

    He also referred to the historical and literary links between Lucknow and Andaman, mentioning the 1892 book 'Black Water: The Strange History of Port Blair', written by Lucknow resident Mohammed Zafar and published by Munshi Nawal Kishore Press.

    The book documents the history of the penal settlement and the hardships faced by prisoners in the Andaman Islands, he said.

    Sharma further said that 18 of the 585 revolutionaries imprisoned in Cellular Jail between 1909 and 1938 were from Uttar Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)