Abt Nehru in Dehradun jail

[M Lal Dhondiyal]

 
uttarakhandnews.blogspot.com/

 

The historic cell/barrack where Nehru stayed for one of his longest jail terms during British rule and completed his famous book 'Glimpses of World History' in 1932-33 remains in utter neglect, with jail staff using it as family quarters in the state capital.

 

Two deputy jailors and a doctor are using this three-room barrack at the Dehra Dun jail for residential purposes.

 

Nehru was transferred to Dehra Dun Jail from Bareilly Jail because of bad health and he penned these famous lines about this 1932 cell in his Autobiography, "For fourteen and a half months I lived in my little cell or room in the Dehra Dun Gaol, and I began to feel as if I was a part of it."

 

 He termed it a 'thought-infested room' and had the company in this prison of Govind Ballabh Pant and Kunwar Anand Singh during that period.

 

The Hindustan Times was successful in discovering the forgotten cell after more than seventy years through extensive research. Searching out the old structure was not easy with the Jail campus having one old jail, one new one, and several old buildings.

 

But the Jail Diaries of Pandit Nehru solved the mystery. Giving minute details of the location he wrote on 8 June 1932, " We are really not in the jail proper but just outside it in the warders' old quarters."

 

Incidentally, at the Dehra Dun jail there exists only three identified old buildings viz-old jail, old jailors house and the European Ward.

Nehru clearly writes in his autobiography that his 1932 cell was located outside the goal wall, but within the goal compound, the side where a European Ward was also situated.

 

His diaries provided further clues by stating that he was allowed to take morning and evening walk about a distance of about a hundred yards from his cell. Another hint was about the height of the room,

"Here we have a baby wall hardly deserving the name of jail wall-barely nine feet." The wall of the discovered barrack is just nine feet; it is located about a hundred yards from the main gate and is
outside the old goal wall but inside the campus.

 

Nehru came here for the first time as a prisoner in 1932 and served his term from 6 June 1932 to 23 August 1933. He came again in 1934, 1940 and 1941.

 

Incidentally, the Hindustan Times highlighted this issue last year.

And the Uttaranchal Government made tall claims about doing something concrete to identify the 1932 cell. But even after the passing of one year, the situation remains the same.

 

When approached, Secretary, Home and Prison, S Raju, could only say,"I have just taken charge and came to know about the unidentified cell where Nehru stayed in 1932 very recently. We will do something."

 

Had the Hindustan Times not taken the initiative to trace this piece of history the structure would have ended up flattened on the ground.

This is because the construction of a new jail at Selaqui, near here, is slated to complete by coming December. Apart from another cell, where Nehru stayed in 1934, 40 and 41 all other are slated to be demolished, making way or a shopping mall.

 

Hindustan Times
Late City Edition (New Delhi
12 November, 2005

 

My point: Discovering Nehru's 1932 cell in Doon
By Raju Gusain

 

Dehradun: With my recent report in the Hindustan Times (Nehru's cell now houses jail staff, HT, November 12) I claim to have discovered the cell/barrack where the first Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, was imprisoned in 1932-33.

The cell is of great historic importance as Nehru spent one of the longest jail terms of his life at the mentioned cell. Incidentally, Nehru spent almost twelve years of his life behind bars. And the barrack where he lived for fourteen and a half months in 1932-33 is now home to two deputy jailors and one doctor.

 

My report is based on facts mentioned by none other than Nehru in his Jail diaries and autobiography. It will be recalled that in 1932-33, he compiled his famous book 'Glimpses of World History' at the three-room barrack in Dehradun.

For my research to discover the forgotten cell, I approached many premier organisations like the British Library (London), National Archives of India, National Library (Calcutta) and the Nehru Memorial
Museum and Library (New Delhi).

 

But the jail diaries of Nehru helped me in locating this old structure. I combed through little bits of narration to identify this piece of history.

 

The cell

 

Nehru made this 1932 cell famous by narrating these well known lines in his autobiography, "For fourteen and a half months, I lived in my little cell or room in the Dehradun Gaol, and I began to feel as if I was a part of it.

 

I was familiar with every bit of it; I knew every mark and dent on the whitewashed walls and on the uneven floor and the ceiling with its moth-eaten rafters."

 

The location

 

Commenting on his 1932 quarters, he writes in his 8 June diary, "We re settling in our quarters. We are really not in the jail proper but ust outside it in the warders' old quarters."

Giving further details he states in his autobiography that the cell was located 'outside the goal walls' but 'within the goal compound page 353).' He makes a similar observation about another building of the Dehra Dun jail. He says, "Within the compound, but outside the
gaol walls, there was another small building called the European lock up."

 

These details clearly indicate that a wall from the main jail separated the 1932 cell where Nehru stayed, as well as the European lock-up. It will be recalled that there are just three identified buildings of the old jail viz - European lock-up, old jail and old house of the jailor.

 

Identifying the 1932 cell

 

After reaching the conclusion that the European cells and Nehru's 1932 cell are located in the same row I started looking for other information more vigorously. The 6 June diary provided more clues,

"What a change from the 24 foot wall of our barrack in Bareilly! Here we have a baby wall- hardly deserving the name of jail wall - barely nine feet. It is easy enough to hop over it."
 

Nehru's autobiography provided other useful lines, "This place

(barrack) is so small that there was no room to walk about in it, and so we were allowed, morning and evening, to go out and - walk up and down in front of the gate, a distance of about a hundred yards."

The cell discovered by me is located almost a hundred yards (95 to be more accurate) from the main gate and its wall is of nine feet.

Besides this, in his 1932-33 jail diaries, most of the time Nehru is in company of two other inmates. In June 1932, he was with Govind Ballabh Pant and Kunwar Anand Singh. In August 1932, with Diwan Ram  Chander Kapoor and Anand Singh. In his 26 March 1933 dairy, Nehru
writes about washing 'Newar' with two other inmates.

This gives an indication of a three-room barrack. So the barrack was located outside the goal wall, about a hundred yards from the main gate, the wall of
which was of nine feet and consisted of three rooms.

The cell discovered matches all the mentioned characteristics.

 

Conclusion

 

After my report appeared in the Hindustan Times, the jail authorities were heard saying, 'Wo to pagala gaya hai.' But I would like say my report is based on research.
When I first informed the Jail authorities about the 1932 jail term of  our first Prime Minister, here, they out rightly rejected my claim.

But on 14 November 2004 they admitted to Nehru coming to the Doon valley as a prisoner in 1932. Even in the latest case, I expect the same to happen.

 

 

Vipin Chandra Pal Singh Panwar "Nishan"
Moderator & Members of the Adhoc Working Committee