Christmas In Naini Jail
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| Source-Deviantart |
Each of us were confined in a single cell 5x15 feet, in it we had to eat, sleep, bathe and answer nature`s call. Each day we were allowed to go out for an hour to exercise in pairs. If I was lucky then my partner would be a senior leader whose words gave me the courage to carry on despite all the difficulties.
It is impossible to recount each and every instance of this daily harassment but I’ll try to recount some. There were two loudspeakers on each end of the corridor where we were confined. In the morning at five o' clock they would blast songs like,
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| Source-Pktoday |
The food was nothing to write home about, for breakfast, lunch and dinner we had a pound of half-burnt chapattis each, some watery stuff with lentil bits floating on it and the specialty of the day a mushy and unidentifiable green edible called "Chaurahi" in their local dialect. This was our menu all three times of the day. It was the same day in and day out, except for two pieces of eggs a week, a lump of ghee on wednesday and on special occasions like government and religious holidays we would be given meat or fish.
In the beginning, every Sunday, families of the authorities in Allahabad came to look at these strange creatures called aatankwadis from the fringes of Indian occupied Kashmir and Nagaland. The kids would point towards the bearded Kashmiris and gawk at them saying “ Itne bade bade dari” Then it was the turn of the Nagas, being bare chested as it was hot and short we came for special ridicule.
They pointed gleefully at us and said” Yeh toh bunduron jey sahe lagte hain “. This went on for weeks until at last, a brave comrade could not stand it any longer and the next time as soon as the families with their kids entered, he stripped naked and stood in front of the gate of his cell in all his naked glory. And glorious it was because even if we were in shackles we could defy our oppressors and as a result, these so-called Babus didn`t bring anyone anymore for the rest of our stay in Naini Central Jail.
It was this jail where the British once incarcerated Gandhi and Nehru for demanding freedom. I hope like them our suffering in this jail will be rewarded. These thoughts and our little defiance made us stronger as our leaders always made us see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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I once remember the International Red Cross was to visit and meet the Kashmiris. And to see if they were being treated as per the norm, according to International standards. Unfortunately as we, Nagas were not a part of their itinerary we were shifted to another cell-block where some mentally challenged and violent prisoners were kept. The building was in shambles with half the roof missing and the inmates were mostly crazy and living in filth.
Some of them even drank from the loo and never cleaned their cell. When we went in, we tried to make things better by organizing cleanliness drives and persuaded the other inmates to maintain hygiene. Frequently we were successful but some were beyond reasoning. All in all, we made it through but those were interesting times. The days passed by slowly but surly and soon it was time for the holiday season.
Everyone in those days was blue and somber. Thoughts of our homes and land were on everyone’s mind. At night sometimes, you could hear someone quietly sobbing and anyone who hears it would also have tears in their eyes. Gradually, as the day of our savior’s birth neared, we decided to do something. In consultation, with our Kashmiri friends we gave up our weekly quota of meat and eggs so that we could have it all together on Christmas day and with some of the money, we had stashed away, we bought candles and candies. On the night of the 24th at around 11 o’clock with the permission of the warders, we including the Kashmiris stood at our cell doors to await the advent of Christmas by lighting our candles.
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| Source-Conservationhome |
But at 12 o' clock as we prepared to usher in the Christmas with a prayer the warders began singing Hindi songs to disturb our prayer. No matter how much we protested they would not relent so finally we knelt down in our own cells and prayed and gave Thanks to the Lord for at least able to praise his coming when many of our friends were no longer with us. With a heavy heart, we lay in our cells hoping that the next day would be better.
The next day as all of us were still thinking about the advent earlier a warder came up to us and said that we had visitors, that all of us were to be let out of our cells. Some Christians from nearby Allahabad and Jack, a Canadian smuggler we had earlier met came with cakes and a guitar. We felt blessed for this turn of events and together we celebrated Christmas as we have never done before in the company of fellow Christians, the Kashmiris, and by now the more accommodating warders.
Wow what an experience. Great description
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