About

The Cellular Jail, also known as 'Kālā Pānī', was a British colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prison was used by the colonial government of India for the purpose of exiling criminals and political prisoners. The prison complex was constructed between 1896 and 1906. The building was made of puce-colored bricks brought from Burma. The building had seven wings, each about 140m long, at the center of which was a tower that was used by guards to keep watch on the inmates. The wings radiated from the tower in straight lines, in a hub-and-spokes model. Today only two of the seven wings remain in their entirety, along with parts of two other wings. The remaining three wings have been decommissioned and razed.