Life in Multan Jail

Sharma: Could you tell us something about your life in jail in 1930?

Chacha Ji: Well, in 1930, from here we were quite a few persons who were taken together to Multan. We were handcuffed all through. But we were so happy and we were enjoying our lives so much. Probably Multan Jail life was a period of enjoyment and happiness for me.

We were lodged in a new jail and, as far as I remember, it was called the Habitual Jail and it had quite a number of wards. It was a very big jail. It had probably 12 wards or somethinig like that. Of course, we were kept in our ward. And we were not allowed to go into any other ward.

But as the jail had just been constructed and it was a new jail and the buildings were so fresh and new we were all enjoying it, as if it had been made especially for us. We were put in separate cells. All of us had been given small cells and our bed was made of cement. It was a ‘cement-bed’. On that there was a mattress in which some sort of wheat stalks were filled. The pillows were also filled with wheat stalks or bhusa and no cotton was used in the filling. We were given jail clothes and our clothes were taken away. And we were very, very happy to have those jail clothes.

When the sentence was pronounced, I was placed in ‘A’ class. But later on, I don’t know how, there was some representation from the Government or police, whatever it was—that there were so many cases against me or something like that. And when I reached the Multan Jail I was told that they did not have any provision for ‘A’ class there. I was put in ‘B’ class.

We had a ‘B’ class ward of political prisoners. And the people from the whole of Punjab and Delhi were there. Probably we were more than a hundred persons there. We were all high-class people from all sections and religions—Sikhs, Mohammedans, Arya Samaj-sanyasis, maulavis, Sanatan Dharma leaders, sanyasis, hakims, vaidyas, doctors, teachers, professors, educationists, social reformers, and contractors...whoever were of a status...were given ‘B’ class and were together.

From Delhi there was Lala Sham Nath who was lately a Deputy Minister in Delhi. And one Mohammedan, I forget his name, although I was extremely friendly with him. He was from the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Even now I feel that I should go and find out whether he is still living. Four or five years back I went to Jamia Millia and met him. But I forget his name.

From Punjab there was Dr Parkash Chand from Lahore or somewhere. He was friendly with me.

In our ward there was one Chaudhary Sherjung. He was said to be a political dacoit, who had done a lot for political purposes. He was much younger than me. I was twenty-five or twenty-six in those days but he was much younger than me! I was told that he was a very brave young boy.

There was a ward for Pathans whose sentences were for 50 years or 60 years!

In one ward there were Sikhs of ‘Kama-Gata-Maru ship case’ of historic fame. They had come in a ship and had landed at Calcutta…and they were arrested. And gradually we used to have occasions to meet all those people.

But I felt that the Pathans were the most powerful ones, so brave and all above six feet.

We were there for about 9 months or so. As my habit is, I can never sit idle, not if I can do something. So we were doing the cooking ourselves. We had divided our work. Some people would go to bring the rations. Rations were in the hands of the Pathans because they were senior, very old people. Some sort of yellow dresses they wore. There is a system in jail that after some long sentence, they are given ‘Black Dresses’ and then ‘Yellow Dresses’, and like that. But they were all so nice people. Our people from the ‘Political Prisoners Ward’ used to bring the rations every day. And then we were given two or three convicts to help us in cooking. Of course, it took us some days to achieve all that. Then all through we were cooking ourselves.

The whole day we were talking, playing….The ward was quite big and we used to play handball and badminton... four hours, five hours every day.

Tortures in Jail—Handcuffs, Bar-fetters, Solitary Cell, Tiktikki

Then, of course, as there was a person like me who could not sit idle, we were doing something or the other, which would not be acceptable to the jail authorities. Just a sort of disobeying their orders or disobeying the rules and regulations of the jail. That was our habit. It was my habit.

So the first punishment which I was given was that my correspondence was stopped. I could not write any letter and could not receive any letter.

Then after a few days, my interviews were stopped. Nobody could come to interview me.

Then after another few days, I was put in handcuffs for about four hours a day. Standing, with handcuffs tied, against the wall like that. Then after another month or so, I was put in bar-fetters.

Then after that, the next punishment was solitary confinement for three months.

And then I was given 18 seers of wheat to grind every day.

When I disobeyed that, the Jailor ordered that I should be given 20 seers for grinding.

Then even in that ‘Solitary Cells Ward’ gradually other people also started coming in. There were quite a number of persons, maybe 20 or 25.

Next to me, with whom I had become friendly, was Dr Prakash Chand of Lahore.

Both of us were given 20 seers for grinding.

I forget the name of the Jailor. He was a Mohammedan and from the military, a medical offficer.

Then every week we were supposed to clean our cells, while our actual condition was that:

4. With bar-fetters we had to sleep,

5. We were not even taken out for toilet because

that was provided in the cell itself,

6. And the food was also served in the cell itself.

And then, after a week or so, the Jailor, with other big officials, came to my cell.

We were supposed to keep our cell clean and keep our bedding, etc. in proper condition. And then when the Jailor came we should stand and salute and like that.

Which of course we would not do.

I was sitting with my back towards the front bars and when the Jailor came my cell was opened. The four warders or the policemen made me stand. My legs were stretched. My hands were stretched. One of my hands was pulled and put on my forehead. And they made me salute by force.

And I was shouting: “We are not prepared to do all this, this is all by force”...and like that. And then my cell was closed.

The next day the Jailor came again and he asked all other officers to go away. And the cell was opened and he came in and locked the cell from inside.

He spoke to me for two hours...more than two hours... to make me understand that “It was not correct”, that we “should all agree and abide by the Jail rules”, and things like that.

But I was not listening to anything. I was sometimes crying also. I said: “We have not come here to save our lives. We will prefer to die here. But we are not going to be subjected to your rules & regulations which are not proper. We have come here to free our country from the British yoke, and it is not for these petty things of my personal safety or my personal life and all that.” He tried and tried his best. But nothing could happen. He could not achieve anything. And he went away.

Then the next day what is called ‘Tiktikki’ was brought and put in front of us. And the entire arrangement was made for stripping us and caning us over the naked body…. and already in bar-fetters we had…I mean our ankles and all that were all so much wounded. Because in the night whenever we had to turn, the face of the entire bar-fetters had to turn to this side and that side….

And when we walked, there was always something— some struggle with these people and they hit and hurt us.

When we were wounded, when our ankles were wounded, after a week or so—they put some medicine on our ankles. On both the ankles they put leather covering, exactly as is put on the horses, so that the iron of the bar-fetters did not directly hurt our skin or bones. One of the leather-covers which I used to put on, I even brought here and is still with me.

About the ‘grinding’ I wanted to mention that the first few days we did not even touch the chakki, the grinding wheel. But when some well-wisher came and told us: “Please grind some at least. You may grind ‘half a seer’ or one seer—it is much better. Otherwise, if you don’t grind at all, then they can produce you before the magistrate again, and for that another six months imprisonment can be given, as that will be disobedience of the Jail rules. So it is better to grind a little bit and then say that you can’t do it, instead of not grinding at all.”

That I was not inclined to do. Still I did something like that. But I was very angry with the Jail Superintendent and said: “Who is going to grind? Is it your father who is going to come and grind this?”

Then of course, he was very angry and he got the cell opened. And then a little bit of beating me, and stretching and pulling and making me stand and salute and all that. This was done only on that account.

Then tiktikki was put for caning us on the naked bodies. It was to start with me.

In the meantime the entire “Pathan ward”—I think there were more than 150 or 200 people, all with very old sentences and very good persons as I could see from their faces and from their talks, so polite, gentle...they—and the Sikh wards also—two or three wards—they all joined and said: “If anyone is killed then we will break the entire jail. And we will kill all the wardens and we will break all the doors and gates. The jail will be broken to pieces.” They threatened the jail people. This was one side.

On the other side, about twenty to twenty-five thousand people from Multan came out and collected at the jail and started shouting and shouting.

And the third interesting thing which happened is that the jailor’s only son fell very ill. He was getting fever—104° and 105°.

And the jailor’s wife was telling him: “You are so cruel and you are doing all this. And this is why our son has fallen sick and there may be some calamity.”

Then, probably he was either frightened or something… or some godly or divine thought came to him. He came to us and opened the cell again and then they put quite a number of new durries in the lawn where the tiktikki was placed. The tiktikki was removed. We were all taken out. Our bar-fetters were broken with hammers with great difficulty. There was nothing by which they should have locked or something. The bar-fetters had to be broken by chisels and hammers and all that. And then they sent us back to our ward. So this was one side of the jail life.