Viper Island
Encyclopedia
Viper Island is near Port Blair
in Andaman district
in the Andaman Islands
, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory
of India
and was the site of the jail where the British used to imprison convicts and political prisoner
s. It has the ruins of a gallows atop a hillock. The jail was abandoned when the Cellular Jail
was constructed in 1906.
In any talk about Andaman
and its role in the freedom struggle, it is the Cellular Jail
that finds frequent mention. But, many years before the Cellular Jail was constructed, it was the jail at Viper Island that was used by the British to inflict the worst form of torture and hardship on those who strove to free the country from the British rule.
came to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1789. The vessel, it is believed, met with an accident and its wreckage was found near the island.
Another story says that the name originated from the presence of vipers, snakes, on the island.
in 1858. Ross Island
functioned as the headquarters of the penal settlement. Located near Port Blair
, the construction of the Viper Jail was carried out during 1864-67. Lt. Col. Barnet Ford, superintendent of the penal settlement, supervised the work. Initially, a police inspector, a head constable, two sergeants, four class I constables and 30 class II constables were posted, according to materials available at the Cellular Jail. Later on, the strength was raised gradually. Solitary cells, lock-ups, stocks and whipping stands characterised the Viper Jail. Women were among the prisoners there.
The conditions at the jail were such that the place got the notorious name, "Viper Chain Gang Jail." Those who had challenged the might of the British authority were chained together and confined at night by a chain running through coupling of irons around their legs. It was at this jail that members of the Chain Gang were put to hardest labour. Brij Kishore Singh Deo, popularly known as Maharaja Jagannath of Puri, was treated like an ordinary convict and kept in the Viper Jail, where he died in 1879.
The Jail has secured a permanent place in the history of the freedom struggle as it was here that Sher Ali, a Pathan from Peshawar, was hanged after he assassinated Lord Mayo, Indian Viceroy, on February 8, 1872 at Hope Town jetty, opposite Chatham Island. After the construction of the Cellular Jail
, the Viper Jail's importance declined.
Today, the two-storeyed Jail building stands tumbled to the plinth level except for a portion of the roof with the outer wall dilapidated. But for a few birds which have built their nests inside the tomb of the gallows, only a deafening silence prevails there. Situated near Port Blair's harbour, Viper Island can be approached in 20 minutes from the Phoenix Bay jetty. The Harbour Cruise, available daily from the jetty, provides an overall view of different points of the harbour and a trip to this haunted Viper Island.
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
in Andaman district
Andaman district
Andaman district was a district of India, one of three districts in the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The district's administrative territory encompasses all of the Andaman Islands, which are located in the Indian Ocean...
in the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and was the site of the jail where the British used to imprison convicts and political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s. It has the ruins of a gallows atop a hillock. The jail was abandoned when the Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
was constructed in 1906.
In any talk about Andaman
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
and its role in the freedom struggle, it is the Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
that finds frequent mention. But, many years before the Cellular Jail was constructed, it was the jail at Viper Island that was used by the British to inflict the worst form of torture and hardship on those who strove to free the country from the British rule.
Origin of Name
This small island derives its name from the vessel `Viper in which Lt. Archibald BlairArchibald Blair
Archibald Blair was a naval surveyor in the Bombay Marine.He joined the Bombay Marine, received his first commission in 1771 and in 1792 was promoted captain. In 1772, as a midshipman, he went on his first survey mission along the coasts of India, Iran and Arabia. In 1780 he was lieutenant on a...
came to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1789. The vessel, it is believed, met with an accident and its wreckage was found near the island.
Another story says that the name originated from the presence of vipers, snakes, on the island.
The Jail
The need for building a jail there was felt only after the British set up a penal settlement at Port BlairPort Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
in 1858. Ross Island
Ross Island
Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound.-Geography:...
functioned as the headquarters of the penal settlement. Located near Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
, the construction of the Viper Jail was carried out during 1864-67. Lt. Col. Barnet Ford, superintendent of the penal settlement, supervised the work. Initially, a police inspector, a head constable, two sergeants, four class I constables and 30 class II constables were posted, according to materials available at the Cellular Jail. Later on, the strength was raised gradually. Solitary cells, lock-ups, stocks and whipping stands characterised the Viper Jail. Women were among the prisoners there.
The conditions at the jail were such that the place got the notorious name, "Viper Chain Gang Jail." Those who had challenged the might of the British authority were chained together and confined at night by a chain running through coupling of irons around their legs. It was at this jail that members of the Chain Gang were put to hardest labour. Brij Kishore Singh Deo, popularly known as Maharaja Jagannath of Puri, was treated like an ordinary convict and kept in the Viper Jail, where he died in 1879.
The Jail has secured a permanent place in the history of the freedom struggle as it was here that Sher Ali, a Pathan from Peshawar, was hanged after he assassinated Lord Mayo, Indian Viceroy, on February 8, 1872 at Hope Town jetty, opposite Chatham Island. After the construction of the Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
, the Viper Jail's importance declined.
Today, the two-storeyed Jail building stands tumbled to the plinth level except for a portion of the roof with the outer wall dilapidated. But for a few birds which have built their nests inside the tomb of the gallows, only a deafening silence prevails there. Situated near Port Blair's harbour, Viper Island can be approached in 20 minutes from the Phoenix Bay jetty. The Harbour Cruise, available daily from the jetty, provides an overall view of different points of the harbour and a trip to this haunted Viper Island.