Visit to the Alipore Museum

On January 9, 2024, Semester III History Honours and Semester V History Elective students of Loreto College, Kolkata visited the Alipore Museum. This was followed by another visit to the Museum by the Semester I History Major students on February 2, 2024.

As one entered the museum, one could hear the tunes of Ekbar biday de ma reverberating through the walls. The Alipore Jail, now called the Alipore Central Correctional Home, had housed several revolutionaries and freedom fighters and was a centre of Indian patriotism during the British Raj. The entire complex featured several exhibits showcasing the life of the people within—their sufferings, their plight, and, most importantly, their pride. The gallows where several of India’s bravest sons were hanged till death were haunting as they narrated tales spun out of valour and duty. The Jail Museum had a special section dedicated to the inmates sent to the Cellular Jail, and the cells where Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were imprisoned.

The history of Indian Independence has the tales of many freedom fighters, known and unknown, interwoven along its timeline, and the walls of the Jail paid homage to these unsung heroes, acknowledging their sacrifice for their motherland. The experience of visiting the museum had a great impact on the students as they could see the gallows, the guns, and the various kinds of ammunition that the freedom fighters had made with their limited resources. This made the sacrifices of the revolutionaries come alive for them.