Alipore Museum In Kolkata That Was Once A Jail

Alipore Museum in Kolkata was earlier a central jail. I was apprehensive about visiting it as jails have a perception of being dreaded institutions. On top of it, they are known to be very dirty.

It turned out to be a memorable visit and I intend to go there again. This museum seemed to exude a sense of pride. It is actually a very well-maintained museum.  People also call it the Independence museum or Alipore Jail Museum. The pictures of this museum on its website are old and give a dismal view.

It is located close to the famous Kali temple and is easily accessible by road.

The Alipore museum highlights its rich history because of its strong links to the long Indian Independence struggle against the British. There are cells named after freedom fighters like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and others who inhabited them. It tells the stories of revolutionaries and particularly focuses on the role of the Bengal presidency in the Indian Independence movement.

My biggest learning at Alipore Museum was the fact that sanyasis and fakirs too fought for an Independent India. It is hard to comprehend the strength of those who could have led a comfortable life but chose a life that entailed torture. They gave up their lives in the hope of creating a world free from authoritarianism in their motherland.

History of Alipore Museum

This facility came up as a Central Prison under British rule in 1906. The museum website tells us that it was considered a modern prison back then. The jail was operational till February 2019.

By the end of the tour, I was curious to know how independent India treated its prisoners in the same facility. I wondered why this museum could not have dedicated even one gallery to its longer post-independence history.

What to see at Alipore Museum in Kolkata

Come with me for a virtual tour of the museum:

INA Themed Coffee House 

There is an INA theme cafe, simply called Coffee House, on the first floor of the entrance building. Vintage old photographs of this jail adorn its one wall and the history of INA is documented on another wall.

The cafe offers a good view of many red prison buildings with green wooden windows. I fancied working from this cafe with good interiors. I must admit all the stereotypical stories about distasteful food in jails played in my head while I gobbled a yummy pizza.

In retrospect, I find it amazing how many times I managed to…