Alipore museum photos

The Alipore Jail, the nerve centre of British atrocities, has now been converted into a museum — Alipore Independence Museum. Photos: Debosree Chatterjee It was around 12 noon on December 8, 1930. Writers Building, an important centre of British power in India, in central Calcutta (now Kolkata), was busy with regular office-hour activities ahead of lunchtime. Three young men impeccably dressed as Europeans in suits, boots and ties, quietly sneaked into the sprawling Greco-Roman-styled building occupying around 58,000 square feet. They crept through the long corridor of the well-guarded building to reach the second floor that housed the office of inspector general of prison, Col NS Simpson.

KOLKATA: The state's much awaited Alipore Independence museum project is nearing completion and will be open to public soon. Hidco, which is developing the museum, is engaging an event management agency for organizing the opening ceremony of the museum. "An event management agency will be kept ready to open the museum once the dates are finalised," said a Hidco official. Hidco officials said the main attractions at the museum will be a Netaji exhibition hall, the light-and-sound show with seating gallery, decorative lighting inside cells and a landscape lighting decoration behind the watch tower. There will also besome book shops and cafes in the building.

The Alipore Central Correctional Home is a national historic landmark located in the heart of Kolkata. This 116 year old building, along with the Presidency Jail, is on the Grade I list of heritage sites of Kolkata. Constructed in 1906, and spread over 15.2 acres, this colonial era institution abuts Tolly's Nullah and can be identified easily with its characteristic brick-red walls. Within the premises one can spot the Alipore Jail Press Building, the central watchtower, over a dozen buildings which served as prison cells and wards, and the Alipore Jail Hospital building. Notable freedom fighters who were incarcerated here include Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Chittaranjan Das, Dinesh Gupta, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy to name a few. It served as a correctional home till 2019 when the inmates were shifted to Baruipur, on the outskirts of Kolkata. From being a silent witness to the brutalities inflicted on the freedom fighters of the country, the Alipore Central Correctional Home is now transformed as a memorial and museum to honour the sacrifice of those who fought for the independence of India. The existing Alipore jail campus adopted a world-class Independence museum, which would act as a stimulant to increase the footfall in the Alipore Green city. The Independence Museum will display India's freedom struggle during the British period. The museum will also have on display paintings, photographs, maps of India during the various periods of History, installations, and...

A view of Alipore Museum, after it was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in Kolkata on September 21, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI Alipore Correctional Home, now Alipore Museum, is a historic place where national icons like the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rishi Aurobindo and Bidhan Chandra Roy were interned and scores of freedom fighters went to the gallows. The Chief Minister said that the cells were the freedom fighters were kept have been preserved alongside the plank where the freedom fighters went to gallows. Among those who went to the gallows at the correctional home, which was built in 1906 and spread over 15.5 acres, are Dinesh Gupta, Pramod Ranjan Chowdhury, Anant Hari Mitra and Dinesh Majumdar. In 2019, the West Bengal government transferred the inmates from the correctional home to Baruipur in South 24 Parganas to restore the place, which is located in the heart of the city. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee innaugurated a musuem at Kolkata’s historic Alipore Jail on September 21, 2022. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI The Chief Minister expressed hope in the museum turning out to be “heritage spot” and an important tourism destination. To this end, the State government has set up a coffee house, restaurant and a food kiosk there. Experts said that five buildings of the prison have been restored and the museum has started its journey from the restored buildings. Cells where prominent freedom ...