Jail where Nehru was kept in 1923 collapses in heavy rain
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service
Faridkot, July 17
A jail room of historical importance at Jaito, where Jawaharlal Nehru was kept in September 1923 for violating prohibitory orders of the British by participating in Jaito Morcha, collapsed after incessant rain on Wednesday.
In this 240 sq ft room, Nehru was confined along with K Santhanam and AT Gidwani on September 22, 1923, for defying order banning entry to princely state of Nabha. Jaito town was part of Nabha state that time.
This jail room was in shambles for the last many years. On September 23, 2008, Rahul Gandhi had visited this jail room situated adjacent to the Jaito police station.
Keeping in view the poor condition of this jail room, the then Congress government at the Centre had approved Rs 65 lakh for its maintenance, but other than some patch work, no maintenance and renovation work had been carried out.
“For the last 10 years the jail room was under the Tourism Department, but there was no endeavour to promote it as a tourism spot by developing the infrastructure around it,” said Pawan Goyal, general secretary, state Congress.
Nehru had come to Jaito following a resolution passed in the Congress special session in 1923 supporting Akalis Jaito Morcha. The Congress had sent Nehru, Gidwani and Santhanam to get first-hand information about political developments. But when they entered the state, they were arrested for want of permission from the British administrator of Nabha, said Goyal.
After keeping Nehru and his two comrades in this jail for a day on September 22, 1923, they were shifted to Nabha jail and the court had announced two-year-jail for them on October 3, 1923. Both Jaito and Nabha jail rooms, where Nehru had been kept, are in a bad shape.
Santhanam, who died in 1980, in his memoir “Handcuffed with Jawaharlal” had recalled how they were lodged in a separate and secluded part of the jail which had mud walls. The room was 20 ft by 12 ft. The roof and the flooring was made of mud.
