India Mint Stamp

Lokith Philately

Permanent Pictorial cancellation of Andaman & Nicobar

PORT BLAIR PERMANENT PICTORIAL CANCELLATION

Permanent Pictorial Cancellation inaugural day covers

Date of issue: 01.11.2004

Pin code: 744101

Status: Active

PO Name: Port Blair

Description: Kala Pani or Cellular Jail in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands was built by the British between 1896 and 1906. This jail was a part of the culmination of the repression of the British Raj. Indian freedom fighters of the struggle were deemed serious criminals and were exiled to the Andaman Islands, 1,370 km from India. Most of them were hanged there. This jail was a yellow brick building designed as a seven-aisle building with a tower in the middle that served as a crossroads and was used by the guards to keep an eye on the prisoners. During World War II, the Japanese invaded the Andaman Islands in March 1942 and captured the Cellular Jail and all the jail personnel. 

During this period the islands were under the control of Subhash Chandra Bose, who hoisted the Indian national flag for the first time on the island and declared that it was the territory of the Azad Hind Government. The British regained control of the islands and the prison at the end of World War Il in 1945. The three original wings of the prison remain. The prison remained operational until 1945. On 1 November 1956, it was declared the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A hospital was established in the prison premises in 1963. The prison was declared a national monument in 1979. The prison structure suffered some damage in the 2004 tsunami and earthquake.