VOICE OF THE SILENT INCARCERATION: NANIBALA DEVI

“We will die, the nation will rise; we will sacrifice our lives so the nation will get freedom” – these were words neither of an anarchist nor of terrorist, but the expression of tyaktena bhuñjīthā (enjoy through renunciation). This was the principle that guided Indian revolutionaries in their struggle for independence. Among these revolutionaries, Nanibala Devi stands as a burning example. She fought not only for India’s freedom but also for women’s liberation against the constraints of her time. Nanibala Devi as a first woman state prisoner in colonial India under the Regulation III of 1818 experienced countless brutal cruelties from the British police. In Kashi Jail, she endured demonic torture of chilli paste being enforced into her vagina, yet never revealed single information about the revolutionaries. She was also kept in an underground punishment cell without ventilation system. In Presidency Jail, she was kept as state prisoner. This paper explores the life struggle and sacrifices of Nanibala Devi to the cause of India’s freedom. Through the exploration of prison life of Nanibala, this paper also highlights the treatment of prisoners, especially women prisoners during the early phase of colonial rule.