मेरा आजीवन कारावास / माझी जन्मठेप (स्वातंत्र्यवीर सावरकर - काले पानी का ऐतिहासिक संस्मरण)

refuse to do it from the very start. We know that the authorities dare not remain stub-born
with these forty to fifty prisoners, with by far a larger total of prisoners at that time in the
jail, than it was when we had resisted, struck work and finally won in banishing the Kolu
from our daily ration of hard labour. The authorities proposed as a result of this protest,
that they were to work on the Kolu for a week and no more. We suggested that the
prisoners should agree to the compromise and get on to work. All our earlier struggles on
behalf of political prisoners had thus proved of immense value to those who came after.
But now the quarrel turned on the work of picking oakum. Many of the convicts in this
batch were spirited young men, fire-eaters, most of them, and it was foolish to expect that
they would prostrate themselves on the very first day before the petty officers and the
jamadars put on supervising their work. When in the evening each one of them went to
the jamadar to hand over to him his day's quota of work, the tindal and the jamadar
ventured to behave very rudely with him, for which these got from him and from all the
reward they deserved. Of course the jamadar took the affair to the jailor, and as a result
the boldest and the most spirited of them, one Parmanand by name, was sent for by Mr.
Barrie for personal enquiry.

The convict beats Mr. Barrie

This young Parmanand was a different type altogether from Professor Permanand.
Later on he became one of the most shining men and teachers who had studied deeply
and read widely during the long years of self-education action in this prison, which, for
that reason, may be well compared to the University of Nalanda in Ancient India. They
had not only qualified themselves for that high position by mere erudition, but by their
spirit of sacrifice, by their sense of service and by their sterling character. Well, young
Parmanand was made to appear before Mr. Barrie; and Mr. Barrie, as was usual with him,
began by insulting young Parmanand. He first ordered him to stand erect. Parmanand had
stood before him as any ordinary decent man would stand. But Mr. Barrie would not be
satisfied and, in fury, addressed foul words to him, for abuses were his ingrained habit.
But the spirited young man was not accustomed to them. As soon as the young man had
heard these words, he brushed aside his warders on either side, rushed forward, and gave
a sharp slap in the face of Mr. Barrie right in the office where he was sitting to try the
young man. Seeing him coming like a tiger, Mr. Barrie shouted and tried to rise from the
chair, and the blow crashed on his, nay, the chair was upset and Mr. Barrie ran out crying,
"Catch him, catch him." Mr. Parmanand was overpowered, beaten all over the body with
stick and fisticuffs , till his lips, his face and back began to bleed. Mr. Barrie hurriedly
rang up the Superintendent. He reported that there was riot in the prison, and there was
consternation all over the colony. The cry went round that a bomb-thrower had thrashed
the warders and had beaten Mr. Barrie. The Superintendent arrived and ordered caning
for Parmanand. He was tied to the frame-work and given twenty stripes with the cane.
Every stroke made a deep cut in the body and blood spouted from the wound. His whole
body was a mass of lacerated flesh. The cane cut the flesh and pieces fell out with each
stroke of it. Yet Parmanand did not wince and uttered not a word. I have heard prisoners
bellowing under the inhuman punishment, —the most hardened criminals and the
goondas among them. But young Parmanand stood still. Mr. Barrie went on, "Beat him,