AHMEDABAD: Sabarmati Central jail witnessed Mahatma’s first imprisonment in India in 1922 when he was lodged from March 11 to 20 on charges of sedition. He came back to jail later for only a day on August 1, 1933 before he was sent to Yerawada jail in Pune.
Mahatma Gandhi shifted his Satyagraha Ashram from Kochrab to the banks of Sabarmati River in june 1917.In his autobiography,the Sabarmati Central Jail was special attraction for him.
Today, the Gandhi Yard at Ahmedabad Central Jail stands witness to the landmark. Rohan Anand, superintendent of the jail, said that a lamp and incense sticks are burnt in the morning and evening daily amid bhajans by the inmates. “The inmates also keep the yard clean which also houses a small museum of sorts – including copies of his prison order, his correspondence and a few pictures/ illustrations,” he said.
Gandhi Yard today is the site of reforming prisoners’ lives – while a section is used as a classroom for distance education initiatives.
Vivek Desai, managing trustee of Navajivan Trust founded by Mahatma, said that the prison since its inception has seen one of the highest concentrations of freedom fighters among the Indian prisons during India’s freedom struggle.
“Among the first high-profile inmates was Bal Gangadhar Tilak who was brought to the jail in 1908 on charges of sedition. According to records, he celebrated his 53rd birthday here.