Ordering the Imperial Policy of Bengal Detainees¹: An Analysis of Buxa, Hijli, Berhampore, and Deoli Detention Camps

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59815/bhs.vol2706

SUBHAMAY DUTTA

Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of History

Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University

Abstract: After the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act was passed in 1930, the prison system in India experienced a gradual evolution. The detention system came into existence. The colonial government reformed and revamped the jail system without any organized judicial and prison system in India. The jail administration supervised the ‘detainees’ treatment policy. During the phase of militant insurgency, all jails faced heavy pressure to accommodate prisoners, and the younger revolutionaries were confined in various jails and temporarily detained in Bengal province. After the Chittagong armoury raid, the British government imposed strict repressive measures against extremists. In 1930, the imperial government started alternative accommodation for revolutionaries, who were detained without judicial proceedings. Most of the detainees were kept in detention camps in Buxa, Hijli, Berhampore, and Deoli. Most of the revolutionaries came from East Bengal.

During the time of militant nationalism, these camps were significant within the larger context of detention in India. All the detention camps had significant effects on historical interpretation. The imperial policy towards the detainees was codified many times. Several rules, regulations and laws were implemented for detainees in various contexts. In the past, there were no formal procedures in place for handling the detainees in the camp. The Andaman Cellular Jail operated purely as a penal colony, while the detention camps across India embodied different ideas. This research article traces the colonial policy towards the detention camps and detainees.

Key Words: BCLA 1930, Detention, Detainees, Prison Discipline, Funeral Law.