A British-era jail in Himachal Pradesh where both Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse stayed

The plaque with Godse’s photograph.

Both cells have now been preserved at the British-era Dagshai jail, now a museum under the Army, in the serene hill town of Dagshai, a cantonment in Solan district.

A plaque with Godse’s photograph has been installed outside the cell where he was lodged. Similarly, the cell where Gandhi is believed to have stayed has also been preserved with his photo on the wall and a charkha.

Anand Sethi, curator of the museum, says: “This jail is probably the only one in the country where father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and his killer, Godse, both spent time during different periods. However, Gandhi spent a night here as a guest after he had arrived to support Irish soldiers who had been arrested for a mutiny against the British in 1920. The mutiny against the English officers was led by the 1st Battalion of the Connaught Rangers, and Gandhi had rushed to Dagshai jail to support Irish soldiers and spent a night in solidarity. The jail was also witness to the brutal execution of James Daly of the Connaught Rangers, who was shot dead for being a part of the mutiny in support of the Irish freedom movement.”

A plaque with Gandhi’s photo at the jail.

Sethi says that as per jail records, Gandhi had spent a night in the cell, which had a fireplace and a door opening to the outside, the only such cell in the jail and now known as the “VIP cell”.

“Godse, as per our records, was one of the last prisoners in this military jail and was lodged here because of high security arrangements. While Gandhi stayed here as a guest, not a prisoner, Godse was lodged here as an undertrial. We have preserved both areas in the jail with plaques informing visitors about this interesting piece of history,” says Sethi.

Echoing and with dimly lit corridors, solitary confinement cells with space to barely stand, dull colored walls and lanterns hung on the walls still stand testimony to the torture that prisoners underwent at Dagshai jail during the British rule. The jail has a separate “torture and punishment cell”.

The plaque installed outside the cell where Godse was lodged reads, “Soon after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse was put on trial at Punjab High Court, Peterhoff Shimla. While he was being transferred to Shimla Police custody, the police authorities had imprisoned Nathuram Godse for a night at Dagshai jail in this cell during the transit.”

The erstwhile East Punjab High Court was located in Shimla.

However, Dagshai, the hill town nestled amid pine trees and dotted with British-era churches, coffee shops and colourful huts, does not attract many tourists despite being less than 60km from Chandigarh.

The cell where Gandhi is believed to have stayed has also been preserved with his photo on the wall and a charkha.

To imprison military prisoners, Dagshai jail had a complex divided into two parts, namely common cells and solitary confinement cells.

The jail was constructed in 1849 at a cost of Rs 72,875 under the engineering guidance of Lord Napier, who subsequently went on to become the Viceroy of India in 1872.

The orientation of the T-shaped jail premises commences with a gate that houses a “bell of execution”, which is hung right on the top of the gate. The “hollow floor” inside would make a booming noise if prisoners tried to dig their way to escape.

There are a total of 54 cells, 11 of which were converted into accommodation for staff. The jail has teak wood flooring with anti-termite seasoning. The iron gates of each cell are made of specially cast iron alloy, which makes it impossible to cut the gates with any weapon or sharp object.

“Apart from the physical strains on the prisoners, sometimes inhumane punishments were also awarded for perceived indiscipline. In such a case, a prisoner was made to stand between the two parallel doors of the cell. Both the doors were locked, thus ensuring that the prisoners kept standing between two gates, thereby depriving him of any rest,” reads description outside one such cell.

Sethi says that work was in progress for QR coding all plaques and relics preserved in the museum so that visitors can access the text description by scanning codes on their phones.