Sri Vijaya Puram, Sept. 10: A proposal to formally recognise Cellular Jail as “The Indian Bastille” has moved into the examination stage, with the Andaman and Nicobar Administration forwarding the representation to its Directorate of Art & Culture after the Ministry of Home Affairs sought action on the matter.
The proposal has been submitted by Mukeshwar Lall, a Documentary Filmmaker (DD National Empanelled), Historian-Resource Person, Consultant, & Archivist, Member: UT Heritage Committee, A&N Administration & Monitoring and Advisory Committee, National Memorial Cellular Jail, Ex-Council Member: EZCC (Kolkata) & SZCC (Thanjavur), Life Member: Film & TV Producers Guild, S. India, Life Member: Local Borns Association (Pre’42), who has approached the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the former Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory seeking an official honorific title for the Cellular Jail National Memorial.
In its latest communication dated September 2, 2026, the Administration directed the Director, Directorate of Art & Culture, to examine Lall’s representation in consultation with the concerned authorities and submit a suitable action taken report directly to him. The Administration has also asked that the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Assistant Secretary (AR & Trg.), Andaman and Nicobar Administration, be kept informed of the action taken.
The move follows an email dated August 28 from the Section Officer (ANL), UT Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, addressed to the Chief Secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration. The MHA communication forwarded Lall’s grievance for necessary action and specifically identified his demand as a request to rename or add the honorific title “The Indian Bastille” to Cellular Jail in reference to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s declaration in 1943.
Lall had submitted his representation on August 14. In his communication to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he proposed that the existing designation of Cellular Jail National Memorial be supplemented with the title “The Indian Bastille – Cellular Jail National Memorial”. He clarified that his proposal was for an honorific recognition rather than a change to the monument’s legal name.
The historical basis of the proposal lies in Netaji’s visit to the Andaman Islands on December 29 and 30, 1943, during his leadership of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind. On December 30, Netaji hoisted the Indian National Tricolour at the Gymkhana Ground, now Netaji Stadium, and declared the Andaman and Nicobar Islands the first liberated territory of India under the Azad Hind Sarkar. He renamed Andaman as Shaheed and Nicobar as Swaraj.
During the same visit, Netaji went to Cellular Jail and, according to Lall’s representations, was deeply moved by the suffering endured by Indian freedom fighters incarcerated there. Lall has cited Netaji’s description of the prison as the “Indian Bastille”, drawing a historical comparison with the Bastille in France and its association with the struggle for liberty.
In his representation to Home Minister Amit Shah, Lall argued that the existing name “Cellular Jail National Memorial” describes the monument but does not reflect the historical significance attached to it by Netaji’s description. He has sought formal notification of the honorific title as “The Indian Bastille – Cellular Jail, Port Blair – National Memorial of Martyrs”.
Lall also approached former Lieutenant Governor D K Joshi, requesting that the proposal be forwarded to the Government of India with a recommendation and considered at the Union Territory level. In that representation, he referred to Netaji’s 1943 visit, the hoisting of the Tricolour and the declaration of the islands under the Azad Hind Sarkar, and sought the former Lieutenant Governor’s recommendation on the matter.
The Administration’s September 2 communication does not announce any approval or change in the name of the Cellular Jail. Instead, it places the proposal before the Directorate of Art & Culture for examination with the concerned authorities. The next formal step will therefore depend on the examination and action taken on the representation.
