INTRODUCTION:

The present paper deals with the history of prisons in Princely State of Cooch Behar from nineteenth century up to merger of the state with Indian Union. This Princely State had relations with the British Raj. Due to the impact of western influences, the princely rule then became in the line of British or colonial shape. Naturally, the law and orders of Cooch Behar State, even especially in the field of criminal justice were modified accordance with colonial pattern. Before that there were the native rules and people enjoyed kinds of legitimacy in those day. But everything changed, after the advent of colonial power in India. The law and orders of this State was codified and some acts were passed according to colonial pattern, before that everything was primitive manner. With the direct contact with the British, the primitive laws and orders were somehow modified with the new. As we observed that crimes were there, so obviously prisons were not unknown in pre-colonial time.

The prison during the last three centuries has evolved to the status of an institution of social control and a symbol of legitimate coercion.

The establishment of jail dates back of 5^th century B.C. by Justinian in Rome. The purpose was to safe custody of prisoners. Imprisonment as form of punishment was known fact in England. In England used this system of confinement of prisoners by Henry II and Henry III. ¹Confinement of prisoners in jail was prevalent during the time of Mughal. Offenders in jails were punished severely by the Mughal. But after the advent of East India Company, the predecessors of British Government in India, they undertook to establish law and order in dominions under its control in 1784. Thus, in the year of 1784 was a date back to the beginning of modern Indian prison system.²

The Fauzdari Ahilkar was in charge of the Jail and was assisted by a Jailor and one Assistant Jailor. Sir Steuart Bayley, Lieutenant- Governor of Bengal, who visited Cooch Behar in 1889 remarks that the Jail was fit for healthiness, was pleased to remark ‘that the prisoners seemed was well fed and properly cared for.’³

Prison Discipline:

A large number of prisons of varied categories lived and they shared a common space. Therefore, a code of rules and regulations was required for the smooth functioning of that organization. The implementation of these rules and regulations was termed as ‘Prison Discipline’. But in the absence of a uniform code of rules, the individual efforts of Magistrates had very little impact on the system of prison discipline.⁴ Therefore, discipline committees were appointed to follow up various aspects prison management, but unfortunately none succeeded in this regard.

Classification of prisoners:

Female prisoners were admitted into the jail. The period of their sentences varied from 1 day to 3 months. As frequently there were no female prisoners in the Jail, no female warder was permanently entertained. If, however, there were but one female prisoner, the services of a female warder were temporarily engaged.⁵

Juvenile offenders were admitted in jails.

All juvenile offenders were kept in a separate ward.⁶ In the year of 1917, we noticed that two juvenile offenders were admitted into the Jail, while there were no admissions of this class of prisoners into the Jail in the past year.⁷

Cellular system:

There was solitary confinement in jail of Cooch Behar. The solitary cell was completed in the year 1884-85, and in this year six men were sentenced to undergo solitary confinement.⁸

Jail Hygiene and Health:

The health of the prisoners in the jail was good. There was no case of cholera or other epidemic disease. The sanitary condition and arrangements of the jails were good. Clothing and diet scales were about the same as in Government Jails, the food being of good quality, well cooked and sufficiently varied, drinking water was boiled and filtered daily and the Medical Officer invariably examines the samples both of the food and drinking water on his daily rounds.⁹

Prison Diet:

In the time of the old Maharajas, the prisoners used to go out and purchase their own food from market (bazar). The ordinary prisoners received in cash one anna and six pies and the life convicts two annas per head for the price of their ration. When Colonel Haughton came this practice was put a stop to and the convicts were fed in the Jail as at present. The scale of diet in vogue in the Bengal Jails was not, however, introduced till 1867.¹⁰ The prices of staple commodities used in the jail were somewhat lower than the other year. The food of the prisoners and the jail water was most carefully examined frequently by jailor and daily by Civil Surgeon and the Superintendent of the jail. The health of the jail bears testimony to the satisfactory way in which the dieting and sanitation of the jail was looked after by the Civil Surgeon and the Jail authorities.¹¹ The daily average number of prisoners kept under medical observation. The Civil Surgeon on his daily visit to jail examines the drinking water and the articles of food cooked and uncooked.¹²

Prison punishment: Report mentioned some review of punishment from Cooch Behar State recommended for the offenders. The tables given below for better understand. Punishment inflicted –

Types of Punishment	Year 1915-16	Year 1916-17	Year 1918-19	Year 1918-20	Year 1931-32	Year 1932-33	Year 1933-34	Year 1934-35
Corporal punishment	07	05	12	4	-	02	07	03
Forfeiture of marks	07	13	9	14	07	-	01	-
Degradation from higher to lower rank	02	05	7	11	07	18	05	02
Hand-cutting to staple	29	28	6	4	-	02	-	-
Night hand-cuff	-	-	..	16	02	02	01	-
Bar fetter	-	-	1	--	-	-	01	01
Cross bar fetters	05	06	3	4	-	-	01	01
Penal diet	10	10	32	24	-	02	03	-
Hard labour	04	15	20	13	-	03	01	-
Gunny suit	01	01	4	5	03	03	01	-
Solitary cell	01	02	1	1	-	-	-	01
Warnings	60	40	108	71	06	40	17	05
Total	126	125	203	167	25	72	38	13

Sources: Annul Administration Report of Cooch Behar State

From the above table, it clears that the authority of Cooch Behar Jail, acts were empowered the Superintendent to inflict the following punishments. It is to be noted that the corporal punishment was recommended for some offenders in the jail.

Education in Jail:

Education never became a regular part of life, though at times it was used as a means of disciplining the prisoners.¹³ The young prisoners, for whose education a class had existed in jail, having been released; it was discontinued from November last.¹⁴ It appears from the report, in the year of 1869-70, eight selected prisoners were placed in the Artizan’s School to learn weaving, carpentry, pottery, smith’s work, etc. A class was also opened in the jail for teaching the convicts read and write.¹⁵

2. Prison Personnel:

The jail Code of Bengal was followed in the management of the jail and Lock-ups in the State. The Fauzdari Ahilkar was in charge of the jail, and was assisted by a jailor and one Assistant Jailor. The warders watch the prisoners when on duty. The jail was under guards supplied by the Police.¹⁶ The Lock-ups were under the management of the Sub-divisional officers. The Sub-Divisional Accountant was the ex-officio jailor, and was assisted by one warder. The guard was furnished by the Police and consisted of four constables under a Head-constable.¹⁷

3. Prison Labour:

In State of Cooch Behar the prisoners were punished by employment of various works in the jail and jail industry was established. Mr. Dalton in 1875-76, writes about Cooch Behar State that prisoners were employed and they made various handicrafts like weaving, mat-making, making of bamboo chair, moras chawkis etc. in the jails.¹⁸ The prisoners were chiefly employed in building the pucka masonry wall round the jail. They cleared the jungle of the town, worked under the Public Works Department. The jail garden supplied employment for those who were either old, convalescent, or otherwise continued unfit for hard work. The principal branches of manufacture in which the prisoners were employed were carpentry, sawing wood, mat making, weaving and twine making, making soorkee, grinding flour and baking bread. A number of men were also employed as Jail servants, viz, convict warders, water carriers, cooks, sweepers and hospital attendants.¹⁹ Prisoners were also employed in jail Dairy, in repairing jail buildings and in ordinary prison duties. And even outside the jail precincts, they were employed in extra-mural work by the State as well as by private individuals.²⁰

Jail industries in those days in the state of Cooch Behar were earned much from their labour. Oil pressing was one of the employments in jail. It is to be noted that the price of oil, however, had to reduce to meet outside competition, and thus the profit for the year was less than that of the previous year.²¹ Tailor was maintained for preparing dresses, Ashons, Jharans, Bed-sheet, etc. for sale and Doshuti cloth for making prisons’ clothing. It to be noted that grinding of Dal by prisoners were common. This work was introduced in the month of October last for preparing Dal for sale to the public and supply to the prisoners.²² It is to be noted that a tank inside the Jail was completed with jail-labour in 1869-70. This tank supplied good water to the prisoners.²³ It is to be noted that a jail garden was opened in 1868, and gave employment to those prisoners who were unfit for hard labour.²⁴

4. Transportation:

Transportation was an important and integral aspect of punishment in colonial India. From a very period of their rule, the British conceived the idea of maintaining penal settlements for Indian convicts far away from their motherland and thus transportation had became an old punishment in the British India law.²⁵ The princely States in India was not exceptional one. Prisoners under transportation for life from Cooch Behar were, under an arrangement with Government, sent to Port Blair in the Andamans, where they were maintained at the cost of the State.²⁶ Seven prisoners were transferred in the year of 1883 under report against eighteen of the preceding year; of the seven transferred, four were transported for life, two long term prisoners sent to the Alipore Jail under the arrangement sanctioned by Government, and one, a criminal lunatic, was sent to the Dacca Lunatic Asylum for treatment.²⁷ One under trial prisoner was transferred to Rungpore for trial and two life-convicts sent to Government Jail at Alipore for transportation to Port Blair.²⁸ Eight prisoners were transferred in the year of 1894. One had escaped from the Rajshahye Jail was transferred to that district, two to Gawahati, one to Julpaiguri, two to Durbhungah and two to Dhubri for trial.²⁹ Sometime State paid to British Government to maintenance for transpiration for prisoners. As we have noticed in the year of 1917, Rs. 897-0-8 was paid to British Government for the maintenance of 9 transportation convicts of this State confined in Port Blair at the rate of Rs. 100 per head yearly.³⁰

CONCLUSION:

From the above discussion it clears that really the life of the prisoners and prisons in those days of the Cooch Behar State were miserable. As we know that princely state was touched with the colonial pattern, obviously prisoners were treated with modern concept and some prisoner were transported to outside of their motherland, and were sent to Port Blair, and British jails under supervision of British. It also appears that health condition, hygiene; diets etc of prisoners were observed by the Jail authority regularly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

Author would like to sincerely thank the officers and staffs of the State Archives and records keepers, where the documents preserved by them, and those who have done a commendable job by compiling the state reports and publishing in public domain.

REFERENCES:

1. Howard. D.L, (1965) The English Prisons, p-5

2. Chandra, Kipesh, (2016) The administration jails in Assam,1784-1964, published: Thesis, p-5

3. Choudhuri, H.N, (1903), The Cooch Behar State and its Land revenue settlement, Cooch Behar, p-314

4. Sen, Mahurima, (2007), Prison in colonial Bengal, Kolkata, p-29

5. The Annual administration report of the Department of General administration and criminal justice of the Cooch Behar State, 1902-03, Cooch Behar, p-11

6. Ibid,1902-03, p-11

7. Ibid, 1917, p-19

8. Ibid, 1884-85, p-16

9. Ibid, 1893, p-21

10. Choudhuri, H.N, opcit, p-312-13

11. The Annual administration report of the Department of General administration and criminal justice of the Cooch Behar State, 1902-03, p-11

12. Ibid, 1917, p- 22

13. Sen, Mahurima, opcit, p-52

14. The Annual administration report of the Department of General administration and criminal justice of the Cooch Behar State,1883, p-54

15. Choudhuri, H.N, opcit, p-313

16. Ibid, p-314

17. Ibid, p-315

18. Ibid, p-313

19. The Annual administration report of the Department of General administration and criminal justice of the Cooch Behar State, 1879, p-43

20. Ibid, 1917, p-19

21. Ibid, 1932, p-41

22. Ibid, 41

23. Choudhuri, H.N, opcit, p-313

24. Ibid, p-314

25. Sen, Madhuria, opcit, p-117

26. Choudhuri, H.N, opcit, p-314

27. The Annual administration report of the Department of General administration and criminal justice of the Cooch Behar State 1883, p-51

28. Ibid,1893, p-21

29. Ibid, 1893, p-20

30. Ibid, 1917, p-19

Received on 14.05.2021 Modified on 29.05.2021

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2021; 12(3):153-156.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2021.00025