ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a general history of the postcolonial prison system in India, followed by a brief examination of Indian prison architecture to address the questions. It focuses on the Alipore Central Correctional Home in Kolkata, capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Brought to the subcontinent in the late eighteenth century, the colonial prison system provided an architectural means of distinguishing British East India Company rule from that of its Mughal predecessors. The sole expression of rupture with colonial imprisonment amidst Independence Day euphoria was the release of thousands of political prisoners, along with the commutation of prison sentences. The vast majority of colonial jail rules were maintained after independence, while the few revisions concentrated on deleting obvious references to the former Empire. Contemporary prison reports document postcolonial efforts to reconcile the prison’s colonial past with its postcolonial present. As lingering architectural symbols of that past, former colonial buildings in use represent a significant challenge to overcome.
