DAGSHAI JAIL MUSEUM

The Dagshai Jail Museum or Dagshai Central Jail in India is set up in 1847, a T-shaped building of local stone masonry with 54 tiny cells. Apart from the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, it is the only other Indian museum which once was a jail.It is situated 6,087 feet (1,855 m) above sea level, 11 km (6.8 mi) away from Solan, Himachal Pradesh and maintained by the Engineering Wing of the Indian Army. The structure holds 54 maximum cells, out of which 16 cells were used for severe punishments. These cells were hardly ventilated and there was no source of any sort of natural light. The details of each cell are mentioned on title boards. The military jail in Dagshai Cantonment is a witness of Mahatma Gandhi’s arrival in Himachal Pradesh. Britishers used to keep rogue soldiers in here. Mahatma Gandhi spent two days here, not as a prisoner but he was here to meet the Irish prisoners. Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was also kept in this very prison, he was believed to be the last prisoner of this jail. At most, 50 prisoners were kept here and after the independence of India it was converted into a museum.The establishment of the museum in 2011 was due to the drive of Kasauli’s Brigade Commander, Brig. Ananth Narayanan. Anand Sethi, a local resident of Dagshai Hills, helped him in the curation of this museum with vintage and archival photographs and other material sourced from India, the U.K. and Ireland. Dagshai Jail museum was inaugurated by Major General SK Gadeock on 13th October 2011 for the public. The military jail in Dagshai Cantonment is a witness of Mahatma Gandhi’s arrival in Himachal Pradesh. Britishers used to keep rogue soldiers in here. Mahatma Gandhi spent two days here, not as a prisoner but he was here to meet the Irish prisoners. Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was also kept in this very prison, he was believed to be the last prisoner of this jail. At most, 50 prisoners were kept here and after the independence of India it was converted into a museum.The establishment of the museum in 2011 was due to the drive of Kasauli’s Brigade Commander, Brig. Ananth Narayanan. Anand Sethi, a local resident of Dagshai Hills, helped him in the curation of this museum with vintage and archival photographs and other material sourced from India, the U.K. and Ireland. Dagshai Jail museum was inaugurated by Major General SK Gadeock on 13th October 2011 for the public.