COLONIAL DETENTION DISCOURSE: GANDHI AS A SATYAGRAHI PRISONER AND HIS IMPACT UPON THE SOCIETY.

Abstract

The study underscores the process of incarceration undertaken by the colonial officials that was centered on enforcing fear and anxiety in the mind of the colonized. However, the imprisonment barely dominated the spirit of the political prisoners. Besides the heart wrenching narratives of the political prisoners, the life writings of the political offenders written and published in different vernacular language also substantiates that prison offered a creative space to those who struggled to express their experiences of incarceration.  The struggle towards independence has a synonymous presence with the nonviolent or violent movements, conflicts, sacrifices and the number/period of imprisonments has always been highlighted to portray national sentiments but the power which operates within the space of confinement is beyond approach.

The research paper underscores the idea of influential act of incarceration that left an indelible mark in the minds of the colonized. The concept of prison and punishment was structured and disciplined by the colonizers. The natives initially were terrified of the idea of detention or incarceration in India, however with the development of the techniques of resistance and rebellion against the colonizers, the colonized adopted the idea of ‘jail going’ and ‘suffering’ during the early twentieth century.