Kannur Central Prison to get museum that echoes the past
It was not uncommon for many inmates to be crammed into a single hall, enduring unbearable conditions. Political leaders, activists, and common citizens alike faced immense hardship behind bars, often struggling just to secure the most basic of facilities.
A police officer with the Kannur Central Prison and Correction Home said that 385 people were imprisoned during the Emergency, declared in 1975, and released in 1977.
Now, the prison authorities are in the process of establishing a museum that will showcase artefacts and information related to significant historical moments, including the Emergency period, the Malabar Rebellion, and other notable events connected to the history of the Kannur Central Prison.
'We are planning to open it as early as possible,' an officer said.
Among the prominent leaders imprisoned were Pinarayi Vijayan, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, A Kanaran, V V Dakshinamoorthy, C Kannan, E K Nayanar, Pattiam Gopalan, M V Raghavan, and M P Veerendrakumar. In addition to them, naxalites such as Civic Chandran and Mandakini Narayanan were also detained.
People from Kannur and Kasaragod districts were detained in the Kannur Central Prison at the time.
The current Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, was jailed there while he was serving as the Kuthuparamba MLA. He had written to the special secretary with the home department, on November 9, 1976, demanding parole.
Govinda Varma Raja, 69, from Payyanur, was imprisoned at the age of 18 while he was a student at the Payyanur College for participating in a protest held on the campus against the Emergency.
He was moved to the central prison after staging a protest at a sub-jail in Kasaragod.
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