Sri Vijaya Puram, Nov 23 National Commission for Women Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar on Sunday paid glowing tributes to Veer Savarkar and other freedom fighters during a visit to the Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an official said on Sunday.
In a post on X, Rahatkar said, “I visited the historic Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar and paid homage to those walls that bear the indelible imprint of the suffering, courage, and struggle of our freedom fighters.”
“I am thrilled to have visited the cell in this jail where Veer Savarkar ji was held. For this cell — witness to sacrifice, penance, and immortal patriotism — is not merely a room, but the very place where the dream of freedom burned as an act of penance, where words gave birth to revolution, and every torment for Mother India was endured with a smile,” she wrote.
“It is here that Veer Savarkar ji endured the horrific agonies of the black waters, took up the pen of struggle for the motherland, and inspired an entire era with his indomitable will,” she said.
“Seeing his cell, one line from the poem he himself wrote — expressing devotion to the motherland, profound loyalty, and the deep sentiment of sacrifice — came to mind: ‘For you, death is my birth, Without you, birth is death’,” she wrote in Hindi.
This journey is not merely to witness history, but to feel the fervour that brought India its freedom, she said.
Accompanying me were members of the National Commission for Women — Delina Khongdup, Mamta Kumari, Dr Archana Majumdar — as well as Secretary Sudeep Jain and other officials of the Commission — who also paid their respects at this sacred site, she wrote.
Earlier on Saturday, Rahatkar led discussions on “Laws Related to Women in Prisons” in Sri Vijaya Puram.
The objective of this consultation was to identify immediate reforms to empower the rights, welfare, and dignity of women prisoners across the country.
Rahatkar wrote on X, “It is heartening that we brought together experts, prison administrators, and policymakers on one platform to engage in meaningful discussions on these crucial reforms.”
Women constitute 4.3 per cent of the total prison population in the country, yet in many states, they still face serious challenges such as overcrowded prisons, inadequate medical and mental health services, lack of gender-sensitive infrastructure, hygiene-related issues, and heightened security risks.
To ensure inclusivity and broad representation, the Commission previously organised eight regional consultations in Noida, Panaji, Aizawl, Patna, Bhopal, Patiala, Hyderabad, and Dehradun, she said.
These consultations yielded over 300 expert suggestions. Saturday’s national consultation serves as the concluding phase of these regional discussions, in which we deliberated in detail on over 200 key proposals, she added.
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