Hijli Detention Camp (now called Shaheed Bhavan, IIT Kharagpur),[1] is a former detention camp operated during the period of British colonial rule in India.[2] It is located in Hijli, beside Kharagpur, (a part of former Hijli Kingdom) in the district of Midnapore West, West Bengal, India.
History
[edit]The Hijli Detention Camp played a significant role in the Indian independence movement of the 19th and 20th centuries. The large numbers of those who participated in armed struggles or the non-cooperation movement against the British could not be accommodated in ordinary jails. The British colonial government decided to establish a few detention camps; the first one was located in Buxa Fort followed by the creation of Hijli Detention Camp in 1930. A significant moment in the Indian independence movement occurred at here in 1931 when two unarmed detainees, Santosh Kumar Mitra and Tarakeswar Sengupta, were shot dead by the Indian Imperial Police.[3] Subhas Chandra Bose came to Hijli to collect their bodies for interment. Many Indian nationalists, including Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, voiced strong protests against the British Raj over this incident.[4] The firing which later known as "Hijli firing" is the only incident of police firing inside a detention camp.[5]
The detention camp was closed in 1937 and was reopened in 1940. In 1942 it was closed for the final time and the detainees were transferred elsewhere. During the Second World War it was occupied by the US Air Force.[3] Today, the camp is also known for being the birthplace of Indian Institute of Technology – Kharagpur, which started in 1951.[6]
Facilities
[edit]The former detention camp now houses the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology, which occupies the original prison blocks and displays indoor scientific exhibits, including technical models loaned by national research institutes and an archive room of historical documents related to the camp and India’s freedom struggle.[7][8] Its surrounding park features fourteen open‑air exhibits, notably a retired Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft and a steam locomotive, illustrating mid‑20th‑century Indian technological and industrial heritage.[9]
Adjacent to the museum, the heritage‑listed Hijli Shaheed Bhavan retains the camp’s two‑storey Byzantine style facade, stone‑flagged corridors and central watchtower, preserved as a memorial to detainees and martyrs. A separate women’s jail block is currently under restoration funded in 2017 by IIT Kharagpur and the state government with plans to convert it into a dedicated museum space honoring female freedom fighters from the Midnapore region.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Pan IIT Speech for IIT Alumni Warwich" (PDF). www2.warwick.ac.uk. University of Warwick. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ "History of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur". iitjodhpur.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Hijli Saheed Bhavan". iitkgp.ac.in. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Kharagpur's legend". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "IIT-Kharagpur remembers its Hijli Jail days". financialexpress.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Speech of the hon'ble president of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at the 58th annual convocation of IIT Kharagpur". presidentofindia.nic.in. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Nehru Museum of Science and Technology – IIT Kharagpur". Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
- ^ "Nehru Museum & Science Centre". Indian Travel. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
- ^ "Nehru Museum of Science and Technology". Indian Travel. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
- ^ Times of India Bureau (3 July 2017). "IIT‑Kharagpur to restore Brit‑era women's jail into museum". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 July 2025.