There is a jail in Mannanoor village in palamur district of Telengana along the highway to Srisailam. Nizam government used to sentence a solitary confinement for years to the persons who opposed their tyrrany. The cramped jail room is in middle of nallamala dense forest. The wilderness of this forest is high even today. This forest is made as a sanctuary for tigers now.
The original jail room was so cramped and tidy that one cannot sit, stand or sleep well. The culprits sent to this jail are not criminals but the persons who voice against atrocities of Nizam. Like the Kalapani imprisonment in Andaman Jail, this jail also keeps the inmates in a solitary room. As this jail is in the middle of a dense forest, there was a chance of wild animals attacking the jail. There are only two cramped rooms and big hall for jailer to live. It looks like a definite punishment even to the jailer. Forget about the inmates.
This jail was built in 1905 by the 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. This was built with an inspiration of Andaman Jail. The purpose of the jail to make the dissidents suffer and succumb.
Arya Samaj and Hindu Maha Sabha both played a pivotol role in stopping the forced conversions by razakar and Tablighi. The Nizam and his henchmen used to make Hindus suffer and used to effect atrocities on women. Many Arya samaj leaders fought valiantly with out fear against these atrocious Nizam government. Pandit Narendra Ji was one such Arya samaji who publicly declared that ” Hyderabad state is like a big jail for Hindus”, then he is charged with Treason and sentenced for a Kalapani imprisonment at this Mannanoor jail.
He served his sentence for around 3years in this cramped jail room. He never lost his vigor post release but relentlessly worked for Arya Samaj. For his great service the Arya samaj building in bhagyanagar is named after him.
Further in 1985 arya samaj formed a committee and took possession of this historical jail premises and built up a memorial pillar.Every year on 17th September they conduct a memorial meeting in same jail premises to remember the hardships and sacrifices made by Arya samaji’s and swayam sevaks in liberating the erstwhile Hyderabad state from the clutches of tyrant Nizam.
On 17th September 2024 Researchers of Dakshinapatha Visited this premises and attended flag hoisting. The young children were informed about the greatness of the place and sacrifices made by the people in getting Hyderabad liberated.
sooner or later we need to realise that the struggle to liberate Hyderabad state was multi pronged both un-armed and armed.
Chandramouli Kalyanachakravarthy
( inputs by Sri Sekhar Arya samaj Mannanur)
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