Kala Pani punishment was a brutal form of punishment used by the British colonial government in India to deal with rebels, mutineers, and freedom fighters who posed a threat to their colonial rule. Under this inhumane punishment, convicts and political prisoners were taken to remote penal colonies located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, far away from the Indian mainland. The journey to these penal colonies was often arduous and perilous, involving a long and treacherous sea voyage across the "black waters" of the Indian Ocean. The term "Kala Pani" means "black water" in Hindi, and it was used to refer to the remote location of the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prisoners were treated as disposable commodities, and any attempt to escape or rebel was met with severe punishment, often resulting in death. The British colonial rulers aimed to crush the spirit of resistance and break the will of those who dared to challenge their authority.

The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī, was a British colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prison was used by the colonial government of India for the purpose of exiling criminals and political prisoners. The jail was built with local stone which was mined from a nearby mountain by the prisoners. About 20,000 cubic feet of local stones and 30,00,000 bricks made by the prisoners were used for the construction of the jail. The architecture of this place was based on the Panopticon model. The jail was notorious for its isolated location and unforgiving conditions. The prisoners were kept in solitary confinement in small, windowless cells, and were subjected to hard labor and brutal treatment. The jail was specifically designed to break prisoners spirits through confinement and grueling labor. Many freedom fighters in the jail went through inhuman and unimaginable tortures, the very thought of which brings chills down the spines.