The harbour of Port Blair is well supplied with buoys and harbour lights, and is crossed by ferries at fixed intervals, while there are several launches for hauling local traffic. On Ross Island there is a lighthouse visible for 19 miles. A complete system of signalling by night and day on the Morse system is worked by the police. Local posts are frequent, but there is no telegraph and the mails are irregular.

The above accounts, written while Britain still controlled India, may leave the impression that these settlements were a model of progressive penal reform. Indian accounts, however, paint a different picture. From the time of its development in 1858 under the direction of James Pattison Walker, and in response to the mutiny and rebellion of the previous year, the settlement was first and foremost a repository for political prisoners.

The Cellular Jail at Port Blair when completed in 1910 included 698 cells designed to better accommodate solitary confinement; each cell measured 4.5 by 2.7 metres with a single ventilation window 3 metres above the floor. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had been one of the illustrious prisoners there. The Viper Chain Gang Jail on Viper Island was reserved for troublemakers, and was also the site of hangings.

In the 20th century it became a convenient place to house India’s freedom fighters, and it was here that on December 30, 1943 during Japanese occupation, that Subhas Chandra Bose first raised the flag of Indian independence. The penal colony was closed on August 15, 1947 when India gained its freedom. It has since served as a museum to the freedom fighters.