Twenty-one of us had signed the petition and while it was being despatched seventy-six more came in. They also had a dislike for the "pap," and so we added a para- graph stating that the new arrivals also objected to the diet: I requested the Governor to send it by wire. He asked his superior's permission by telephone, and allowed at once 4 oz. of bread in place of "pap." We were all very pleased, and from the 22nd, 4 oz, of bread was substituted in place of pap, morning and evening. In the evening we got 8 oz., i.e., half a loaf. But this was merely a temporary arrangement. A committee was sitting on the question and we heard that they had recommended an allowance of flour, ghee and pulse; but before it could take effect, we had been released, and so nothing more happened.
In the beginning when there was only eight of us we did not cook ourselves, so we used to get uncooked rice and ill-cooked vegetables whenever the same were given, so we obtained permission to cook of ourselves. On the first day, Mr. Kadva cooked. After that Mr. Thambi Naidu and Mr. Jivan both took up the function, and in our last days they had to cook for about 150 men. They had to cook once only, excepting on vegetable days which were two in a week—when they had to do so twice. Mr. Naidu took great trouble over this. I used to distribute.
From the style of the petition the reader must have noted the fact that it was presented on behalf of all Indian prisoners and not us (eight) alone. We talked with the Governor also on the same lines and he had promised to look into it for all the Asiatic prisoners. We still hope that the jail diet of the Indians would be improved.
