Life Inside the Walls of Indian Prison
Have you ever imagined the life of a prisoner? Yes, I know what thoughts must be coming to your mind - a small cell packed up with criminals as we see in the movies. However, this doesn’t match with the reality. Did you know that there is a set of universally accepted principles for the betterment of prisoners? Hard to recall anything like that? Now, you must be wondering what these principles are! For your information, these principles for prisoners are related to the following- accommodation, personal hygiene, clothing & bedding, food & water, medical services, discipline & punishment, contact with family & friends, grievance redressal as well as information to prisoners. Yes, these are followed for the betterment of the prisoners. After all, a person doesn’t turn in to a non-person when he steps inside the boundary of a prison.
In accordance with the various human rights acts, India doesn’t fall behind in providing its prisoners with the universally followed basic standards. Additionally, the constitution of India, the prisons act of 1894, the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993, the Supreme Court & the High Court judgement, and the National Human Rights Commission guidelines oversee the prisons nationwide.
However, all of this doesn’t change the fact that there’s still a need of improvement in the present state of prisons infrastructure, prison management and the quality of life lead by the prisoners. It’s evident that Indian government is attempting to improve the condition by reformation and rehabilitation. Due to the lack of funds, manpower and good training skills, the progress rate of the improvement is slow. NGOs like Rotary Club, the Lion Club, the CHRI and others are actively involved in the reformation & rehabilitation programs. They are taking initiatives by providing education, lectures on issues of healthy social life, lessons on plantation, and more.
In 1990, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar introduced a Prison Program that features self-development workshops with an emphasis on human values, vocational training programs, and the related. Later, SRIJAN program was introduced to provide the prisoners with opportunities like theater, music, dance, & personality development, in order to enable the prisoners to integrate into the mainstream society once outside the prison.
This book is an in-depth analysis on the life inside the walls of Indian prison and take the readers on the tour of the largest prison complexes in the world. It also throws light on both the historical and contemporary perspective. In addition, the book offers sound recommendations to improve prison conditions to ensure that the prisoners’ basic legal, emotional, and physical needs are being fulfilled.