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HUMANISING THE
PRISON WALLS
AUTHORS –
C.P.Shruthi and Parika Bhatli
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research project would not have been possible without the
support of many people. We wish to express our gratitude to Shri
Sudhakar, DIG (Administration) for giving us the opportunity to intern
at Tihar jail . Mr. Rakesh Sharma, Assistant Superintendent, Jail no. 2,
Tihar jail for valuable guidance and advice by Dr. Aruna Grover
(Department of Sociology, University of Delhi) for inspiring us to work
on this project and her willingness to motivate us contributed
tremendously to our project. Finally, an honorable mention goes to our
families and friends for their understanding and support to us in
completing this project.
Away from the crowds and chaos of the roads in west Delhi, the ordered calm of
the jail could be heard / seen. Pigeons hop in and out through the bars of the
main gate on their way to the dovecote. A dog snoozes in the shade. Then of
course, our eyes falls upon the clean roads , tall security posts and cheerful guards
greeting us on our way inside. South Asia's largest prison, Tihar jail, houses
some 12,000 inmates, amongst them are the terrorists, murderers, petty thieves
and a smattering of disgraced politicians. To become familiar with prison as one
of the society’s institution and the working of this small social unit with its related
consequences. It is important to identify its cultural , economical ,social and
behavioral dimension.
This paper is based on a two week study of the working of the Tihar Jail and the
affect that the reform activities have on the life of the prisoners inside and
outside the jail. The research was conducted by interviewing as well by observing
75 inmates in all. The aim of the research paper is to study the sociology of prison
and to understand how the reform activities help the prisoners connect with the
society socially , economically and psychologically .
Crime is in existence from the beginning of humanity. Societies around the world
may have various definitions of crime and may consider different actions as crime.
However, crime is an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious
to the public welfare or morals or the interests of the state and that is legally
prohibited .These acts may threaten the wellbeing of the society, or injure any of
its members. A high proportion of crime cases is committed by young people.
Statistics for Delhi by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that cases
of juvenile delinquency under the total cognizable crimes committed under the
Indian Penal Code have risen from 581 in 2001 to 751 in 2011 — a 29.25%
increase in 10 years. Young criminals are not just involved in petty crimes.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for Delhi suggests that cases of
murder committed by people younger than 18 increased by 85% between 2001
and 2011, robbery by 540%, cheating by 211% and theft by 51.46%.The trend is
consistent nationwide. Imprisonment is seen as a method of dealing with people
who commit crimes by confining them to a fortified boundary with certain strict
rules for all – that is, the prison.
Crime is essentially a social problem, and retribution as the object of
improvement has long been discarded by almost all legal systems of the world.
Detention as an objective of imprisonment is also very limited in scope.
Reformation of the offender is being regarded as an ultimate aim of the prison
sentence. Rehabilitation of the criminals has become one of the most important
objectives of the jail authorities.
The need for Reformative activities was felt not only from the point of view of
the criminal aspect, but many inmates manifest mental disorders in prison as a
result of stresses of incarceration. The stress behind the bars tends to be high due
to separation from their family members, over crowding, sensory deprivation,
exposure to a high-density of hard-core offenders and a variety of uncertainties,
fear, and frustrations. The period of trial is of great stress to the individual. Also
,loss of social status, uncertainty of outcome of the trial, fear of punishment,
staying in an unusual place like police station or jail and the financial upsets
harass the individual. If the trial period is prolonged for months or years which is
very common, then the under trial's mental condition becomes worse. The hard
life in the prison further aggravates the situation. The under trial's quality of life
and subjective well-being are seriously affected by aforesaid conditions in the
prison. Psychological factors such as frustration, hostility, and feelings of
helplessness might be the cause or the consequence of criminal behavior and in
some cases, both. Prison reform measures attempt to lead to some reduction in
inmate's feelings of hostility, helplessness and other negative emotions.
Vipassana is being practiced in Tihar jail as a prison reform measure with the
ultimate goal of prevention of crime and reintegration of prisoners into
mainstream society following their discharge from prison. An unfavorable attitude
towards law may be responsible for criminal behavior and needs to be corrected
in the course of reforms. On many occasions it is the feeling of alienation from the
mainstream life which results from a misfit of individual goals with cultural norms
and it might result in criminal activities.
As Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru in his book “Prison Land” has written “Any reforms must be based on the idea that a prisoner is not punished but
reformed and made into a good citizen. If this objective is once accepted, it would
result in a complete overhauling of the prison system. “
For many sociologists, crime is a direct result of culture. Sellin (1938) has argued
on that social differentiation. The division of people into separate groups is a
product of the development of modern (as opposed to postmodern) societies and
this leads to cultural conflict, which is seen as the main cause of crime. Prison
punishment is the most comprehensive social control, regulation, and crime
prevention tool. All aspects of the prisoner is considered when one is jailed, which
includes physical training, workability, day to day behavior, moral quality, interest
and talents. Prison is more disciplinary than school, workshop or military academy
that always guarantees a kind of expertise and is all disciplinary with incessant
action. Increased number of prisoners have economical as well as evil social
effects on government, and not only need high costs to hold them at jail, but it is
also a blow to reduction of danger is maximized by 'selective incapacitation'
where criminals with high-risk profiles are given longer sentences and those who
constitute a low risk are given non-custodial sentences. We must acknowledge
that the prison does not reduce the rate of criminality. The infrastructure of the
prison houses could be developed, their numbers could be increased or they may
be altered but the number of criminal cases and criminals remain constant. It is
seen that those who abandon prison are more likely to return to prison.
Prison has not been a successful tool to return the criminal to the society or it has
not rehabilitated the criminal’s reputation. So the rehabilitation measures should
attempt to not only reduce the no. of prisoners, but in a way that it also has
effective individual and social benefits. Under such circumstances, the guilty
person is not opposing the community or juridical justice administration and
would be made to realize that the society is not his enemy. Besides, the
exploitation of the convict would have social benefits because the social –
occupational and family situation of the guilty person is less endangered and in
fact it is an effort for socialization.
Those who enter a maximum-security prison are immediately deprived of various
things we value: liberty, goods and services, heterosexually, autonomy, and
security (from attacks of other prisoners). Moreover, they share a place with a
high proportion of disturbed individuals.
Porporino (1988) found that the prisoners are the most depressed and stressed
when they are jailed for the first time. Suicide rate among them is more than the
normal population of the society. The findings of our study show that the prison
is destructive for people’s spiritual health. At the beginning of punishment the
destructive rate is the highest but when the prisoner adapts with the prison
environment, the destruction rate is reduced. The family vulnerability and
formation of criminal bonds are consequences of criminal crowds’ organization
and outbreak of hazardous diseases in prisons. There are other aspects of prison
pathology (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Prison pathology and problems.
Violence
AIDS and
High Risk
Behaviours
Suicide
Prison
pathology
Mental
Illness
Deprivation
from values
Formation of
criminal
bonds
Anxiety
and
Depression
Vulnerable
Families
Hence, most of the sociological theories treat society as a complex system
explicitly or implicitly. Because social system is always multidimensional it is
easier to build such a theory than to apply it to practice. Therefore , it is still not
fully explored issue, especially when theory meets empirical data. The aim of this
project is to examine the complexity of a social system on the example of prison
(Tihar Jail).
OVERVIEW
Delhi Prisons comprises of Nine Central Prisons at Tihar Jail Complex and one
District Prison at Rohini Complex. Four of the Central Prisons at Tihar Complex are
more than 50 years old. These are presently under extensive renovation. Though
the prison is styled a correctional institution. Its main objective is to Provide the in
mates with useful skills, education, and respect for the law. It aims to improve the
inmates' self-esteem and strengthen their desire to improve. To engage,
rehabilitate, and reform its inmates.
There is a prison industry within the walls, manned wholly by inmates, which
bears the brand Tihar which is popularly also known as the TJ’s. TJ's is a unique
brand with a wide range of products which are manufactured by the prison
inmates in Tihar Jail Factory. It has a variety of products such as Bakery products,
Handloom & Textile, Apparel, Furniture, Pure Mustard Oil, Recycled hand-made
paper products, paintings, designer candles & lamps, Jute bags, herbal products
and many more. It is developed with a non-commercial and non-profit objective.
Tihar Jail Factory provides an opportunity of reformation & rehabilitation to the
prison inmates of Tihar Jail by channelizing their energy towards a positive
direction. ( http://tihartj.nic.in/tj.asp )
Also the barracks and cells are being provided with flushing system in the toilets.
Each barrack/cell has a ceiling and exhaust fans for proper ventilation. Every day
2000 visitors come to meet prisoners. Every jail has PCO. If any offender wants to
call he can call from PCO. The call rate is 3Rs/call. The call is recorded in the
control room. . Prisoners wear the white uniform. First time offenders have their
separate wards. Also inmates are provided round the clock medical attention for
which there is a 150 bedded hospital in Jail number 3 and dispensaries equipped
with MI rooms in other jails. Thus, prison complex of New Delhi has excellent
management, harmonious environment and a model for the corrections work in
Asia.
The current population of jail no.2 constitutes of about 827 inmates as opposed
to the sanctioned capacity of 455. The inmates divided into 5 wards namely Ward
No. 1 -4 (convicts) and Ward No.5 consists of the High security convicts. Delhi
prisons have taken strides in the reformation and rehabilitation of the prisoners
and there are continuous efforts on the part of Prison Administration to
channelize the energy of the prison inmates positively. The Jail Administration
runs various vocational and technical programmes for skill development,
reformation and rehabilitation of inmates, in various units such as carpentry,
weaving (handloom and powerloom), tailoring, chemical, paper, food processing,
pottery, shoe making & bakery (Tihar Baking School).The Tihar Jail Factory is
located in Central Jail no.2.It was set up in the year 1961 with the objective to
engage prison inmates in productive work. Over period of time, there has been a
manifold growth in the scope and activities of the jail factory. Run on a not for
profit bass , the Jail Factory is professionally managed by a team of officials
headed by a Deputy superintendent and run from the supervisions of manual
labour , by the inmates of the prison. The prison inmate working in the factory
receives wages at the rates decided by the Government of NCT of Delhi
.Objectives of the jail factory –
 For Prisoners/Inmates :
 Support family through wages earned
 Learning and development of employable vocational skills
 Reformation & human dignity
 Post release rehabilitation in suitable occupations.
 For Jail Administration :
 Constructive use of incarcerated period of prisoners
 Helps in maintaining discipline and good order in prison
Every prisoner over here works for atleast 8 hours in a day ( from 8.30 am to 4.30
pm ).In accordance to this various kinds of facilities are being provided to the
inmates. They are as follows :
1. Kitchen and Food Serving - Cooking of food in Kitchens of Tihar Prisons is
through Piped Natural Gas (PNG) fuel instead of LPG cylinders, which were
used for the last two and a half decades. Kitchens are equipped with many
Grinding Machines for preparation of food in hygienic manner. Exhaust fans
are provided for proper ventilation.
2. Food, Clothing and Bedding Inmates are provided diet as approved by the Govt. of National Capital
Territory of Delhi. Special food is provided on the days of National
importance and Festivals. Convicts are provided with clothing as per norms
of Delhi Jails. Poor inmates are provided with free clothing as per the
seasonal requirement. All inmates are provided with seasonal bedding.
3. Model Ward for First Time Offenders
A completely renovated Model Ward with various facilities for carrying out
reformation/cultural activities has been inaugurated. The ward comprises
both cells and barracks for lodging of first time offenders. The prisoners are
being served hot and fresh food through a food trolley. There is provision of
dining space in the ward so that food may be served in community spirit.
4. Sanitation and Water Supply Two sewage treatment plants are being setup to recycle the resultant
water for horticulture and toilets. Rain Water Harvesting System is setup in
the Prison Complex to recharge the level of ground water. Reverse Osmosis
system has been installed to ensure the supply of pure and safe drinking
water in all the prisons.
5. Video-Conferencing System -
Video conferencing facility has been setup between Tihar/Rohini jails with
District Courts at Tis Hazari, New Delhi, Karkardooma and Rohini. This
facility issued for extension of judicial remands and trials in some cases.
This has strengthened prison security and has saved manpower, equipment
and transportation.
6. . Visitor Management System –
To manage this large number of visitors, Visitor Management System
software is developed which can register the visits of friends and relatives
of a prisoner 10 days in advance on centralized telephone numbers. This
system saves the time of visitors as well as informs the prisoners in advance
about his meeting. Due to introduction of this system complete
transparency has been obtained.
Packed to almost double its capacity , the jail which houses almost 12,000
inmates, provides various reformative opportunities to those it houses.
Considered a pioneer in prison reforms , the jail offers correctional measures in
the form of vocational training , educational programs through IGNOU & NIOS ,
computer courses , baking classes at its own baking school, yoga and meditation
courses , libraries and HIV prevention and awareness programs but the one
correctional arm of jail’s facilities that has been bringing in money by the hoards
is the jail factory. As per the data compiled, majority of the prison population
(around 66%) has education below class – X , thus proving the linkage between
educational standard and criminality. Most of the prisoners in this category are
new comers. The prison administration is taking every possible way to increase
the literacy rate of the prisoners. Also the vocational training programmes are
seen as the most important component of the correctional activities. The
principle objective is that an inmate should be imparted such skills and attitudes
as can facilitate his resettlement in society after his release. Further the
recreational activities are carried out routinely in the jail to channelize the
prisoner’s energy towards positive causes.
The study consisted of interviewing the inmates on various aspects of the affects
of reform activities on their life inside and outside the jail and their perspective on
society. This research is rather observational based as the data for the research
has been collected by interviews and observation.
According to our study, out of 75 inmates being interviewed, 59 % inmates are
serving sentence for murder, 16 % are convicted for rape and 10 % are involved in
other crimes.
( Figure 2 )
All the inmates present in Jail No. 2 are convicted and among them 66 % are
serving life sentence. Most of these convicts are aged between 35-45 and do not
meet their families often. Like one of the inmates, Mr. Bal Kishan(name changed),
49,meets his family once in six months and when asked about one of the major
problems they face in jail says “its been more than 12 years here and I have still
not managed to fit in into the jail environment and the biggest challenge here is
to stay away from family and its hard to stay confined here.”
( Figure 3 )
When these inmates were questioned on what is their perspective on the society
as well as their family members , most of them said that they want to connect
with the society and promise to live a honest life by continuing the work that they
learnt inside the jail once they are outside, indicating that , in most cases , reform
activities have had a positive impact on their lives. In fact 85% of the inmates
were aged between 25-40 years and among them there were those who had
committed the crime at a very young age and were sentenced for life. Reform
activities however is like a ray of hope in the lives of those young convicts in many
ways . As on the inmate of 33 years old said , “ I came here when I was 17 and I
was very scared when they employed me in the kitchen section. Initially I didn’t
knew how to cook but gradually I learnt all the skills and now I plan to enroll into
a hotel management course once I go outside .” The man who knew nothing
about various avenues of employment have become an expert with the
professional training being imparted in various trades. Recognizing the
importance of self development for inmates thus helps them to discover their
own potentials , providing hope for the future. Hence the main aim was to keep
these inmates busy with work which they further can take up as a means of
livelihood after their release.
The inmates were also asked about their family backgrounds which revealed that
70 % of them came from poor economic backgrounds or had aged parents or very
young children who cannot support themselves financially and had to depend
upon the income of the jailed member for their livelihood . The factory work
provided to inmates as a part of the reform activities thus helps the prisoners
earn money for themselves and their families.
Only a year back , the authorities had introduced music therapy for its inmates as
part of an initative to engage , rehabilitate and reform them. As part of this effort
, some music training sessions and concerts were organized by the jail authorities.
And now , the next step is “ Tihar Idol “ , the auditions for which started in April
this year. Two months later , the jail authorities have shortlisted close to 400
inmates from seven out of 10 jails within the complex for the competition.
The initiatives taken for reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners have
strengthened the security of environment as we have seen earlier. But life in Tihar
, the largest prison in Asia could be good for some inmates as the say that the
might miss it after their release. Programs like yoga , meditation , music ,
education and art have now become a part of inmates’ daily life. “This has
changed us thoroughly , we feel good here , “ said some of the inmates we
interviewed. Constant efforts of Government authorities , several NGOs and other
individuals have made the transformation possible . They work relentlessly to
ensure that a prisoner who walks out after his confinement has a better purpose
in life and stays back away from anti social activities.
On the other hand , however around 19% of the inmates said that they do not
want to connect with the society and plan to shift their residence after they go
outside . Mr. Ashok Kumar, 40, convicted for murder, has two daughters says “
People just want to stay away from those who have been to jail, they don’t really
care to understand what we think or what our circumstances are not just that but
even my daughters face a lot of problems in school.” While there are others who
have already moved from their earlier places of residence ever since they came to
jail. As according to few inmates society matters for those who have power and
also people outside the jail wouldn’t understand ever what they have been
through. There are some (nearly 30%) who says that they are innocent and have
been convicted wrongly. They are of the view that reform activities have had no
effect on their lives Infact the jail environment had made them worse as they
believe that jail is simply a jail not a rehabilitation center.
The biggest challenge faced by the inmates (approx 51 % ) was that they were
away from their families. They are of the view that whatever crime they did ,no
matter what, they have a family to feed .For others (20 % ) confinement and
adjusting within the jail environment were the toughest challenges .Surprisingly
there are 15 % inmates who say that they have no issues inside the jail. For most
of the inmates the biggest lesson was that they have learnt inside the jail is to be
patient and about 4 % have come to believe in God.
We however observed that no matter what the society thinks out of 75 inmates
32 % of them do regret of what they did but 10% are still the same and are proud
of what they did .When we interviewed one of the rape convicts Mohammad
Iram (Name Changed), 29, who has been in jail for 12 years and works in the
carpentary section says“ I am what I am and will be fighting against laws as
according to me I did nothing wrong .” His view of society is that “ I don’t care
what other people think about me or my family. The Law is worst”. 11 % of the
inmates have an issue with law , according to them they are not implemented in a
right way .
However , the criminal enters the prison when he/she has committed a criminal
act, but when he is freed from prison he has known many crimes, he also knows
the lawful behavior against crime. Then, if he /she is prone to commit crime again
he/she can find some ways to escape legal punishment, In such conditions it is not
only that the prisoner has not been rehabilitated but also that he/she has been
motivated to commit crime he is imprisoned. The enforcement of compulsory and
harsh obligations makes the prisoner destructive and ungovernable; there is a
possibility of making him angry and abusive. In these conditions the prisoner does
not assume himself as a criminal, but he accuses the system.
Although all training facilities can be accommodated in the prison, it is a place for
dysfunction and anti-social learning, perhaps it would train the prisoner in more
anti –social behaviors and the criminals are more empowered in the prison for
their dysfunction behaviors, they can become more specialized in their criminal
behaviors .Prisoners’ multiplicity and confluence provokes the authorities to
schedule for more security, more intensive health and nourishment program. But
it is found that the prison houses neither desire nor has enough motivation to
correct the prisoner’s behaviors. One of the convicts, Ramesh, 40, says “ People
who have been convicted wrongly become friends with other high risk criminals
and plan to take revenge once they are out and also some of them bully the
young chaps who come”. The correction space of the prisons evoke the prisoners
to train each other, they pass their experiences of criminal act to each other thus
the amateurs turn into professional criminals. The crowded prisons, which are not
classified, are the locations of criminals’ unity for various reasons. An individual
who has committed a crime and is imprisoned sometimes becomes a member of
a coherent group when he/she comes out of prison and is free.
Our study thus showed the series of thought experiments that look at the grey
area of human behavior and reaction in a given situation. Inmates gave an
interesting perspective to the general notion society has about right and wrong.
Society’s take on convicts is that of apathy. They are usually considered the
lowest rung of society or rather the dirt swept under the carpet. Left to repent for
their actions in isolation, it isn’t wrong to judge people based on their actions but
its wrong to assume that they can’t change.
Though sociologists have been interested in the study of prisons for a long time, it
was only some three decades ago that the study of such organizations received its
first real start. In the first place, sociologists tend to concentrate their analyses on
the informal rather than the formal aspects of the social structure of prisons.
There is strong emphasis on the unwritten rules of conduct that exist among
prisoners and on the unofficial social system of captives. By analyzing the informal
aspects of the social structure of prisons, prison sociologists contribute in a
significant way to a general tradition in the sociology of organizations. Secondly,
sociologists tend to concentrate on similarities between the prisoners rather than
on differences between them. In the third place, sociologists tend to concentrate
on the stable aspects of the social structure of prisons rather than on its nonstable features. In the fourth place, sociologists tend to concentrate on the
internal structure of prisons rather than on the relationship between the prison
and its environment. The way of limiting the field of enquiry probably partly
stems from the observation that life in a prison is to an unusual degree separated
from life outside-such a separation is, in fact, part of the very purpose of
imprisonment. Fifthly, and lastly, sociologists to a very considerable degree
concentrate on the effects of social roles on life in prisons rather than on the
effects of personality.
By demonstrating the existence of similar types of subjection outside prison
walls, this transversal approach does away with the stigmatization, the reduction
of people to the status of criminal and the alterity produced by criminalization. It
is the strength, the solidity and the simultaneity of the various dimensions of this
transversal detour and conversely, its ability to test the basic tenets of criminal
justice that will enable us to assess the “utility” of the qualitative sociology of
prisons.
Thus, prison life both fascinates and repels. As with many aspects of punishment
it attracts the interest of both academics and the general public. In this short and
accessible account the principal issues of prison life are presented that traces the
emergence of focused academic study of the way people live and think in prison.
 REFRENCES
1. http://tihartj.nic.in/
2. Academia.edu ( https://www.academia.edu/1480269/Jail_Visit_Report )
3. https://scholar.google.co.in/
4. http://www.vridhamma.org/Research-on-inmates-of-Tihar-Jail-Delhi
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