Ending the monotony

Olympic wrestling medalist Sushil Kumar has demanded a TV set in his cell. He is in detention at Tihar Jail on charges of murder and has been allotted a separate cell instead of the jail barracks due to security reasons. As Sushil is finding it difficult to spend time in jail, he has written a letter to the jail administration, requesting them to provide him with the facility of television.

As per the Nelson Mandela Rules 2015, inmates can be allowed to watch TV in prison. The provision for watching TV in jail is also included in the Model Prison Manual, 2016 and Delhi Prison Manual, 2018. In fact, barracks in prisons around the world usually have a provision to provide TV sets so that inmates can stay connected to the outside world. News, information, education and entertainment have been recognised as the basic needs of inmates, but provisioning of all such facilities is subjected to the "good conduct" of inmates. It should be noted that the provisioning is in terms of "facility" and not as a "right".

Actually, spending free time in jail is a challenge for inmates. The problem is even greater for undertrials as there is no pressure on them to do any work and their stay in the jail is also uncertain. They don't seem to care about anything else other than getting out of the jail.

Jail is a state subject in India. Every state has the right to decide what facilities should be provided to inmates, which TV channels are allowed to be shown and for how many hours. There is a provision of running TV for 24 hours in some jails while some others confine it to limited hours to avoid addiction. The truth is that there are both sour and sweet experiences in this regard. Tinka Tinka has been closely monitoring the impact of TV in jail.

An inmate, who had served a 21-year sentence in a jail in Maharashtra, had once shared with me that when he went to the jail, he didn't had access to TV. For many years, he felt that Sholay was still the most popular film. When TV was introduced to the barracks, he came to know that the world he had left outside has gone far ahead. Facilities of newspaper, TV, telephone or even writing or receiving a letter in the jail keep an inmate updated to a great extent. Owing to the ban on visitations in jails in the wake of COVID-19, the interaction of inmates with the outside world has reduced substantially. In the present circumstances, facility of telephone has been improvised. In Uttar Pradesh, inmates get to make 5- to 10-minute calls, which was only two minutes before the pandemic.

Whether an inmate can be allowed to write letters or get an access to pen and paper, also depends entirely on his/her "good conduct" and is decided at the discretion of superintendent. Corrupt practices sometimes flourish under the guise of such "good conduct".

In the case of Sushil Kumar, it is up to the jail administration how it reacts to this demand from a legal perspective.

It is surprising that to date, some of the state governments have not considered how uninterrupted viewing hours could disrupt the mental and physical health of inmates. A female prisoner in a jail in Uttar Pradesh had once shared that watching soap operas for long hours has filled her mind with more negativity. Many petty criminals learn new formulas of committing crimes just by watching TV programmes. Although crime shows are prohibited in prisons, many TV serials are weaved on the basic pattern of crime. Lack of proper control over facilities and absence of proper supervision of the content can defeat the whole purpose of a prison.

In a sense, the very meaning of a jail is to restrict movement and other rights, especially concerning communication needs. A jail is considered to be a place to go through a prescribed punishment for a crime, but sometimes the jail authorities limit the purpose of prisons to discipline and counting of inmates. Jail authorities seldom pay attention to ensure that prisoners do not lose their identity and they have the option of improving their skills. Prison staff automatically develop the habit of judging everyone on the same scale. Before coming to jail, every person had their own abilities which can be given a new face during the time available in jail, but what happens is just the opposite. Instead of converting this free time into an occasion of learning, prisons either make inmates do mundane tasks or engage them in works that have nothing to do with the personality, educational qualification and interests of the prisoner. Outsiders often believe that one who has gone to jail, will come out as a reformed person. The change only comes when an environment of change is created and also the inmates themselves are willing to bring a change. Clearly, every prison has several mini prisons within it that go unnoticed. Unless both the prison administration and the inmates take a vow to improve the situation, no outside power can do so.

Within the rigid framework in a jail, jail radio can be seen as a worthwhile alternative. The first jail radio in India came in Tihar itself in 2013. Later in 2019, when Tinka Tinka started jail radio in District Jail in Agra, the country's oldest prison building, its model was devised keeping in mind the needs and well-being of inmates. This year, Tinka Tinka started radio in the jails of Haryana. Seven jails already have 47 inmates as trained radio jockeys. These RJs prepare content for their respective jails, keeping in mind the taste, demands and welfare of inmates. These are original and self-made, and inculcate better communication skills among prisoners. Jail radio provides inmates a platform to bring out their creativity. Such is the power of this self-made content, that gradually, inmates have started giving preference to their own jail radio instead of watching borrowed, ready-made TV programmes. Recently, two songs were released from Central Jail, Ambala and District Jail, Rohtak. These were deeply appreciated even by the former Union Health Minister, Harsh Vardhan. Armed with a pen, paper and microphone in their hands, jail inmates are creating a world of information, knowledge and entertainment for their prison on a daily basis — something which is pure, more relevant and in the interest of inmates. Life seems beautiful without the race of TRP and profits. This is the reason that jails must initiate the process to provide suitable learning and performing platforms to all inmates, including Sushil Kumar. Several experiments can be initiated, provided jails are ready to listen and execute them.

Views expressed are personal