By Pavani Chandhok
Five inmates, including one woman inmate, will now gain a new identity as radio jockeys, singers, musicians and writers in the in-house Tinka Jail Radio in District Jail, Jind. These inmates have been selected through the jail radio auditions conducted in the jail by Tinka Tinka Foundation. They will now get the opportunity to receive radio training under the aegis of Tinka Tinka’s founder, prison reformer and media educator, Dr. Vartika Nanda, to be able to run the radio soon.
Tinka Prison Radio Training
As an essential component of its much-acclaimed Tinka Model of Prison Reforms, the organization has pioneered the campaign to establish prison radio in 7 of 19 jails in the state of Haryana, as well as in the barracks of Dehradun and Agra. As a part of these initiatives, nearly 70 talented and well-deserving inmates have so far received special training under Dr. Vartika Nanda’s supervision in Haryana from December 2020, following the successful establishment of the radio initiative in District Jail, Agra in the year 2019.
Musical experiments in jails
Seven musical compositions from the jails of Haryana and one from Uttarakhand were released this year by Tinka Tinka Foundation as an outcome of its prison radio movement fostering musical experiments in jails across India. These compositions include the song of Sheru, an inmate of Central Jail Ambala, which received appreciation by the Union Health Minister on his various social media platforms. A song on Corona sung by inmate-turned-RJ Jitendra of District Jail, Rohtak, was also shared by the Union Health Minister. A song sung and composed by RJ Kashish of Panipat Jail was released on Nelson Mandela Day. Tinka Tinka also facilitated 10 inmates of District Jail, Karnal, to release the prison’s theme song. Its 26th episode, released on the festival of Janmashtami, featured a special Ragini, a Haryanvi folk song, sung by three inmates of Central Jail (I), Hisar. Tinka Tinka Foundation also helped 14 inmates from District Jail, Dehradun, curate and release the jail’s theme song. Recently, a signature tune for the radio in District Jail, Faridabad, composed and sung by Gajendra, a 68 year old inmate, was also released as the first song by Tinka Tinka in the year 2022.
The songs have been released and broadcast across Tinka Tinka’s social media platforms, including Google Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube channel. The YouTube Channel, Tinka Tinka Prison Reforms, is the only channel in India that solely focuses on podcasts on prison reforms and brings in authentic voices from prisons in each episode. These are conceptualized, scripted and directed by Dr. Vartika Nanda.
Purpose
The purpose of prison radio is to meet the communication needs of the inmates. During the Coronavirus pandemic, jail radio has proved to be very helpful in giving psychological relief to inmates. These prison radios broadcast programmes for an hour every day, through specially designed studios.
Phases of Prison Radio: The backdrop
Prison radio in Haryana has been introduced in three phases- first phase covered three jails – District Jail Panipat, District Jail Faridabad and Central Jail Ambala.
The second phase of bringing radio to the jails of Haryana has also been completed. These include District Jail, Karnal, District Jail, Rohtak, District Jail, Gurugram and Central Jail (I) Hisar. In the third phase, 5 jails have been selected which are District Jails Sirsa, Sonipat, Jind, Jhajjar and Yamunanagar.
State’s first Jail Radio was inaugurated at Panipat by Shri Ranjit Singh, Jail Minister, Haryana. Hisar Jail Radio was inaugurated on 29th April, 2021 by Shri Rajiv Arora IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Home & Jail) and Shri K Selvaraj, IPS (Retd), Director General of Prisons, Haryana.
About Tinka Tinka & Dr. Vartika Nanda
Tinka Tinka Foundation is the brainchild of prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda who is credited for establishing prison radio stations in Haryana. These radio stations are carving space for a new cultural life by offering inmates the vocal medium to share their emotions, thoughts and musical expressions with the society. In 2019, Dr. Nanda established radio in District Jail, Agra, located in the oldest jail building in the country. These radio stations were given special support by Shri Rajiv Arora, ACS Home, and Shri K Selvaraj, then DG Prisons in their establishment. Shri Akil Mohammad, DG Prisons, has also extended his unconditional support to this journey.
Dr. Nanda has been honored with Stree Shakti Award from the President of India in 2014 for her efforts in prison reforms. Her work on prisons has twice found a place in the Limca Book of Records. Currently, she heads the Department of Journalism in Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi.
Tinka Tinka Prison Reforms: YouTube Links
Tinka Tinka Prison Reforms: Official channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCoLvUj5Y1stLIo78eG11Y3g
Episode 17: Tinka Foundation Day, Sheru and Former Inmates: https://youtu.be/aqIRNBkIpDI
Contact:
9811201839
[email protected]
