By Samridhi Chugh
There is a room close to the main gate. With pictures of Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi and Kishore Kumar, it takes you to the space that brings hope. Welcome to the Prison Radio in Sonipat in Haryana, which is set to be inaugurated soon.
True to the occasion, the jail radio will be operated by a team of selected inmates led by 50 year old inmate Kulmeet, who has been in the jail for the past 18 years. A teacher before coming to the jail, he now continues to teach a group of inmates behind the bars. He has joined hands with media educator and prison reformer, Dr. Vartika Nanda, to spearhead and oversee the operations of jail radio in this prison. In this manner, two teachers are spreading the light of communication and creativity through the jail radio.
About District Jail Sonipat
District Jail Sonipat was established in 1983. There are about 1143 inmates including 100 women inmates against the sanctioned capacity of 745 inmates. 148 inmates are undergoing rigorous imprisonment.
The background
Haryana jail radio was conceived in the year 2020. 19 jails of Haryana were divided into 3 different phases. The first phase had three jails- District Jail, Panipat, District Jail, Faridabad and Central Jail, Ambala. Second phase had four jails- District Jails of Karnal, Rohtak, Gurugram and Central Jail (I) Hisar. Third phase has five jails- District Jails of Sonipat, Sirsa, Jind, Jhajjar and Yamunanagar.
First jail radio of Haryana was inaugurated in District Jail, Panipat by Shri Ranjit Singh (Jail Minister), Shri Rajiv Arora IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Jail) and Shri K. Selvaraj, (IPS), DG Prisons, Haryana in January 2021. Auditions and selection of inmates is done by Dr. Vartika Nanda, prison reformer and Founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation. She has conceptualized and executed prison radios in Haryana.
Training the inmates
The in-house jail radio is meant to broadcast in the limited range of jail premises and fulfill the communication needs of inmates. Inmates are trained to plan, prepare and broadcast programs. Prison radios have proved their importance especially during Covid-19, helping inmates cope with anxiety and depression.
According to Shri Mohammad Akil, DG, Prison, Haryana, “our prison radios are unique and are well-suited to the needs of inmates. All the jails, where these radios have been started, are showing major positive change, both in inmates and in the overall prison atmosphere. There is a substantial fall in aggression and depression among inmates.”
According to Jail Superintendent of District Jail Sonipat, Shri Rajender Singh, “inmates have already prepared a set of programmes for the upcoming jail radio. They have been allotted a practice slot of two hours everyday. They eagerly look forward to their engagement in the newly-built jail studio. These inmates are also encouraged by another staffer, Kishori Lal.“
Inmates are busy writing and rehearsing their scripts these days.
Tinka Tinka Foundation
Tinka Tinka Foundation set up its first Jail Radio in District Jail, Agra in 2019. Prison radior are being brought under the Tinka Model of Prison Reforms. Dr. Vartika Nanda heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. Her recent research on the “Study of the condition of women inmates and their children in Indian Prisons and their communication needs with special reference to Uttar Pradesh” has been evaluated as ‘outstanding’ by ICSSR.
YouTube: Tinka Tinka Jail Radio: Episode 40: Tinka Tinka Foundation Day and Sonipat Jail Radio