Status Operating Website tiharprisons.nic.in Opened 1957 | Security class Maximum Capacity 6,250 | |
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Population 10,533 (as of 31 December 2012) Managed by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi | ||
Tihar jail in delhi the inside story of tihar jail in delhi
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the two prison complexes in Delhi, along with a district prison at Rohini Prison Complex. It is located in Tihar village, approximately 7 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar.
Contents
- Tihar jail in delhi the inside story of tihar jail in delhi
- Tihar jail attendance and roll call
- History
- TJs brand
- Notable prisoners
- Escapes
- Health concerns
- In popular culture
- References
The prison is styled as a correctional institution. Its main objective is to convert its inmates into ordinary members of society by providing them 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, Tihar uses music therapy, which involves music training sessions and concerts. The prison has its own radio station, run by inmates. There is also a prison industry within the walls, manned wholly by inmates, which bears the brand Tihar. As of December 2012, Tihar jail has 10,533 inmates against the sanctioned capacity of 5,200. Though the figure is down from around 12,000 in 2006, the prison remains seriously overcrowded.
Tihar jail attendance and roll call
History
Originally, Tihar was a maximum security prison run by the State of Punjab. In 1966 control was transferred to the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Beginning in 1984, additional facilities were constructed, and the complex became Tihar Prison.
Under the charge of Kiran Bedi, when she was Inspector General of Prisons, she instituted a number of prison reforms at Tihar, including changing its name to Tihar Ashram. She also instituted a Vipassana meditation program for both staff and inmates; initial classes were taught by S. N. Goenka. The Prison has also produced an inmate who has passed the Indian Administrative Service civil service examinations.
Many of the inmates continue their higher education through distance education. The campus placement programme was launched in 2011 for the rehabilitation of inmates about to complete their sentences. In 2014, a recruitment drive led to 66 inmates selected on the basis of their good conduct, received job offers with salaries up to ₹35,000 (US$520) per month, from as many as 31 recruiters, which included educational institutions, NGOs and private companies.
TJ's brand
In 1961, the Jail Factory was established in Central Jail No.2, at Tihar. Over the years its activities have expanded to include Carpentry, Weaving (Handloom & Powerloom), Tailoring, Chemical, Handmade paper, Commercial art and Bakery. Later in 2009, a shoe manufacturing unit was established using the Public-Private Partnership model, and thus the brand TJ's was launched. Today, 700 inmates work in these units, and 25% of theirs is deposited in the Victim Welfare Fund, which provides compensation to the victims and their families.
Notable prisoners
Escapes
In June 2015 two of the inmates were able to scale an inner wall then tunnel under the outer wall and crawl through a drain to escape the prison.
Health concerns
The prison complex has no facilities for keeping paraplegic pre-trial inmates or convicts.
The Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre reports that around 6% to 8% of the 11,800 Tihar inmates are HIV-positive, which is considerably higher than the HIV rate among the general population in India.
In popular culture
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana is a 1997 documentary about the introduction of S. N. Goenka's 10-day Vipassana classes at Tihar Jail in 1993 by then Inspector General of Prisons in New Delhi, Kiran Bedi. Bedi had her guards trained in Vipassana first, and then she had Goenka give his initial class to 1,000 prisoners.