The Sound of Reform in Panipat Jail, Haryana

The Sound of Reform in Panipat Jail, Haryana

“When I go outside, I would pursue my career as an RJ”, said Kashish in an exclusive story run by BRUT based on Tinka Jail Radio. This 10 minute long story revolves around reformation of inmates through Jail Radio in District Jail, Panipat. Brut India is the fastest-growing digital video publisher, with a vast viewership across the globe. This film/ documentary is produced by Brut India’s editor-in-chief Mehak Kasbekar. Supported by Brut’s documentary producer Neeti Upadhye and filmed by Sparsh Hasija. Brut is a young, independent platform producing compelling journalism in new formats.
Tinka Tinka Foundation launched Jail Radios in 7 jails of Haryana under the mentorship of Dr. Vartika Nanda. The concept of Jail Radio was brought into effect in January 2021. This was the time when India was going through the first wave of pandemic, due to which visitations were stopped. Introduction of Prison Radio helped inmates overcome pain, depression and loneliness.

Behind the camera

Today Jail Radio has brought smiles to the faces of inmates and their families. BRUT was granted a special opportunity to record the growth and impact of prison radio on the inmates. The documentary was shot in the premises of District Jail, Panipat. The video commenced with the appearance of Jail Radio. This is the first time that a video is shot in the prison to document prison radio. Currently, this jail has a prison population of almost 1000 inmates. Inmates are seen singing, practicing and composing lyrics in this video.

Progress chart of Tinka Jail Radio

From the song composition to song production, everything was done by the inmates under the guidance of Dr. Vartika Nanda, Founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation. 6 songs composed and sung by inmates were released by the foundation in 2021 on its YouTube channel.
Inmates stated that the prison radio has helped them to overcome aggression and has taught them to be polite and disciplined in all kinds of situations. They were also tutored to write newsletters and magazine articles. Inmates are given a proper curriculum in which they all have their own registers maintained neatly. Proper meetings are held on a regular basis. This is followed on the pattern of Tinka Model of Prison Reforms.

Creativity in Prison

Besides the initiative of Jail Radio, Jail Library was also opened up next to the Jail Radio room which caters all kinds of books to help inmates gain more knowledge. Inmates have also displayed their hidden talent by painting the walls of the prison beautifully. The pattern is provided by Vartika Nanda.
Shri Rajeev Arora, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Home & Health, Jail Department, Government of Haryana, Shri Mohammad Akil, IPS, Director General of Prisons, Haryana, and Shri K. Selvaraj, IPS(Retd), then Director General of Prisons, Haryana and Shri Devi Dayal, Superintendent of Panipat Jail has been very supportive for this initiative.

About the Founder

Dr. Vartika Nanda is a prison reformer and media educator. She has initiated a movement on prison reforms in India under the banner, Tinka Tinka. President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, conferred the Stree Shakti Puraskar on her in 2014. Her work on prisons was taken cognizance by the Supreme Court of India in 2018. Her name has also been included in the Limca Book of Records twice for her unique work on prison reforms. 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. Currently, she heads the Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.
Watch the Video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sag02xT9Pig

6 thoughts on “The Sound of Reform in Panipat Jail, Haryana

  1. I was just looking for this info for some time. After six hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your website. I wonder what is the lack of Google strategy that don’t rank this kind of informative websites in top of the list. Normally the top websites are full of garbage.

  2. Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to mention that I’ve truly loved surfing around your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing in your feed and I’m hoping you write once more very soon!

  3. I came to know about such amazing activities in prison through ‘Tinka Tinka Madhya Pradesh’ written by Dr. Vartika Nanda which eventually brought me to this website. I am at a lost for words after reading that book and seeing Dr. Vartika Nanda’s work. I’m really happy to see that the inmates are given opportunities to learn, develop their skills and to make their loved ones proud of their growth. I really appreciate Dr. Vartika Nanda for bringing up prison reforms in India and touching so many lives in a positive manner through her unique prison reforms movement- Tinka Tinka. I never imagined prison could be treated in this creative manner.

  4. Tinka Tinka gave the idea of life and led the prisoners to live by gathering all their courage within themselves and it has come to this point today, by combining all the straws. This is the unique and great work done by the ” Tinka Tinka Foundation”. The mission of Tinka Tinka is to build a bridge of feelings between the prisoners and the society. I hope that this version of Vartika Nanda’s work and her voice will reach out to as many people as possible and the people also understand the prisoner’s feelings and will be able to connect with them with the feelings of their hearts.

    #tinkatinka #vartikananda #prisonreforms #jailradio #humanrights #prisons

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