Result Announced

Occasion: Human Rights Day, 2022

• 13 jail inmates and 3  jail officers awarded.
• Of the 13 recognised inmates, 9 are males, 3 females and 1 transgender.
• 6 of the awardees   are convicts and 7 are undertrials.
• 1 transgender from Uttarakhand chosen for a special award

In 2022, over 600 entries were received under the Painting and Special Mention categories and 45 entries by the jail staff.

Youngest among nominees was 18 year old Jatuni incarcerated in District Jail, Faridabad, and 75 year, Ram Gopal from Central Jail, Ujjain was the oldest.

Awards were released by Dr. K.L.N. Rao, DG Prisons, Gujarat and Dr. Vartika Nanda, Founder, Tinka Tinka Foundation

Dr. A.P. Maheshwari, IPS (retd.) Former DG, BPR&D, Sanjay Chaudhary, IPS (retd.), Former DG, Prisons & Correctional Services, Madhya Pradesh were members of the jury

Till 2021, 126 inmates have received the award in the Painting and Special Mention category while 27 inmates have been chosen for the Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards. 43 jail administrators have also been honoured under this initiative.

On the eve of Human Rights Day, Tinka Tinka Foundation has continued its efforts in prison reformation by announcing the 8th edition of the national Tinka Tinka India Awards. These exclusive awards aim to recognise extraordinary contributions by prison inmates, staff and administration towards prison reform in India. Tinka Tinka has conferred 13 inmates and 3 jail administrators with this award for the year 2022, under 4 categories, namely Painting, Special Mention, Prison Administration and Bandini Awards. 

7 inmates have been chosen for awards in the Painting category while 4 have been selected for their special contribution to prison life. One transgender has been chosen under the special mention category. 2 women inmates have also been chosen for the special Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards. Besides this, 3 jail staffers have been chosen for the special Tinka Tinka Award for prison administration this year. Of the 13 recognised inmates, 6 are convicts and 7 are undertrials.

Tinka Tinka Awards in Painting

Chiranjit (28) lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), has bagged the 1st prize in the painting category. Second prize has been awarded to Shraddha Satish Mangale (32), an undertrial in Central Jail, Thane (Maharashtra). Amarjeet Singh (48), an undertrial in Delhi’s Tihar Jail has been honoured with the third prize. A graduate with an excellent track record in drawing and painting, Amarjeet also works as a ‘Sahayak’ in the painting section of the jail.

Consolation prizes in Painting were conferred on four inmates. 28-year old Ajay Ratre lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur, who also won the first prize in the painting category at Tinka Tinka India Awards 2019, Sanjay (29) of Central Jail, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jal Kumar (29) detained in Delhi’s Tihar Jail as well as Subhash Ramchandra Gurugula (25) an undertrial in Central Jail, Thane (Maharashtra), have been chosen for consolation prizes.

Tinka Tinka Special Mention Awards

Contributions of 4 inmates have been recognised in the Special Mention category. 45-year-old Kulmeet Kumar lodged in District Jail, Sonipat (Haryana), has been honoured for his contributions as a teacher in jail whose constant efforts are helping inmates receive higher education. Having spent more than 20 years in jail, Kulmeet has successfully undertaken the responsibility of encouraging illiterate inmates to join literary programmes in jail. He is also the radio jockey for the upcoming Tinka Tinka Jail Radio in Sonipat. Raghvendra Lodhi, aged 30, from District Jail, Fatehpur (Uttar Pradesh), has been felicitated for his efforts in spreading literacy in jail by reading newspapers for inmates on a daily basis. At the time of his entry in prison, he was an illiterate person.

Sarika, a 56 year old transgender inmate who has been in District Jail, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), since 2017, has also been honoured for her work as a ‘Convict Overseer’ of the women’s enclosure of the prison. Her immense contributions in the role have helped bridge the gap between incarcerated women and prison administration.

54 years-old Mahendra Virambhai Prajapati detained in Sabarmati Central Jail, Ahmedabad (Gujarat), has been recognised for recording over 130 digital audio books to make learning accessible to the visually impaired.

Tinka  Tinka Bandini Awards

Two inmates received special recognition in the Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards. Jaswinder (43)  from Mandoli Jail, Delhi, has done extraordinary work with the welfare department of the jail. She helps in arranging basic facilities especially for those inmates who do not receive any visitors in jail. She runs a beauty parlour in the jail and is always willing to contribute to make prison a better space for the inhabitants.

Baby Mandle (45), lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), has also been honoured for her efforts in providing educational support to women inmates in the prison. Before coming to the jail, she worked as a support staff member in a private hospital.

Tinka Awards for Prison Administration

This year, three prison administrators from across the country have received the Tinka Tinka India Awards for excellent and extraordinary efforts in reforming prisons. Ramesh Chandra Arya (55) Superintendent of Circle Jail, Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh), has been in service since 1995. His efforts towards spreading literacy, including computer literacy and vocational training, expanding the jail industry during COVID-19, creating and maintaining gaushala, building new toilets, providing furniture, establishing hair cutting salons, etc., in the interest of the entire prison community have completely changed the face of the prison complex.

Paras Mal (40), Deputy Superintendent of High Security Prison, Ajmer (Rajasthan), has been honoured for his efforts in building, maintaining and expanding the prison library which introduced a wealth of knowledge in the lives of inmates along with the opportunity to pursue their academic pursuits and stay connected with the affairs in the outside world. Since his joining the jail service in 2006, he has contributed in providing basic training to nearly 1500 warders. Preparing reading material for the trainees. He has also coordinated educational programmes in association with IGNOU and NIOS.
Vishal Sharma (42), Warder in District Jail, Panipat (Haryana), has been recognised for his immense contributions towards increasing literacy in the prison and giving support for Tinka Tinka Jail Radio radio which has given a new direction and confidence to inmates to restart their lives behind the bars. He has played the key role in the selection of radio jockeys in the jail. His contribution towards reviving the jail radio immensely helped inmates overcome depression during COVID-19.

About Tinka Tinka Foundation and Prison Reforms

Tinka Tinka Foundation, a movement on jails, to help in the reformation of inmates and improve prison life, is the brainchild of media educator and prison reformer, Dr. Vartika Nanda. She is the recipient of Stree Shakti Puraskar, highest civilian honour for women empowerment in India, conferred upon her in 2014 by the President of India for her contribution in media & literature. Her name has been included twice in Limca Book of Records (2015 and 2017) for introducing innovative concepts related to creative expressions of inmates in the field of prison reforms. Her action oriented research on prisons was also taken into cognizance by the Supreme Court of India in 2018 in the matter of “Inhuman conditions in 1382 prisons”.

Initiated in 2015, Tinka Tinka’s exclusive national series ‘Tinka Tinka India Awards’ has recognised the unique contributions by inmates, children of inmates, and jail administrators towards the cause of prison reformation in India. Receiving hundreds of entries from all over India in four different categories every year, the award has highlighted the extraordinary creative and enterprising initiatives behind the bars that have helped bring a positive transformation to the lives of inmates and the prison community in the country. The awards follow a select relevant theme every year. The theme for the awards in 2021 was ‘Telephones in Jail’, ‘COVID-19 and Prisons’ in 2020, and ‘Dreams inside Prisons’ in 2019, accurately capturing the realities, challenges and aspirations of India’s incarcerated.

Dr. Vartika Nanda is also credited for conceptualising, training and executing prison radio in District Jail Agra, Jails of Haryana and Uttarakhand. Tinka Jail Radio is the only podcast in India dedicated to prison reforms. Three books under Tinka Tinka are considered to be masterpieces on prison life, which are a culmination of continuous engagement with prisons.