Three years ago, on July 31, 2019, Vartika Nanda’s Tinka Tinka Foundation created a new landmark in the history of prison reforms in India. It was for the first time that a jail radio facility was established in one of the country’s oldest prisons, District Jail, Agra.
An outcome of rigorous research on the communication needs of prisons in the country, Tinka Tinka’s jail radio in Agra is the first in the organisation’s long march to unveil creative talent in jails through the auditory medium. The drafting of the first blueprint of the radio set-up was followed by the selection and training of inmates. According to Dr. Nanda, the radio, in its test-stage, received the support of undertrial inmates Uday and Tuhina as radio jockeys, who were later honoured at the Tinka Tinka India Awards, the exclusive series of awards for jail inmates and administration. Other inmates, Satish and Arbaaz also helped decorate the room allocated for all the activities related to the radio in the jail premises.
From the first dry run of the radio to its inauguration, the entire process was welcomed with a unique fervour among inmates, their children, jail staff and the administration. Prison walls had begun to reverberate with hope and the spirit of creative freedom. At the same time, all members of the prison community came together to create the first link to Tinka’s long chain of initiatives that would rapidly transform prisons in India in the near future.
The support of jail administrators, SSP Babloo Kumar and Jail Superintendent Shashikant Mishra has also been recounted on the third anniversary of the prison radio. The administration recognised the positive impact of jail radio and actively supported its role in facilitating education, communication and interconnectivity in prisons during the social distancing period of COVID-19.
Today, Tinka Tinka’s jail radio movement, starting from Agra, has expanded to 7 out of 19 jails in Haryana as well as to District Jail, Dehradun. Rooted in rehabilitating inmates and reforming prisons through the means of art, literature, music and media, Tinka Tinka has also conceptualised its unique ‘Tinka Model of Prison Reforms’ which aims to ‘create rainbows behind the bars.’ Tinka Tinka’s success story in leveraging jail radio to safeguard key human rights was presented in the first International Prison Radio Conference in Oslo, Norway, in June this year, representing Asia.
Founder of Tinka Tinka Foundation, Dr. Vartika Nanda, is a recipient of Stree Shakti Award, 2014, and heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. Her work on prisons has twice found a place in the Limca Book of Records. 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” (ICSSR 2019-20) has been evaluated as ‘outstanding’ and recommended for publication. Her work on prisons was taken cognizance by Supreme Court of India in 2018. She is also the host and narrator of ‘Kissa Khaki Ka’, the official podcast series by Delhi Police, focused on bridging the communication gap between the world of policing and the common society.
The author is a student of the Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. The article has been written under the aegis of Tinka Prison Research Cell launched in April 2021, by K. Selvaraj, DG, Prisons, Haryana.
Congratulations to Tinka Tinka for completing this big milestone. A form of communication is essential for maintaining a connection within and outside prisons. This initiative, led by the foundation, has pioneered the establishment of Jail Radio. It has given a purpose to the inmates and helped them develop skills that will be helpful in the future.