I went to the gate of Jail, asked for permission to meet some clients who are in jail, regarding their cases.
The Jail keeper asked me to write a written application.
There were several people waiting outside gate. They had come to meet their relatives in jail.
As I was writing application, I overheard two people talking.
One said, "Since how many days you are absconding?"
Another replied,"I am absconding since last Thursday. And you?"
First man replied,"I am absconding since a month."
Both absconding prisoners had come to jail to pass some messages to their other convict friends who were in jail.
The point is :
Sometimes prisoners are given 15 days temporary parole to attend some family problems..
When they are coming out from jail, 10 other prisoner friends ask them to attend some of their work also.
If these small tasks of life are not finished in 15 days. They ask for extension of parole leave from jail authorities.
If extension of parole is refused by authority, then they remain absconding and remain wanted for few days. After their tasks are over, they report back to jail to resume their punishment. They are inflicted additional punishment for remaining absconding.
Inside jail, they live like a family. Each one is criminal. They accept each other as such. To them no one is saint. None of them have holier than thou look on their face.
In outer world, though all of us may be guilty of violating some or other laws, since we are still not caught, we do not admit.
We treat all of us as respected law abiding citizens.
Comparatively, people inside jail are more honest.
Here, they call each other by their number or by some nick names.
Nick names are like : Chaku, Chaki, Chhoti Chhoori, Badi Chhori, Langda, Takla etc.
These nick names help them.
When they come out from jail, they forget their nick names and also forget jail memories attached with their names.
Then they become normal people with normal names. They do not feel any stigma attached to their name. (Because inJail their names were different)
In one hour I spent in Jail, they told me how there is chaos in all jails in India after Supreme Court Judgement that no prisoner has legal right to be released from jail after 14 years are over, it is entirely on each State Govt and it's machinery to decide when to release whom and on what grounds.
They said every day new circulars are coming.
The poor and voiceless prisoners can spend their whole life in jail. And those who know how to, can come out in 10 years.
I was voiceless.
I had no solutions for their problems.
I could give them only one assurance, "Your Appeals in Supreme Court will be heard in due course." This assurance was meaningless as there were no commitment of time, and yet it reassured their hopes that one day Supreme Court will listen to their side of story.
This is their dream.
My Senior told me that people can live their whole life on hopes. It is our duty to give them hopes against hopes.
When I left jail, I felt that people inside jail were more honest and more truthful then people like me who live outside jails.
Haresh Raichura
1092
