Internship Experience @ Tihar Jail, New Delhi: Interview Inmates and Tihar Officials

Name

Vanya Chaturvedi

Organisation

Tihar Jail, New Delhi

Application Process

The application process is quite simple. Make your entry from the main gate, i.e., the Headquarters’ gate of Tihar Campus. The security would ask for your IDs and the purpose of your visit. Tell them that you want to intern and they would direct you to the concerned officials.

The concerned officials would then ask for your recommendation letter from your concerned institute, your college and other IDs and would verify the same. After verification they would issue an internship letter that needs to be carried to each and every jail you visit and sometimes if found walking around the jail campus, the officers may ask for your internship letter for security n verification purposes.

Duration

1 week.

26th December, 2014- 2nd January, 2015

First Day

The infrastructure is quite impressive as regards to a jail in India. The jails are equipped with several kinds of facilities like a library, e-library, painting room, meditation hall, various factories to employ the inmates, a bio metric calling facility, music room, dance room, a legal aid cell, etc.

Items cooked in the bakery are too delicious and the quality of work of the inmates is par excellence. Well, the first impression was definitely daunting as we always forge forward with a certain impression of jails in our minds.

It is definitely dreadful at first to see police officers and paramilitary forces with guns all around and to meet the inmates, but, anyhow a person gets used to it with time.

Main tasks

Our main tasks was to jot down our key points regarding whatever we observed in the jail campus and to interview inmates and Tihar officials and other staff.

Work environment

No matter how unlikely it sounds, the work environment was good, the staff and officers were very cordial, informative and welcoming. Even the inmates were quite cordial.

Best things

Well, the best things were the Chai, Coffee and biscuits of Tihar. Alright, on a serious note, the whole exposure was the best I’ve had since i began studying law.

Bad things

Well, no bad things as such, though, I would like to put forward a word of caution. Always move about with the group assigned to you, or as in my case, I had my friends with me, so move about with your friends.

Don’t keep roaming alone all around, because, it might not be safe and also the interns are always accompanied by a Jail Warden or some other officer, hence, roaming around on your own may lower your impression in the eyes of the authorities.

Stipend

None

Biggest Lessons

The biggest thing I learnt in Tihar is how life in a jail looks like. That jail life is not usually the same as is put forward by movie, etc. Also, I learnt about the pathetic situation of our own judicial system due to which many undertrials and innocents suffer for years.

I also learnt that women are the worst sufferers with many of them not even knowing the crime for which they have been framed thus, reinforcing the need for women education and empowerment on a broader scale.