Story of Prison Radio in India

"Hello!" "My name is Vartika Nanda, and I'm trying to make a rainbow behind the jail's bars."With these words, Dr. Vartika Nanda, India's leading prison reformer and media educator, represented India at the primary International Prison Radio Conference on June 15, 2022, in Oslo, Norway.

The conference, organized by the Prison Radio Association together with the Norwegian Correctional Services Directorate, was a historic event, bringing together participants from over 20 countries. It had been intended to facilitate global knowledge and experience-sharing on the potential of prison radio for the humanization of prisons and the rehabilitation of prisoners.

His 30-minute detailed presentation included a summary of prison radio in India and a jail radio initiative implemented by his non-profit organization, the Tinka-Tinka Foundation, within the district jails of Agra and Dehradun, as well as eight prisons in Haryana. Quite a few prisoners have been trained as RJs under the aegis of Dr. Vartika Nanda, the founding figure of the Tinka-Tinka Foundation. A few dozen songs have been released during prison radio training and its implementation.

Nanda also gave a broader view of his acclaimed "The Straw Model of Prison Reform," which harnesses the facility and creativity of the media to integrate prison inmates with the mainstream. He respectfully mentioned the support he had received from government officials in his endeavours.

Explaining the underlying philosophy of prison radio in India, Nanda emphasized the importance of freedom of expression behind bars for the general progressive development of society.

Dr. Nanda highlighted that Tinka-Tinka Jail was trying to make the outside world aware of the life of prisoners in jails with the help of radio.

The two-day conference included a visit to the Oslo prison and provided a chance to study the prison radio project. The prison tour was specifically designed to assist them to understand the best practices adopted by Norwegian prisons.

The participants also shared their views on the logistics, limitations, scope, and opportunities associated with prison radio projects. There was a general consensus among participants that prison radio could strengthen democratic values and freedoms around the world.

Tinka-Tinka is the brainchild of prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda, who heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She has been awarded the Stree Shakti Puraskar by the President of India in 2014. His work on prisons has landed an area in the Limca Book of Records twice. His work on prisons was taken cognizance by the Supreme Court of India in 2018.

Her recent research on "Study of the condition of girl prisoners and their children in Indian prisons and their communication needs with special reference to Uttar Pradesh" was recognized by the ICSSR.

Earlier, the Tinka-Tinka Foundation started Jail Radio within the District Jail, Agra in 2019. The event of prison radio in Haryana is part of an ongoing study on the straw-tinsel model of prison reform. The Tinka-Tinka Podcast, aired by him on YouTube, is India's only podcast on prisons. Tinka-Tinka's tagline is "Trying to form rainbows in prisons."

Every year, the Tinka Tinka Foundation also encourages prisoners and prison staff by presenting the Tinka-Tinka India Award. This is often the only award for prison reform.