NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 15 A study conducted on Tihar inmates has shown that meditation and Vipasana — an ancient method of medication — help transform their lives and also lead them away from the world of crime.

The study was conducted by students of Vivekanand College in Delhi on the inmates in Tihar and the impact of Vipasana.

The study also shows that high self esteem or low self esteem are always associated with criminal mind therefore Vipasana helps to maintain the equilibrium. The study further found that inmates who have undergone Vipasana understand the suffering of others. It also helps to develop inmates’ inter-personal relations and also their relations with senior officers.

The study emphasised the need for such meditation programme in Prison all over the country, which can help in reform of the prisoner. During the tenure of Kiran Bedi in Tihar, several meditation programmes were introduced. During the study, psychological impact on Prison inmates was studied by the students. Forty two inmates in two different categories were selected for the study.

In the first categories, there were 21 inmates, who had never undergone Vipasana and the other category comprised of 21 inmates, who have undergone Vipasana at some point of time.

The next phase of the study was to rate these two different teams on various parameters like self esteem, emotional stability and social responsibility. Interestingly, in all the cases, the inmates, who had undergone Vipasana earlier showed positive results than the inmates who never received any Vipasana.

On the third day of colloquium organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in Delhi, a discussion for a reform in Prison system in India was undertaken. The study on inmates by students was also discussed.

‘Reform criminal justice system’

Speaking on the need for reforms in prisons in India, Former Commissioner of Delhi Police, Ved Marwah said, “ Before reforming our prisons, we need to reform our criminal justice system, which includes police and judiciary. The day our criminal justice system is reformed, the prisons in India will automatically be reformed.” “66 per cent of the inmates are in prison for very petty offences or are first-timers and most of the inmates come from poor section of the society and cannot do anything to speed up justice. So there is need to reform our criminal justice system,” he added.