Inmates of Haryana prisons to become ‘yoga gurus’
A SHOT AT REDEMPTION
GURUGRAM: Fifty convicts lodged in 19 correctional facilities across Haryana will be given yoga training and be groomed to become yoga gurus later in their respective jails.
The prison department is in the process of selecting two inmates from each jail and a supervisor, who will undergo two months of rigorous yoga training at Bhondsi jail starting
June 1.
Prison officials said that although some inmates have been known to practice yoga in jails earlier, it is now mandatory for inmates at all correctional facilities in the state to do yoga every morning.
Prison authorities have roped in Panchayati yoga Ashram, Delhi, a private agency, to hold both theoretical and practical yoga sessions for inmates in collaboration with India Vision Foundation, an NGO founded by former Delhi police commissioner Kiran Bedi, which works on jail projects.
K Selvaraj, director general, prisons, has given permission to jail superintendents to start the training programme at the earliest.
After the training, the inmates will be presented certificates and sent back to their respective jails. They will then start imparting yoga training to fellow inmates.
Jai Kishan Chillar, superintendent, Bhondsi prison, the move to impart yoga training to inmates is aimed at giving them a new career option and enhancing skill The course would be held five days a week, over a period of two months, during which instructors. The sessions will be organised during the morning and evening hours
An official said that the course will be offered on a voluntary basis and the inmates would have to appear for written and development.
The training programme has been designed by a private entity having expertise in yoga. “The course will be conducted by instructors, who would give practical and theoretical training to inmates in 60 days,” Chillar said.
The course would be held five days a week, over a period of two months, during which time instructors would remain on the jail premises for imparting yoga lessons.
The sessions will be organised during the morning and evening hours.
An official said that the course will be offered on a voluntary basis and the practical examinations to get a certificate
After the training, inmates will be presented certificates and sent back to their respective jails. They will start imparting lessons to fellow inmates Inmates serving life term or long-term imprisonment will be paid daily wages.
inmates would have to appear for written and practical examinations to get a certificate.
“Yoga will help the inmates get peace of mind. We will ensure sustainability of yoga in prisons,” Monica Dhawan, director, Indian Vision Foundation, said.
Inmates serving life term or long-term imprisonment will be selected for the training programme and will also be paid daily wages.
The programme will start from Bhondsi jail and the aim is to transform inmates’ fear into awareness, which will transform violent impulses into an innate sense of empathy, officials said.