To prevent the tendency to re-offend upon release from prison, these prisoners must be able to live a universal life again. For this, the 'Yoga' path is used all over the world.
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Due to the increasing number of inmates and the deteriorating conditions of the prisons, the inmates and the prison authorities are also facing immense stress at present. Along with this tension, the tendency to re-offend once released from prison, also known as 'recidivism' in English, is becoming a serious issue in the current criminal world. This concern is not limited only to the developing nations. So, it has also intensified in developed countries like USA, United Kingdom and Australia. The prevalence of residualism in these countries is 55 per cent, 72 per cent and 44.6 per cent respectively. According to the latest available data, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden account for more than 40 per cent of re-arrested prisoners.
These include measures to reduce the incidence of criminalism, residualism, punishment, and the provision of employment opportunities through the provision of skills. The practice of 'yoga' has been included in these efforts in many prisons in India. Yoga is now also seen as a preventive healthcare. Some research has concluded that yoga has a positive effect on the mental health and behavior of prisoners. As a result, some Western countries are increasingly providing yoga training and sound therapy to prisoners. Yet the use of yoga in prisons is still very limited, depending on the decision of the prison superintendent.
The relationship between yoga training and declining residualism rates
We find that India already has yoga training and literacy campaigns for the rehabilitation of prisoners. In 2015, Tihar prison authorities trained inmates to become yoga instructors, after which they were to be given certificates. So that when he is released from prison he can also get a job as a yoga instructor. In 2018, in collaboration with the Prisons Department in Delhi and the Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute (MDNIY), Project Sanjeevan will train 1,000 inmates a year to become yoga instructors. Similarly, the Bihar Prisons Department has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Art of Living to teach yoga to 48,000 inmates in 56 jails in the state. Research conducted at Osmania University in Telangana suggests that,
In 2010, prison authorities in Madhya Pradesh launched a scheme to reduce the sentences of inmates who complete a three-month yoga training camp. Prison officials said that yoga training has not only benefited the inmates physically, but also made them more calm and gave them a positive outlook on life. Some prisoners have already decided to become proper trainers after their release.
Creating conditions for the release of prisoners after their release is an effective way to reduce the incidence of residualism. Training to become a yoga instructor also opens the door to future employment opportunities. At the same time, yoga gives them the strength to cope with the drastic changes they will have to face as they move into the outside world.
Additional benefits of prison yoga training
As per the 2016 report, there are 1412 prisons in India, in which 135,638 convicted criminals are lodged. According to Prison Statistics India 2015, the rate of residualism in India is 3%, which is very low compared to other countries, but residivism is also a serious problem for India. The number of offenders caught re-offending once released from prison was 5,576 in 2015. Also, the number of inmates in prisons has increased to 113.7 per cent of its capacity, according to a 2016 report.
Such a situation in prison affects the mentality of the inmates, the inmates face anxiety, depression while the thoughts of suicide and aggressive violence increase. According to the Prison Statistics India 2016 report, 6,013 prisoners are suffering from mental illness. The number of unnatural deaths in prisons doubled between 2015 and 2016, while the number of suicides also increased.
In developed countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, prison yoga training is being institutionalized; At such a time, India should not be left in the dark. A paper from Oxford University, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, discusses how yoga training improves mental health and reduces stress by experimenting on inmates in the United Kingdom. For this experiment, the inmates were randomly selected to participate in a 10-week yoga training. From the information obtained at the end of this experiment, it was revealed that yoga can play an important role in the rehabilitation program of prisoners. Prisoners who participated in more yoga classes as well as practiced yoga on their own (five or more times a week) were reported to have reduced stress. Therefore, If such yoga classes are conducted in prisons, it will reduce the mental stress of the inmates and bring about a positive change in their behavior. This change will help keep them away from criminal tendencies after their release, the research concluded.
The 'Prison Yoga Project', 'Liberation Prison Yoga' and 'The Prison Phoenix Project' are three organizations dedicated to teaching yoga to inmates in prisons. The Prison Yoga Project, which began in California, now provides yoga training to inmates at various prisons in the United States. Their goal is to reduce residualism in the United States. The Prison Phoenix Project conducts yoga and meditation classes in 84 prisons in the United Kingdom. In a month, it reaches 2,000 prisoners. The research was carried out by Oxford University in a prison in the United Kingdom with the help of this organization.
This ancient knowledge that connects physical and spiritual life is an invaluable gift from India to the world. Unfortunately, there is no government or private organization in India today that works on 'Yoga for Prisoners'. Yoga classes are held in some prisons, but many officers prefer psychiatry. But, both yoga and psychiatry have different goals. While psychiatry is very important as a treatment for mental illness, yoga is a preventive health system and lifestyle. Yoga can also be a great complementary practice for those who are going to a psychiatrist for treatment. International studies have also shown that while psychotherapy helps as an external factor, yoga is a complement to immediate relief.
What's next
Last month, on August 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government would set up 12,500 AYUSH centers across the country under the 'Fit India Mission'. Of these, 4,000 centers will be completed by the end of 2019, he added. These centers will be under the Ministry of AYUSH which promotes Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Homeopathy etc. The new focus on public health in the country needs to be extended to prisons as well. Prison authorities should work in collaboration with these AYUSH centers to impart yoga training to more and more inmates. They should be encouraged to work together with Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute to set an example of Delhi's 'Project Sanjeevan'.
It will be important to appoint yoga inmates who have been released from prison for yoga training. Having experience of the prison environment, they will be able to understand the problems of other inmates and be able to give better advice. Yoga has emerged as a great tool for India's 'soft power diplomacy' today and has become important. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent yoga instructors to many countries. Using the same people, we can extend a helping hand to the needy countries through this facility. Because keeping citizens away from criminal attitudes and imprisonment is not only in the interest of the country, but also in the interest of humanity.
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