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IN 1994, Ruzbeh Nari Bharucha read a press clipping about mothers and their children in Yerwada prison: "For a while I thought it was a printing error. I couldn’t believe that children stayed in prison and had to obey all the rules and regulations that were applicable to their mothers. But what really disturbed me was the thought, that after they had reached the age of five, they would be separated from their mothers... (this) affected my very being." The news item inspired him to come out with this book, which was the result of a great deal of research and visits to a number of prisons. Bharucha is an "issues" person, but at the forefront of his passion for "issues" is a deep concern about people. Having dealt with topics concerning the paranormal and spiritual forces, Bharucha is working on a documentary on the relocation of dwellers of Yamuna Pushta (Delhi), one of the world’s biggest slums, and on a book about issues affecting the people of Kashmir. To garner material for his books, he meets and interacts with people —government officials, institutions, NGOs, politicians, policemen and women. Yet, nowhere does he lets his emotion get the better of him, at least in his writing. He simply presents the facts. Shadows in Cages, with a write-up presented by Dr Kiran Bedi, includes a series of interviews and experiences of the author with prisoners, social workers and prison authorities. A foreword by the Dalai Lama says: "Traditionally the world over, a mother and child are regarded as a symbol of kindness, care and protection. This book focuses, however, on the plight of neglected and often forgotten mothers who find themselves in Indian prisons, many not even convicted, but merely awaiting trials." Bharucha attempts to shake off the complacency of the reader by making real what merely appears sporadically as a newspaper article. The mothers and children in his book are real people: children born in prison who know nothing of the world outside, and mothers who must face the cruel fact that they’ll have to part with their darlings as soon as they turn five, sometimes never to see them again. Some of these children may return to their families, but more often than not they go to orphanages and institutions that cannot even afford to sponsor a mother-and-child meeting once in six months. In examining the lives of the children confined to prison, Bharucha studies justice and penalty. It is very possible, he reveals, that the women could be imprisoned for the "wrong reason". "When a person is poor and illiterate, nobody bothers to go into minute details. This is the system of our country, where often even minors land up in jails that are filled several times beyond their capacity." He talks of bad food and poor hygiene, sanitation and medical facilities. He speaks about social workers and NGOs that struggle against the odds and try not to go insane. And, one meets a whole lot of children in the book. Children with dimpled cheeks and sparkling eyes, but who are psychologically and emotionally maimed. Bharucha uses sardonic observations throughout the book, which do make the reader smile a bit: "Have you noticed while travelling through India that though the poor live in the most basic conditions, they still make sure that our Gods are always accommodated in style?" Bharucha is full of praise for the functioning of the Tihar jail. The NGO, India Vision Foundation, established by Kiran Bedi in 1994, offers excellent care to children, including schooling. The author visited prisons from Yerwada to Tihar to Srinagar. He found some of them excellent, some passable and some downright terrible. With motivation and the right people at the helm of affairs, every prison could be as organised and beautiful as the jails at Tihar or Bhubaneshwar, he asserts. Finally, Bharucha asks
the readers if they want to help the women and children behind bars.
Starting from reasons why we should be concerned, he goes on to address
teachers, advocates, doctors and others who can voluntarily work with
NGOs to help these people. He has taken the readers on a disturbing
journey, but there is hope if we, the readers, recognise this reality
and take some steps to help and make a difference. |
