THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-July 6, 2017- Topic 1

Protecting prisoners

Reforms must secure rights of inmates

The focus of public and judicial concern over the situation prevailing in India’s prisons has in recent times been related to overcrowding and long spells of incarceration faced by indigent inmates too poor to obtain bail. On some occasions, such as when the horrific blinding of prisoners in Bhagalpur took place over three decades ago, the stark human rights situation also attracted attention. The brutal murder of a woman life convict in the Bycullawomen’s prison in Mumbai on June 23 has brought the focus back on custodial violence, especially the vulnerability of inmates to authoritarian behaviour. 

The allegation that prison guards targeted Manjula Shette, a lifer brought to the jail a couple of months ago from the Yerwada Central Prison in Pune as a warder, over some missing rations is indeed startling. It is said she incurred the wrath of the guards because of her rising popularity among the women prisoners. This suggests that until her arrival the inmates may not have been accustomed to even rudimentary care from the jail authorities. Eyewitnesses say that when the warder was severely assaulted by the guards, it led to a riot-like situation among the prisoners. It is not difficult to surmise that simmering discontent over the prevailing conditions, and an intense animus between the guards and the inmates, were behind the events. It is some consolation that the police have arrested six prison officials for the custodial murder.

It is disconcerting that the untoward incident took place at a time when the Maharashtra government had been directed by the Bombay High Court to undertake a comprehensive review of the conditions in three major prisons in the State. As per the March 2017 court order, an empowered committee was to be constituted to look into all aspects of the jails in the light of Supreme Court decisions, the Model Prison Manual of 2016 and relevant UN resolutions. In particular, the panel was to suggest measures to create modern jails and modernise amenities. In the last half century, the superior courts have passed a series of orders to reform jails. The issues range from prisoners’ rights, health, hygiene and access to legal aid, to the condition of women inmates and their children. The judiciary’s approach has been anchored in the belief that fundamental rights “do not part company with the prisoner at the gates”. The Union Home Minister released a model jail manual last year. It makes clear that the state is under an obligation to protect the residuary rights of prisoners after they surrender their liberty to a legal process. One can only reiterate a principle already enshrined in it: the management of prisons must be marked by firm discipline, but also due regard to the human rights of prisoners. Prison reforms are not only about amenities and conditions; they must also address the prisoner’s right to life.

Vocabulary

Concern: a matter of interest or importance to someone.

Example: Oil reserves are the concern of the Energy Department

Synonyms: responsibility, business, affair, charge

Indigent: a needy person.

Example: Automatons, illiterates and indigents of every shape and size, don't stop but aid this cruel crusade participate in their own demise.

Synonyms: vagrant, homeless person, down-and-out, beggar

Incarceration: the state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.

Example: The public would not be served by her incarceration

Synonyms: imprisonment, internment, confinement, detention

Vulnerability: the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.

Example: Conservation authorities have realized the vulnerability of the local population

Accustomed: customary or usual.

Example: His accustomed route

Synonyms: customary, usual, normal, habitual, regular

Simmer: stay just below the boiling point while being heated.

Example: The goulash was simmering slowly on the stove

Synonyms: boil gently, cook gently, bubble, stew

Hygiene: conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness.

Example: Poor standards of food hygiene

Synonyms: cleanliness, sanitation, sterility, purity, disinfection

Amenities: a desirable or useful feature or facility of a building or place.

Example: Heating is regarded as a basic amenity

Synonyms: facility, service, convenience, resource, appliance