The History of Prisons in Tamilnadu,India

INTRODUCTIONThe word 'Prison' derived from latin words which mean respectively to seize and cage. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Prison as " A place of properly arranged and equipped for the reception of Persons who by legal process are committed to it for safe custody while awaiting trial or punishment " . A Prison today serves three purposes which may be described as custodial, coercive, and correctional.Crime and punishment are as old as Human Civilisation. A crime is an act of social deviance and every act of crime is vested with punishment. Imprisonment has been the common method of punishment in most countries. The metamorphosis of the Indian Correctional System stemming from corporal Punishment, death penalty, banishment, transportation etc. was gradual.Whenever a prisoner is admitted in a prison he is totally exhausted both in mind and body. To bring him back to normalcy, the atmosphere of prisons should be surcharged with positive values and the inmates should be exposed to wholesome environment with opportunities to reform themselves. Further, the positive factors for the various offences committed by the prisoners reveals lack of education, lack of technical skill and change in outlook play the major role in the causation of all crimes. To counter these various causative factors, the following steps have been taken for the reformation and transformation of inmates in all Central Prisons of Tamil Nadu. With the support of the Government and the encouragement given by the Additional Director General of Prisons a comprehensive programme for the prisoners transformation is introduced.This Programme as a short term measure deals with taking care of the physical, mental being of the prisoners. Health, Education and Vocational Training are important areas for the rehabilitation of prison inmates in correctional administration.History of Central Prison, TrichyCentral Prison, Trichy was constructed during the year 1865. The area occupied by this Prison is 289.10 acres. The authorized accommodation is 2517 for casual convict, remand and under trial prisoners. The architectural arrangement of this Prison is radial blocks with central tower. The veteran Freedom Fighter and Social reformer E.V. Ramasamy was confined in this Prison. Out of 289.10 acres, Prison building is located on the area of 114.74 acres. The remaining barren land of inside the Trichy Central Prison are now gradually turning green converting them into a vegetables and horticulture garden.History of Central Prison, CuddaloreCentral Prison, Cuddalore was constructed during 1865 with accommodation for 523 prisoners initially for lodging mentally retarded prisoners and then with authorized accommodation of 723 converted as habitual prison offenders prison. Afterwards the same was again changed as the casual prison during October 1996. At present prisoners belonging to Cuddalore, Villupuram District are admitted in this Prison. Now prisoners classified as Convicts, Remand, TPDA, NSA, Cofeposa are confined in this prison. The total extent of the prison is 176 acres.History of Special Prison for Women, TrichyThis Prison was originally functioning at Madurai from 01.07.1987. Due to congestion in the nearby Central Prison, Madurai meant for male Prisoners this Prison was shifted to Trichy on 04.05.1997. The women Prisoners hailing from Southern districts of Tamil Nadu like, Kanniyakumari, Tuticorin, Thirunelveli, Virdhunagar, Madurai, Sivagangai, Theni, Dindugul, Ramnad, Trichirappalli, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Tanjore, Pudukkottai, are accommodated in this Prison. This Institution is fully manned by Women Officers and Staff. The authorized accommodation of this Prison is 101 for causal convict, remand under trial prisoners. There is a nursery and crèche available in this prison to look after the needs of the children accompanying the female prisoners. Children upto the age of six will be with their mothers.History of Borstal School, Pudukkottai.This was originally functioning as a District Prison of Maharaja of Pudukottai and converted as a Borstal School with effect from 01.04.1968. The young offenders between the age of 18-21 years (Boys) detained by the court under section 8(1) of Tamil Nadu Borstal Act 1925 are confined in this Prison. The area occupied by this Institution is 23.45 acres. The authorized accommodation of this School is 405. This School was converted as District Jail and the Sub Jail was converted as Borstal school vide Government order No. (Rt) 30, Home (Prison - 4) Department dated. 10.01.2006.The various reformative, rehabilitative and innovative programmes were implemented in Trichy Range prisons for the benefit of Prisoners lodged in Prisons and the activities done by as mentioned below.a. Medical camps and various health awareness programme for the Prison inmates.b. Education & Vocational Education for the Prison inmates.c. Conducted various cultural Programmes for the Prison inmates.d. Innovative Programmes for the prison inmates to develop their inner talents.e. Reformative and Rehabilitative Programmes for the Prison inmates.Among the above various reformative programmes carried out in Trichy Range this paper deals with the Educational programs for the inmates for the transformation