This is not a village, it is a prison. The open prison at Sanganer has survived 65 years. It is a sprawling area covering 23 bighas of land where convicts stay with their families, earn their living independently and have a chance to undergo a journey of reform which is free of fetters and bars and physical punishment. PAAR (Prison Aid+Action Research), a non-partisan research and advocacy organisation, founded by Smita Chakraburtty has been working on the rights of prisoners and wishes to bring about a day when closed prisons are deemed the alternative and the open prisons become the norm. The reasons? It's more humane, it's more cost-effective for the government and the rate of recidivism (chances of a convict to re-offend) is lesser. The prisoners are allowed to live a life of dignity, built on the foundation of hard work. The aim is to bring them back to the main-stream. The open prison system catalyses self-discipline within the convicts, they are awarded graded liberty wherein they have to diligently attend the morning and evening roll calls everyday and are not allowed to leave the open prison premises at night. - This page will be a sneak peek into the everyday lives of the people associated with the Sanganer open prison. A place where their voices will reach everyone, a place where they will recount their stories. Watch this space to hear voices from the open prisons.
