Blogs - Kiran Bedi - Official Website

IG Prisons Tihar

In 1993 Kiran Bedi was posted as DIG prisons in Tihar jail. She made history by completing reforming the prison making it into Tihar Ashram. Before she entered Tihar, the prisoners lacked most basic facilities ranging from lack of access to food to lacking sanitary conditions. While at Tihar, Kiran Bedi was dedicated to turn the Prison into a reformative ashram. She immediately ordered for better sanitary and health facilities in the Prison and took to frequent rounds for inspection of these facilities. She was of the firm opinion that her role was not to be judgmental about the crimes of even hardened criminals but to provide them opportunities where they can live a safe, secure, healthy and comfortable life. In the brief regime of Dr. Bedi, rigid and distant hierarchies were broken down. The prisoners were protected and stood enveloped from all sides- officers, staff and the useful members of the community. She also introduced the system of mobile petition box. It was introduced to counter gossip network which was marked predominantly by secrecy, callousness and indifference, to counter which locked box was circulated among the prisoners. They wrote about their problems like water scarcity, unsatisfactory cleanliness, ineffective supervision, absence of doctors and non-availability of medicines. Through these mobile petition boxes, suggestions were given for improvement, valuable information provided, creativity encouraged by sharing, feeling of gratefulness expressed, also grievances against police, court and lawyers expressed. To empower women’s conditions in the prison, they were firmly made literate by inmates as well as outside teachers. :A great tragedy with these women was that their children born in their prison time were had to also remain in prison amid all those dire circumstances. Confined in the four walls of the magnanimous Tihar jail, they were deprived of their childhood. To improve their conditions, Mahila Pratiraksha Mandal was established. Nursery school was established to teach 60 children who were deprived of their basic human right without any fault of their own. To keep the prisoners busy as well as equip them with necessary skills to earn livelihood in future Kiran Bedi also introduced opportunities for vocational training. From introducing education to bringing in vocational training and meditation programs like Vipassana in prison, her reformative work in Tihar won her international acclaim. She was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in August 1994 wor her work in prison reform. With the prize money she started the India Vision foundation for prison reforms. The foundation has completed 27 years of working in this field.

LG PUDUCHERRY

A Pathway to True Governance:

A SWOT analysis was conducted on the first day of meeting with the government officials. The analysis of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in Puducherry led to the formation of the 5 pillars of true governance. The Lieutenant Governor built the 5 pillars of True Governance which are Invite | Involve | Resolve | Solve | Evolve.

The first pillar – ‘Invite’ began by opening the doors of Raj Nivas to all sections of the society. The open-air theatres and cinema in the lawns of Raj Nivas saw the integration of people who together celebrated different festivals and participated in various events transforming Raj Nivas to ‘Seva Nivas | People Nivas’. The special visitors to Raj Nivas included the President of India and other eminent dignitaries.

The second pillar of True Governance is ‘Involve’. Involvement of the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretariat with Private participation led to the cleaning of beaches, prison reforms, and dengue prevention. Involvement of the people has led to the emergence of a People’s Movement in Puducherry to make the region water rich, green and clean for the residents to live a quality life. The combined involvement of the People, Corporates and NGO’S led to the Mission Green Puducherry, Water Rich Puducherry and Swachh Puducherry under the leadership of Lt. Governor Dr. Kiran Bedi.

The third pillar of True Governance is ‘Resolve’. The Open House is a system that addresses people’s grievances. An individual with a grievance can submits the petition to the Lt. Governor. Every petition is documented, analysed and attended. Open House has successfully created an accessible and responsive governance. The Weekend Morning Rounds saw the Lt. Governor and Team Raj Nivas collaborating with people to clean the lakes and ponds. The surprise inspections of the police stations, healthcare centres and children’s home form the third pillar of the True Governance of resolving issues.

The fourth pillar of True Governance is ‘Solve’. The Mission Water Rich Puducherry aimed to solve the water crisis in Puducherry. The Lieutenant Governor and Team Raj Nivas worked tirelessly with the help of Corporates as part of their social responsibility to desilt canals for the free flow of water. This Mission has increased the water table of Puducherry. The Lieutenant Governor recognized the donors for their noble contribution in ensuring that water is available for all in the region. The Medical Seats Issue saw the intervention of the Lieutenant Governor Dr. Kiran Bedi who stepped in to protect the students. The CBI investigation recommended by the Lieutenant Governor and the judgements by the judiciary brought an end to this issue. The Lieutenant Governor ensured that there was a Direct Bank Transfer of money instead of free rice to the beneficiaries. The Government of India directed the Puducherry Government to continue with the Direct Bank Transfer of money which affirmed the stand of the Lieutenant Governor. The different solutions to the crisis highlight the importance of the fourth pillar in True Governance which is ‘Solve’, finding solutions to the challenges even in face of adversity.

The fifth pillar of True Governance is ‘Evolve’. The list of the disposal of files is sent to the Public using the various modes of communication. It has helped in keeping everyone aware about the status of the file. The weekly message, publications have been documented for institutional memory. This has evolved as hallmarks of transparency in administration. Covid-19 management continually evolved through sustained and strong coordination leading to the decline of cases in Puducherry.