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Tinka Tinka India Awards, 2022: Inmates honored in Jails

Tinka Tinka India Awards, 2022: Inmates honoured in Delhi’s Tihar & Mandoli Jails

In a special ceremony in Delhi’s Tihar and Mandoli prison complexes, recipients of the exclusive Tinka Tinka India Awards were felicitated by the jail authorities in January. Three inmates from the two jails in the national capital were conferred the awards by the respective Superintendents of these jails, before a select gathering of inmates and the prison staff. They have been recognised for their exceptional achievements in art as well as for their special contributions towards prison life.

Amarjeet Singh (28) and Jal Kumar (29), both undertrial inmates lodged in Tihar Jail were given Tinka Tinka India Awards under the ‘painting’ category. While Amarjeet, who also works as a ‘Sahayak’ in the painting section of the prison, was given third prize for his special painting. Kumar has received the consolation prize for his exquisite submission in this category. Jaswinder (43), a woman undertrial in the Mandoli Jail, is one of the two inmates who was honoured Tinka Tinka Bandini Award for the year 2022. Recognised for her extraordinary work with the welfare department of the jail, she helps arrange basic facilities especially for those inmates who do not receive any visitors in jail. Jaswinder also runs a beauty parlour inside the jail premises.

Notably, the 8th national Tinka Tinka India Awards were announced in Ahmedabad’s Central Jail, Sabarmati, on December 9, 2022, on the eve of Human Rights Day. Conceived in 2015 by prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda, these are the only awards in India dedicated to prison reforms that recognise and honour creativity and humanity in jails.

The awards are conferred under 4 different categories based on a unique theme every year. With this year’s theme being ‘Newspapers in Jails’, the awards honoured 13 inmates and 3 jail staffers. 7 inmates were felicitated for their paintings, while 4 inmates were honoured under the ‘Special Mention’ category. Tinka Tinka Bandini Award was bestowed upon 2 women inmates. 3 jail administrators were honoured for their special contributions towards prison reformation this year. Of the 13 inmates, 9 were males, 3 females and 1 transgender. 6 of these were convicts and 7 undertrials.

These awards are a part of the many pan-India prison welfare initiatives undertaken by Dr. Nanda’s not-for-profit trust, Tinka Tinka Foundation. More than 100 inmates and 40 jail administrators have already been honoured as part of this exclusive award series, since 2021.





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Tinka Tinka India Awards, 2022: Transgender inmate honoured in District Jail, Dehradun

Recently, District Jail, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, became the site of a special ceremony to distribute the Tinka Tinka India Awards. The awards, which are presented by the Tinka Tinka Foundation, recognise the creativity, contributions and unique achievements of inmates, prison staff, and administrators, being the only national award series in the field of prison reforms. This year, a transgender recipient, 56 years old Sarika, lodged in Dehradun prison was recognised with a ‘special mention’ as a part of the Tinka Tinka India Awards. She was conferred the award by Dadhi Ram Maurya (DIG), Pavan Kothari (Jailor) and Sandhya Negi (Chief Warder) before a select gathering in the prison complex.

Inmate has been detained since 2017 in this jail and currently serves as the ‘Convict Overseer’ of the women section of the prison. Supporting the administration with its mammoth task of facilitating the transition and adaptation of each and every inmate to the restricting prison life, Sarika proved to be a perfect bridge between the prison administration and women inmates, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newly inducted women inmates often turn to Sarika for all their queries and share difficult experiences.

Notably, the 8th national Tinka Tinka India Awards were announced in Ahmedabad’s Central Jail, Sabarmati, on December 9, 2022, on the eve of Human Rights Day. Conceived in 2015 by prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda, these are the only awards in India dedicated to prison reforms that recognise and honour creativity and humanity in jails.

The awards are conferred under 4 different categories based on a unique theme every year. With this year’s theme being ‘Newspapers in Jails’, the awards honoured 13 inmates and 3 jail staffers. 7 inmates were felicitated for their paintings, while 4 inmates were honoured under the ‘Special Mention’ category. Tinka Tinka Bandini Award was bestowed upon 2 women inmates. 3 jail administrators were honoured for their special contributions towards prison reformation this year.

Of the 13 inmates, 9 were males, 3 females and 1 transgender. 6 of these were convicts and 7 undertrials. These awards are a part of the many pan-India prison welfare initiatives undertaken by Dr. Nanda’s not-for-profit trust, Tinka Tinka Foundation. Till 2021, more than 100 inmates and 40 jail administrators have already been recognised under this exclusive award series.




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Tinka Tinka India Awards,2022: Celebration in Central Jail, Bilaspur

Inmates receive Tinka Tinka India Awards in a special ceremony in
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

Extending the ceremonial significance of the occasion, a special programme was organised in Central Jail, Bilaspur to honour the inmates who were chosen for Tinka Tinka India and Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards for the year 2022. Three inmates selected for these national awards were felicitated by Superintendent Khomesh Mandavi before a select gathering. These inmates were recognised for their exceptional achievements in art as well as for their special contributions towards prison life.

Chiranjeet, an inmate was recognised with the first prize in the ‘painting’ category, while another inmate Ajay Ratre was conferred the consolation prize in the same category. Both of them are 28 year old convicts lodged in this prison. Woman inmate, Baby Mandle, 45, was also honoured with Tinka Tinka Bandini Award for her efforts in providing educational support to women inmates lodged in the jail. Before her detention, she worked as a
support staff in a private hospital.

Tinka Tinka India Awards announced in Ahmedabad

Notably, the not-for-profit trust continued its long legacy by conferring the 8th national Tinka Tinka India Awards in Ahmedabad’s Central Jail, Sabarmati, on December 9, 2022, on the eve of Human Rights Day. Conceived in 2015 by prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda, these are the only awards in India dedicated to prison reforms that recognise and honour creativity and humanity in jails.

The awards are conferred under 4 different categories based on a unique theme every year. With this year’s theme being ‘Newspapers in Jails’, the awards honoured 13 inmates and 3 jail staffers. 7 inmates were felicitated for their paintings, while 4 inmates were honoured under the ‘Special Mention’ category. Tinka Tinka Bandini Award was bestowed upon 2 women inmates. 3 jail administrators were honoured for their special contributions towards prison reformation this year. Of the 13 inmates, 9 were males, 3 females and 1 transgender. 6 of these were convicts and 7 undertrials.

About Tinka Tinka Foundation

Tinka Tinka is the brainchild of prison reformer and media educator Dr. Vartika Nanda who heads the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. She has been honoured with the Stree Shakti Award from the President of India in 2014, the highest civilian honour for women in India. Her work on prisons has twice found a place in the Limca Book of Records and was also recognised by the Supreme Court in 2018. Three books under the Tinka Tinka series – Tinka Tinka Tihar, Dasna and Madhya Pradesh – amalgamate the world of literature with authentic and diverse accounts of inmates from across the country.

Credited for introducing jail radio to Haryana, Agra and Uttarakhand in a long-stretched campaign that started in 2019, the organisation has created an umbrella of creativity under the Tinka Tinka Model of Prison Reforms, with the tagline – “Creating Rainbows in Prisons”. Its unique Tinka Jail Radio Podcast series on YouTube and other digital platforms, which recently touched the 50-episodes mark, is also the only podcast series in the country guided by the vision of prison reformation. Tinka Tinka India Awards and Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards are extensions of many of these mammoth undertakings.




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