Tinka Tinka India Awards 2018

2018: December 10: Human Rights Day

Dreams inside Prisons: Tinka Tinka India Awards Announced

Exclusive awards for inmates & prison administrators

·12 inmates and 9 prison administrators chosen for awards this year

· Awards dedicated to reformation and creativity within jails.

· The theme for paintings this year was Dreams inside Jails

· Prison Reformer Vartika Nanda is the founder of Tinka Tinka aimed at connecting prisons across India.

· Awards were released by Dr. A P Maheshwari(IPS) DG, BPR&D, Ministry of Home Affairs, Shri. Bhupinder Singh (IPS), DG Prisons, Rajasthan, and Vartika Nanda, Founder, Tinka Tinka Foundation. The awards were released at Central Prison, Jaipur

· Three categories–Painting, Special Talent and Awards for Jail Administrators

33-year-old, Raja Ram lodged in Bhatinda Central Jail, Punjab, has been awarded the first prize in the Tinka Tinka India Awards Painting’ category for the year 2018. Raja has been working towards making paintings on the Punjabi culture with an objective to save the Punjabi heritage. He has been chosen for his painting- The dreaming kids”depicting two children, one poor and the other rich, dreaming for a better life. The poor is dreaming of food and the rich is holding a laptop. This picture highlights the limitations experienced by children living with either of their parents in prisons. Indian prisons have more than 1800 children living in such circumstances.

Shobha Ram, 36, lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur, Chattisgarh  has won the second prize for his sketch titled “Ai Dhairya kee Kashti har Toofan se Nikaal”.  Lodged in the prison for the last 8 years,Shobha Ram was a farmer before landing  in prison.

Sudeb Manmohan Pal, 36, a convict in Nasik Central Jail, Maharashtra has been chosen for his painting titled “Nothing Lasts”. The painting shows a melting candle and a house, reflecting the inmate’s desire to return to the free world. With a degree in commerce, fine arts, fashion photography and engineering, he has brought colors inside the prison.

This year five inmates have been chosen for the consolation prize.

28-year old Aakash Suresh, a convict in Bhopal Central Jail has been chosen for his image depicting change. With a pigeon at the centre representing peace, his pencil sketch has impressive shades of positivity and creativity. The image shows glimpses of various schemes launched by the government including Swachcha Bharat and also the support provided by NGOs.

Manish Babubhai Parmar, 41, Ahmedabad Central Jail has been chosen for his painting showing a man helping a woman come outside the prison and start a new life.

Pancham Rathore, lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur is honoured for his painting depicting an inmate on the passage of time with a deep remorse. The inmate is dreaming to come out and contribute to the society.

Ramesh Patel, 22, lodged in Central Jail, Bilaspur has shown the desire of being accepted in the society after imprisonment. He has carefully shown the desire of being embraced by society.  He is on life imprisonment.

Mrityunjay Das, lodged in Mumbai Central Prison has made an image of a girl with beautiful eyes.She is holding a rod representing her desire to see the outside world.

The theme for the painting section this year was dreams inside prison.

Four inmates have been chosen for the awards under the category of Special Mention.

46-year old Chintan Vidhyasagar Upadhyay, lodged in Thane Central Jail, Maharashtra, has been chosen for his contribution towards teaching the conceptualization of artwork to inmates. Chintan was a visual artist before imprisonment. Initially he went into deep depression but later on, he picked up painting. He created almost 20 paintings inside jail, one of which was purchased by the noted film producer Kiran Rao for a price of 4.5 Lakhs. Upadhyay also initiated a workshop in Thane Central Jail along with Dabur Pathway Trust for 15 days. He taught painting techniques to 20 inmates. He also trained some inmates in Warli painting.

Ravi Shankar,42 Central Jail, Bilaspur, is a life convict and has already spent more than 12 years in prison. He has completely transformed himself into a spiritual person helping other inmates to come out of their criminal past and contribute to the society. He has emerged as a healer and spiritual leader in the prison. He is also a painter. His recent pencil-sketch with a handcuff and a key in the hand depicting light and hope coming from outside. This portrays an image of reformation in prison.

In the special mention category, Vasudev, 36, inmate lodged in Model Jail, Chandigarh, has been nominated for his extremely dedicated work in the jail kitchen. He is a great help to the prison administration.  The jail officials strongly feel that his presence has brought huge difference in the prison kitchen and his contribution to aanganwadi is also immense.

Amritan Mondal, 39, Kolkata, West Bengal, is a skill development trainer. He has been nominated for the special mention category for his work in the crafting of artisanal products from jute inside the prison and for inspiring everyone to become a social entrepreneur. He is a life convict.

9 administrators have been chosen for the Tinka Tinka India Award for Administrators this year.Three lady officers have bagged this award. 57- year–old Basheera Begum, Superintendent, Special Prison for Women, Chanchalguda, Hyderabad, Telangana State, has been chosen for playing a vital role in running a women petrol bunk with released women inmates of Telangana Central Prison. She has received three gold medals for her many meritorious services as a prison officer. She took special initiative for getting admissions for the children of the inmates in the schools of Hyderabad. She has specially worked towards promoting education for the children of the inmates. Rani Rajaram Bhonsle, 36, Superintendent, Nagpur Central Prison, Maharashtra has been selected for her initiative in organizing telemedicine facility for ailing prisoners and training sessions on making sanitary napkins for the women inmates. Monika Agrawal, Superintendent, Mahila Jail, Jaipur for her special contribution in creating a friendly and creative environment inside prison. She has given a blend of both tradition and culture in the prison and has encouraged them to create things out of scrap.   

Shashikant Mishra, 52, Superintendent, District Jail, Agra, has been chosen for his contribution in engaging many NGOs for bringing reformation inside jails and also working towards the rehabilitation of inmates.  He has taken special care for providing education to the children of inmates.

Avtar Kishan Saini, 53, Assistant Superintendent, Hoshiarpur Central Jail, Punjab, has been chosen for his special contribution in helping inmates in the cases related to human rights. He has been providing legal help to the inmates.

Manas Ram Thakur, 49, Honarary Head Warder, Modern Central Jail, Kanda, Himachal Pradesh,has been selected for his exceptional work in the Khadi and Tailoring Unit of the prison. He has shown extraordinary managerial skills and acumen in production and marketing of Khadi products. Presently, 21 inmates are working in Khadi Unit and 22 in the tailoring Unit.

45 year old Shailendra Namdev from Central Jail, Madhya Pradesh has been chosen for his meritorious work in encouraging the inmates towards art. With a Ph.D in fine arts, he leads the group of inmates and helps in building career in painting.

Pradeep Raghunandan is being given the award in the social sector for his reformative campaigns inEtah Jail, Uttar Pradesh. He has also contributed towards the education of inmates and their childrenand providing books to jail library.

Sanjay Yadav- Superintendent, Central Jail, Jaipur, for his contribution in helping inmates synergizing their artistic skills and helping them towards gaining financial independence.

This year the awards were released by Shri. Bhupinder Singh (IPS), DG Prisons, Rajasthan, Shri A P Maheshwari, DG, BPR&D, Ministry of Home Affairs and Vartika Nanda, Founder, Tinka Tinka Foundation. The awards were released at Central Prison, Jaipur

The mementoes for this year are made by Radha Mohan Kumavat and Noor Mohammad lodged inJaipur Central Jail, Rajasthan. 35 year old Radha Mohan Kumavat was awarded the Tinka Tinka India Award in 2015. Before landing to prison, Radha Mohan Kumavat was a teacher. With a MA and B.Ed degree, he is an avid reader. Noor Mohammad, 46, is an artist with extraordinary skill to work with silk thread. He is lodged in the prison for the last 5 years. The backdrops this year were designed by Dev Kishan, another inmate in Jaipur Central Jail. He was also given Tinka Tinka India Award in 2015.

Awardees are given a certificate, a memento made by inmates and a copy of Tinka Tinka Madhya Pradesh. Vartika Nanda is credited to have started Tinka Tinka, a unique movement for bringing in creativity and change in prisons. She has curated the concept of awards for inmates for the first time in India. Two awards, exclusively for inmates - Tinka Tinka India Awards and Tinka Tinka Bandini Awards- were instituted to encourage inmates to engage in art work, literature and research on human rights issues. These awards are released on the Human Rights Day and Women’s Day, respectively, every year. Her latest work on prisons is Tinka Tinka Madhya Pradesh is another milestone in which 19 souls from jails have come together to create rainbow inside jails. These include 4 children too, of which 3 were born in prison. The aim behind these awards is to connect the prisons of India and also encourage the artistic and creative side of inmates as well as the prison administrators. 

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Who is Dr. Vartika Nanda: Dr. Vartika Nanda is a prison reformer. She is the first Indian to initiate a continuous movement on prisons under the banner Tinka Tinka. The then President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, conferred the Stree Shakti Puraskar on her in 2014. Stree Shakti Puraskar is the highest civilian honour for women in India. Her name has also been included in the Limca Book of Records twice for her unique work on prison reforms. Currently, she teaches in the Department of Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, India.

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