There is dire need for ensuring corrective course for those living in respective jails of the country as these can be misused by enemies of the nation to breed anti-nationals as was seen in many cases in the past. The situation of jails in J&K is quite critical as number of times sim cards of different companies and cell phones have been recovered from the cells in the Jails in J&K and it was also reported that criminals and even terrorists are carrying out their illegal activities from inside the jail complexes. In this context, the Ministry of Home Affairs has come up with a right move to ask states and UTs to ensure that no illegal activity is allowed inside jails and new offenders should be kept aloof from the hardcore ones to avoid breeding of anti-nationals and criminals inside the prisons. In this regard, the Union Home Ministry has written to the states and Union Territories and the prison authorities to take steps and ensure that jails do not become a breeding ground for anti-national activities. To ensure this difficult job, the MHA has suggested frequent inspections of prisons apart from ensuring implementation of effective administration in the prisons. It seems that time has come when the jail authorities should work with scientific aptitude to contain the menace of criminal activities from inside the jail complexes and also to treat jail inmates psychologically and psychiatrically to ensure that people coming out of jails become meaningful citizens rather than becoming hardcore criminals or anti-nationals. This aspect is quite significant as it is seen that petty criminals become hardcore anti-nationals after remaining in jails for even a short tenure thus making it necessary to tackle the issue very carefully. The MHA’s decision is quite important and should be given priority as far as jail reforms are concerned. It is the need of the time that jails in India should act as reforming sites rather than breeding pounds for crime and criminals as was the case in the past. The issue is very sensitive and must be dealt with great care.
