Hi Friends,
This is a fine book by a fine lady. ‘It’s Always Possible’ talks about the changes made by India’s first lady IPS officer in the biggest prison in Asia-Pacific region – The Tihar Prison. This gives detailed account of the Tihar Prison
The Author (Dr. Kiran Bedi)
Dr. Kiran Bedi was the first Indian woman to storm the bastion of Indian Police Service in 1972. She became the first woman officer to become the Inspector General (IG), Prisons, heading Tihar, administrating a predominantly male prison – the largest in Asia-Pacific.
She was (then 44) appointed the IG of Tihar Prison on May 1st, 1993. She used her unique and exclusive 3 C approach – ‘Correction’ through a ‘Collective’ and ‘Community’ based approach to change Tihar Prison to Tihar Ashram.
Dr. Kiran Bedi is the recipient of The Ramon Magsaysay award 1994 which is also called the Asian Nobel Prize. She has also received 5 other awards, a police medal for gallantry in 1979, Norway based Asia Region award in 1990 for work in field of Drug Abuse Prevention, Swiss-German Joseph Beuys award in 1997 for Holistic and Innovative Management, Pride of India award 2000 (USA), Morrison – Tom Gitchoff award in 2001 for significantly improving the quality of Justice in India.
This book is the outcome of The Nehru Scholarship which she was awarded after her two year tenure at Tihar. A recommended read is I Dare, her biography, which was published in 1995.
It’s Always Possible
The book is divided into 4 sections.
1st section of the book tells us about the first day of Dr. Bedi in Tihar Prison. It provides a detailed account of the condition of the inmates in the jail. Dr. Bedi has told in detail about the plight and misery of the inmates, the power circles in inmates where the person with more money and bigger crime is considered more powerful. She writes a detailed account of the rampant corruption inside the prison. The officials, the doctors, the PWD officials, the warders and superintendents all being corrupt to the limits, partially because of the pressure of criminals living and partially because the system had collapsed completely.
She tells at length about the kind of food provided in the prison, the liquid pulses and burned out chapattis, milk with majority of water mixed in it, bitter black tea, lack of sanitation and no water to drink let alone wash and bath. She tells about the women inmates and their quandary, the adolescent inmates and children of women inmates who were born inside the prison.
The 2nd section of the book tells us about the changes made by Dr. Bedi and how she managed her corrupted staff and changed all of them while getting full support from everyone in the prison for the changes she introduced into the jail system. She devised an ingenious method of a mobile petition box which was carried from ward to ward of every prison and the petitions made were read daily by IG and her support staff and were also acted upon.
She also gives detailed account of the Vipassana Meditation Course she introduced by the full support of all her staff and the inmates which changed many a hardened criminals. She tells about the hard core criminals serving terms for murder, rape and dacoity actually crying during these sessions.
She tells about the education process introduced which was welcomed by inmates. This included adult education, child education and such things that restored the self respect in inmates.
The 3rd section of the book is a small one and it tells about what kept on emerging from the changed made by Dr. Bedi. It is actually a visual portion and includes some diagrams and cartoon and such things to drive home the changes and the results. It is a rather small part of the book nevertheless very important.
The 4th section of the book is also a rather small one with only 3 chapters and it tells us how much time it took for the system to change. The Prison Act of 1894 finally being replaced by that of Prison Act, 1999. It also tells us about the reactions of inmates but more or less the same things as said in above chapters so one can easily skim through them.
Personal Observations
One of the biggest things that I observed in this book was the practical example of the leadership theories put into practice. I have read some books about leadership, management and motivation. I have read some of these theories and part of my course during graduation also.
I always used to wonder how one can put to use these theories which look so leak proof in the books. I some times wondered weather they are result of some experiments done or do they really work.
This one book changed my mind. If you read between the lines then you will find that there is an amazing similarity between things the management students are taught and things Dr. Bedi has done. Right from motivating the staff, creating a team that is committed to a cause, motivating the inmates, breaking the vicious circle of corruption, using the carrot and stick at the correct time with the correct person, identifying the needs of people and realizing it, giving prison management a human touch and most importantly making the jail a correction center where a person can get back his self esteem, learn some vocation and literate himself and introspect and stay away from crime for the rest of his life are all absolutely relishing to read. It is such a valuable read that it can not be missed. I think this is one of those books that need to be read, you need to take time out and read this one and buy one for you personal collection.
Happy Reading,
Khagesh Gautam
P.S. A suggested read is I Dare – the biography of Kiran Bedi which can give you a different angle to look at the same thing.