Hope Behind Bars : Notes from Indian Prisons

A piercing portrait of the injustices of the Indian carceral system. For decades, narratives of prisoners in India have perpetuated the notion of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ citizen. While affording disproportionate attention to the victim, they have failed to capture the agonizing process of the inmate’s victimization by the system. From extreme living conditions, lack of medical care or legal support, to intense mistreatment and violence, stories about Indian prisons rarely make it to public notice and when they do, the accounts do not capture even the tip of the complexity and depth of the systemic frailties and injustices that allow unnecessary personal tragedies to unfold. In Hope Behind Bars, Sanjoy Hazarika and Madhurima Dhanuka draw from their extensive research, identifying prisoners and ex-prisoners, their families and associates and gather their first-person experiences. The essays in this collection, written by lawyers, journalists, researchers and activists, seek to bring prisoners’ lives and liberties to the centre of public debate and policies. They look at stories of hope restored, families rebuilt, careers re-found and reconciliations enabled, presenting a necessary human document of the true face of justice in our country.