On the occasion of the completion of 25th episode of Radio Mukti , the weekly online radio program podcast by the inmates of Koraput circle jail , the inmate artists who had been performing out of sight of the 800 odd prisoners week after week celebrated by giving a live performance before their fellow inmates in the prison premises today. In the month of January this year, at Koraput circle Jail, under the inspiration of Jail Superintendent Manoranjan Pratihari and Jailer Lalattendu Bhushan Das, the inmates of the Jail took the initiative to organize an audio platform to showcase their inner voice and cultural skills. In this platform while the artists from the inmates of the jail sang songs, shared their own stories, recited poems written by them , told jokes and presented their experiences in their own language with various attractive embellishments, which were served to the inmates through the amplifier box inside the prison on every Saturday morning. All the inmates in the prison as listeners, including male and female artists, experienced the joy , said the Jail Superintendent Mr.Pratihari .But the various programs prepared in such an innovative platform are not limited to the four walls of the jail and the inmate artists felt the need to reach the audience outside the prison through the internet and presented their proposal to Mr. Pratihari and Mr. Das on the first day of the program six months back , Uday Kumar, an inmate who has earned a reputation as an anchor and artist of the highest order, has said. After getting the permission of the prison authorities, the platform was named as ‘Radio Mukti ‘ and from that day on, the joy of internal liberation that vibrated inside the prison was able to reach countless listeners through the amplifier box inside the prison and outside the prison using various social media platforms . Every week, using a small recorder inside a small room of the prison, a radio magazine was made without any financial cost while the artists from the inmates gave their performance in Odia, Bengali, Telugu, Hindi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Chhattisgadi languages spoken by the inmates of their region. Mr. Pratihari opined that it was a monumental step to run such a creative program continuously for 25 weeks on a platform like Radio Mukti , which is completely volunteered by inmates without any financial outlay.
Various reform measures have been taken by the Central and State Governments for the mental transformation of inmates in prisons. The purpose of all these reforms was to make the criminals aware of their crimes and to provide food for conversion of unburnt souls. Many attempts have been made to instill the hope of a new world among prison inmates by bringing prominent individuals and groups into prisons in order to bring about a behavioral change in the prisoner’s attitude towards society. Criminals are the creation of social conditions and therefore need to be treated rather than punished The purpose of sending criminals to prison is to turn them into honest and law-abiding citizens There is no doubt that Radio Mukti has played a positive role in bringing about these reforms. On the occasion of celebrating the completion of the 25th chapter today, the inmates hoped to hear its hundredth chapter some day .
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