PRISON REFORM

By Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji

Bhajana groups or separate organizations formed for specific purposes can minister to the religious needs of prisoners in Jails and patients in hospitals. Permission has now been accorded for conducting religious classes inside jails by Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. Hindus are not taking advantage of this concession, while others are. Steps must be taken to remedy this defect. Distribution of booklets and Pamphlets containing the life and teachings of pious men or religious stones, the organization of kalakshepams, and the holding of discourses, can be undertaken for the benefit of the prisoners. If we are able to reform even one in a hundred by this means, it will be a great achievement for society. It will also create a healthy feeling in the prisoners that society has not neglected them.