Meerut: Inside Meerut district jail, old Hindi film songs about love, heartbreak, separation and betrayal have found a devoted audience. An internal radio station, Radio Parvaaz, plays music requested by inmates and has become a daily source of entertainment and emotional connection.
Launched on May 8, the station was set up with space provided by the jail administration and technical support from the India Vision Foundation. The radio jockey is also an inmate who received training from the foundation.
Meerut Senior Jail Superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma told PTI on Sunday that prisoners submit their song requests through slips a day before the broadcast. The selected songs are played the following day. However, the name of the inmate making the request is not disclosed; only the barrack number is announced.
Songs from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are the most popular among the inmates. Male prisoners generally request songs based on love, separation and betrayal, along with devotional music and melodies linked to different experiences of life.
Women inmates often choose songs that speak of love and emotional pain. Songs about mothers, children and family members are also in considerable demand.
The jail currently has around 1,900 male inmates and 63 female prisoners. Muskan Rastogi, who has allegedly been accused of killing her husband and placing pieces of his body in a blue drum, is among the high-profile women lodged in Barrack No. 12 of the Chaudhary Charan Singh District Jail.
Other women prisoners in the barrack include Damini Panwar, Ravita Kashyap, Komal and Anjali Kumari. Their cases are connected to alleged extramarital or romantic relationships and accusations of murdering their husbands.
The jail administration said several women inmates have children living outside the prison. As a result, they often request songs that remind them of their families and children.
“Since the radio was launched, we have seen enthusiasm among the inmates and receive different song requests every day,” Sharma said.
He said music and a positive atmosphere could help lower mental stress among prisoners and support their reform and rehabilitation.
A Radio Station Inside The Jail
Radio Parvaaz has computers, a mixer, high-tech speakers and a Saregama Carvaan. Speakers have been installed in all the barracks, while the station broadcasts for around two hours each in the morning and evening.
Apart from music, the station carries motivational talks, programmes on life skills and emotional intelligence, social-awareness content, cultural activities and real-life stories of transformation. Inmates who are interested in singing are also given an opportunity to perform at the studio.
India Vision Foundation Director Monica Dhawan and Prison Programme Head Ravi Kumar Srivastava said the organisation works as a registered voluntary, non-profit and non-governmental institution.
Programme Runs Across UP Prisons
The foundation has set up Radio Parvaaz centres in 11 prisons across Uttar Pradesh, including facilities in Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Meerut, Saharanpur and Lucknow.
The prison radio programme is intended to offer inmates a constructive source of entertainment while encouraging healthier thinking, social awareness and essential life skills. It also forms part of efforts to help them adjust to life outside prison and reintegrate into society.
