“A silent wish sails the seven seas,
The winds of change whisper in the trees,
And the walls of doubt crumble, tossed and torn,
This comes to pass when a child is born.”
THESE LINES COME FROM ‘When a Child is Born’, a Christmas song that makes no reference to the festival itself. While it is widely sung at Christmas, it has also come to signify the joy and hope that the birth of a child brings.
When Senior Special Correspondent Kanu Sarda initially proposed the cover story on conjugal rights for prisoners, it seemed like a first-world problem. In a setting where undertrials make up almost 75 per cent of all prisoners, by some accounts, should we focus on conjugal rights or delayed justice?
Kanu’s argument was the eternal one. What are jails for? Just incarceration or rehabilitation? If the goal is indeed rehabilitation, then wouldn’t the layers of intimacy and parenthood lead to a more lasting transformation of the prisoner? One cannot but agree.
Kanu wove in the story of Anuradha Chaudhary and Sandeep Jathedi to bring out a real-life illustration. Policies seem too dry, especially in news articles, until there is a face to humanise it. Author and former jail official Sunil Gupta brings out the lawman’s point of view and illustrates it with examples of how they balanced humane policing with strong administrative safeguards in Tihar Jail.
From jails we come to a problem very close to our homes. Senior Assistant Editor K. Sunil Thomas says that the turmoil in the job market is the real reason behind Gen Z angst. Economist Rathin Roy, whose interview forms part of the feature, agrees: “Full-time jobs are not providing a pathway to prosperity. That’s the major grievance young people have.”
Roy adds that the five sectors that can drive growth are food, clothing, housing, education and health. Additionally, there is an interview with Ashok Kumar Mittal, Rajya Sabha member and chancellor of Lovely Professional University.
Photo Editor Salil Bera shines light into a cave in Nagaland, and how archaeologists are pushing back the date of human habitation in the region by 3,500 years. And all that began from a lone pottery fragment in a rockshelter at Leilo Kaa.
And then Special Correspondent Anjuly Mathai brings in a pop of colour through her article on Avani Rai and her experience of shooting the Pirelli calendar. Avani says that the project was more of a conversation with her father, celebrated photographer Raghu Rai.
Let me end with a word of welcome and thanks. THE WEEK always attempts to rotate its columnists to bring the readers fresh perspectives. This week, we welcome former Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy into our pages. He joins our Last Word writers.
We bid farewell to the popular Anuja Chauhan, who has been with us for almost 15 years. Thank you so much, Anuja, for those perceptive observations and strong opinions wrapped in your trademark wry humour. We hope to welcome you back when we cover topics that merit your expertise.
