The Unwritten Chapter | Saurabh Thakore

01:00 AM • HOME THE NIGHT I REALISED I WAS NOT ALONE Sometimes freedom is not finding an open gate. Sometimes it is discovering who is still standing beside you. A Personal Essay by Saurabh Thakore Author of The Other Prison & Prison Break Without Escape 01 The Prison After Prison I thought I had already understood prison. I had known the invisible prison of fear before I ever saw an iron gate. I had known the physical prison of barracks, counts, restrictions and waiting. And after coming home, I had begun to understand the harder freedom that follows release—the debts that remain, damaged relationships, uncertainty, judgement and the responsibility of rebuilding a life. I had written about all of that. I thought the story had reached its ending. Then came one night at home. “There were no ...

ONLINE EDITION Public-interest policy commentary Introduction The Overlooked Professional Whenever prison reform is discussed, the conversation usually revolves around overcrowding, healthcare, legal aid, security, literacy, vocational training and basic rehabilitation. These are important issues, and any serious correctional system must address them. Yet one category of prisoner receives remarkably little attention in this conversation: the educated and professionally experienced prisoner. A graduate, postgraduate, manager, accountant, engineer, administrator, writer, software professional, entrepreneur or skilled executive does not stop being educated when the prison gate closes. The qualifications remain. The experience remains. The intellectual capacity remains. The family responsibilities remain. What may disappear, however, is the system's ability to recognise what kind of rehabilitation such a person actually needs. This creates a problem on both sides of the ...

  From UPI at tea stalls to paper coupons behind the bars:  Why India’s digital transformation must travel all the way to the barrack floor. By Saurabh Thakore Author of The Other Prison and Prison Break Without Escape Author’s Note This essay is based on my personal experiences, observations and understanding during a limited period of incarceration. It is not intended as an allegation against any individual officer, prison authority, institution, government or policymaker, nor should my observations be assumed to represent every prison or every prisoner’s experience. Some references concern informal practices, conversations and terminology that I personally encountered or heard but cannot independently verify. They are presented not as findings of an investigation, but as observations and questions for constructive discussion about technological modernisation, transparency and correctional reform. India has already taken important steps toward prison digitisa...