Dr Rishi Tiwari, who established 25 libraries
Dr. Rishi Kumar Tiwari, PRO-Indian
Library Association and CEO-Bimtech Foundation has helped India’s library
mission by establishing 25 libraries (10 Libraries in Villages/Ashram, 3 Toy
Libraries, 11 Jail Libraries including one library in women Jail and 1 Library
at a Metro Station). All the libraries established by RSSWLD have been making a
deep impact on the lives of the people. Rusen Kumar,
India CSR
Network talked Dr. Rishi Tiwari in detail on various interventions
on recent library mission and his contribution. Excerpts:
What is the purpose of Library in Jails movement?
Jail library can be of great use for the inmates who want to
continue their education. Inmates can continue their education by enrolling
themselves in the correspondence courses and a well-equipped library can
support their studies by having an adequate amount of learning resources. Many
examples are there in history where inmates have even got a Doctoral degree
while living in a prison. In addition to the formal education, inmates can also
learn any vocational skills which would enable them to earn money once they are
released from jail. They can learn and earn while they are in prison itself.
Libraries can have reading material for learning vocational skills like
Agriculture, Canning, Carpentry, Tailoring, Weaving/Knitting, Soap & Phenyl
making, Handloom and many more. Libraries can also have the simulation videos,
video lectures or podcasts for learning the skills.
Access to libraries can also provide strength to the inmates to
face the difficult circumstances of prisons. They can consider libraries as a
place where they can spend their free time productively and ultimately it will
help in their rehabilitation. Browsing through the books is only one aspect. A
prison library is much more than a place of silence, solitary self-scanning,
rather it is a place where books bring like-minded people together. It may
provide a space for inmates to meet with others with common interests. Programs
like book clubs and community service projects can help the inmates to improve
their social skills. It can be rightly said Prison libraries “more than just
libraries” but they are actually cultural “community” centres. Exchange of
ideas will definitely lead to the change of Mindset of the inmates. Libraries
of the Prison can also play the role of a councillor for the inmates. They can
lay down a positive impact in the lives of the prisoners by providing the collection
which can help the inmates to solve their psychological and behavioural
problems.
In this way, the prison library can become an important hub to
support the education, recreation and rehabilitation of the inmates. Prison
library service is an extraordinary service which needs more attention,
resources and planned development.
You have an experience of almost a decade on Library mission. Do
you find any relationship between illiteracy and crime?
Yes definitely, there is a strong relationship between illiteracy
and crime If we ltalk about the jails of UP only as per the data of 15th
edition of the ‘Prison Statistics in India’ compiled
by National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
in 2015, among the states of India maximum number of prisoners are imprisoned
in the jails of UP amounting to 88,747 of which 85,214 are Male and 3,533 are
Female.
Out of total inmates, 26327 (29.66%) are
illiterate and 33054 are educated upto Class X only. 19246
are having the education of above Class 10th but below graduation. The
number of graduate inmates is 7006 and post graduate is 2388. It
can be concluded that around 70% (59381) of the inmates are either illiterate
or only 10th pass and illiteracy can be one of the reasons of the
crime.
Education is that weapon which can lead to overall development of
the inmates. Educating them may reduce the repetition of crime by modifying
their behavior and will also help to reduce the amount of contraband, such as
drugs and weapons, smuggled into the prisons. Through the reading material
available in the libraries they will able to know what is happening in the
outer world leading to their social and mental stimulation. Prisoners who read
are less likely to end up back behind bars. Reading may improve, inside and out
of inmates, their body and as well as their mind and ultimately leading to
upsurge their self-confidence.
Accordingly, to you what is the significance of Libraries in human
development?
Library is a place where written knowledge is collected and some
sort of repository is formed and it is a practice as old as civilization
itself. The name for the repository eventually became the library. It is
regarded as an agency through which sources of information of accumulated
knowledge and experiences are selected, acquired, organized, preserved and
disseminated to those who need them. Complete knowledge of human beings from
their existence to till date is being preserved in the library. It is very
important for man to preserve and
maintain the valuable knowledge and
information contained in the books and documents
because we want to preserve our knowledge and wisdom for the coming
generations. Libraries ensure that these records are preserved and made
available for later use. In a way libraries form the basis for human
development and provide access to the information to those who need this to
work, play, learn, and govern.
How many Libraries established under your leadership so far?
I am fortunate enough that I am able to contribute a little to put
forward the library mission. Till now RSSWLD has established 25 libraries (10
Libraries in Villages/Ashram, 3 Toy Libraries, 11 Jail Libraries including one
library in women Jail and 1 Library at a Metro Station). All the libraries
established by RSSWLD have been making a deep impact on the lives of the
people.
What are the key learnings of Libraries in Jails movement?
Key learning while establishing Libraries in jail and enhancing
the jail movement is that Libraries in prisons can play a vital role to enhance
the literacy and education levels of the prisoners. Prisoners are humans and
they should be treated as human. Their humanity is key to it as well. Prisoners
live in jail and their physical world is limited to the prison premises and sometimes
to the cell only. Now there in paradigm shift. Jails are no more places of
punishment but they are now the places of rehabilitation. The main purpose of
prisons today is to rehabilitate the people and send them back to society for
which the importance of quality library services is invaluable. Prison inmates
are cut off from the world and that is why it is more important to make
information available to them in the prison itself. I find the libraries can
have a deep impact on the inmates. Libraries are important not only during the
term of a prisoner’s imprisonment but also when the prisoner is released back
into society. This is especially true of prisoners who have spent a long time
being imprisoned.
Do you have long-term vision for your social innovation?
Yes we do have long-term vision for your social innovation. RSSWLD
wishes to open library in every jail India, provide access of information to
every individual of India and contribute towards attaining 100% literacy rate
in India via women empowerment and gender equality.
What kind of partnership is required to move forward?
To attain the Sustainable Development Goals lead by UNESCO every
member of the society has to contribute. To achieve the complete women
empowerment and gender equality, all the segments of the society should come
forward. Library mission cannot go on without the contribution of one and all.
RSSWLD looks forward to collaborate with other NGOs, individuals and even the
Government agencies who can come together as a team to attain the aims and
objectives laid by the Society.
Source | https://indiacsr.in/dr-rishi-tiwari-who-established-25-libraries/
Regards
Mr.
Pralhad Jadhav
Master of
Library & Information Science (NET Qualified)
Senior
Manager @ Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Twitter
Handle | @Pralhad161978
No comments:
Post a Comment