| Location | New Delhi, India |
|---|---|
| Status | Open |
| Security class | Maximum |
| Capacity | 6250 |
| Opened | 1958 |
Tihar Prisons (Hindi: तिहाड़ क़ैदख़ाना,Telugu: తీహార్ జైలు,Kannada: ತಿಹಾರ ಜೈಲ್, Bengali: তিহাড় কারাগার, Tamil: திகார் சிறைகள் 'Tihāṛ Central Qaidkhānā'), also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram (Hindi: तिहाड़ आश्रम), is the largest complex of prisons in South Asia. It is located at Tihar village, approximately 7 km from Chanakya Puri, to the west of New Delhi, India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar.
The prison is maintained as a Correctional Institution. Its main objective is to convert its inmates into normal members of the society by providing them with useful skills, education and rules. It is meant to improve the inmates' self-esteem and strengthen their desire to improve. Items manufactured by the inmates bear the brand Tihar.[1]As of November 2006[update], Tihar jail has almost 12,000 inmates against the sanctioned capacity of 5,200.[2]
Contents |
Originally it was a maximum security prison run by the State of Punjab. In 1966 control was transferred to the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Beginning in 1984 additional facilities were constructed, and it became the Tihar Prison.
While Kiran Bedi was the Inspector General of Prisons, and had the Tihar Prisons under her jurisdiction, she instituted a number of prison reforms, including changing the name to Tihar Ashram. She also instituted a Vipassana meditation program for both staff and inmates. The initial classes were given by S. N. Goenka. The Prison has yielded an inmate who has passed the Indian Administrative Service civil service examinations.[3]
The Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre reports that around 6% to 8% of the 11,800 Tihar inmates are HIV positive, which is considerably higher than the general population HIV rate in India.[6]