Our Correspondent
When the Tinka Tinka Foundation released its 106th podcast celebrating four years of Panipat Jail Radio, it wasn’t just another broadcast—it was a testament to the transformative power of sound in prison walls. The episode carried echoes of resilience, creativity, and the unbreakable human spirit.
Adding to the celebration, a unique virtual gathering marked five years of Tinka Jail Radio. Two voices—once separated by geography, circumstance, and time—came together in a shared digital space. Kashish, a former inmate of District Jail, Panipat (Haryana), and Dr. Suchit Narang, who was released from District Jail, Dehradun (Uttarakhand) in 2025, had never crossed paths before. Yet, their journeys converged in this moment of reflection and celebration.
Music and Incarnation: The Common Threads
Despite their different backgrounds and timelines, Kashish and Dr. Narang shared two profound similarities:
-
Incarnation—their lived experience of incarceration shaped their perspectives and gave depth to their voices.
-
Music—a passion that became both solace and strength during their time behind bars.
Both led teams of radio jockeys in their respective prisons, steering the creative energy of fellow inmates into meaningful broadcasts under the banner of Tinka Jail Radio. Jail Radio proved to be a turning point in their lives. Conceptualised by prison reformer and head of the Department of Journalism at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, Professor Vartika Nanda, her jail radios are silently transforming prison spaces to places of creativity and reform.
A Virtual Reunion of Voices
The virtual meet was more than symbolic—it was a bridge between two worlds that rarely connect. Kashish, who lent his voice to Panipat Jail Radio in 2021, and Dr. Narang, who carried forward the spirit of radio until his release in 2025, spoke of how the initiative gave them identity, dignity, and hope.
Their conversation reflected the larger mission of Tinka Tinka Foundation: to humanize prison life, to amplify voices often silenced, and to remind society that creativity can flourish even in confinement.
Beyond Walls, Into Hearts
The special episode and the five-year celebration together underscored the growing legacy of jail radio in India. What began as an experiment has become a movement—one that connects inmates across states, builds communities of sound, and offers rehabilitation through storytelling and music. Tinka Tinka Foundation has created an exclusive platform for inmates across the country to come together and celebrate.
As Kashish and Dr. Narang’s voices intertwined in the virtual space, listeners were reminded that radio is not just about transmission—it is about transformation.
“Radio in Prison,” published by the National Book Trust (NBT), Government of India and authored by Dr. Vartika Nanda, is India’s first book dedicated to the concept of prison radio. It captures the transformative journey of jail radio across different prisons and highlights how sound becomes a medium of reform, dignity, and hope. The book also features the stories of Kashish and Dr. Suchit Narang. Their inclusion makes the book not just a documentation of prison radio but a living testimony to its power in shaping lives behind bars.
#vartikananda #tinkatinkafoundation #jail #prison #nbt #media #tinkamodelofprisonradio #prisonreformer
