Life of My Father in Tihar

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” 

                                                                                                                                                                     ― Nelson Mandela

Hari Singh, a teacher, father of three, & a political prisoner, leading an estranged life that changed its course in a shocking way, he has been serving life imprisonment in the infamous Tihar Jail in Delhi, the capital of India. Hari Singh is my father; I don’t know who amongst us both is living the more unfortunate life. Him, as he went to jail when I was just slightly over an year old unaware of the things which were happening around, or Me, a daughter who has spent 21 years of her life without my father, who doesn’t even have memories with her father who serves a lifetime imprisonment in a criminal case which was believed to be a national threat but ended up otherwise. Evidences made him guilty, but consequences proved him innocent, in this dilemma  a daughter suffers and suffers  the family of the  prisoner, my father Hari Singh happens to be.

He has been amongst best inmates of the prison, he is being kept in, a person of values and principles who earned his reputation of being an idealist Indian. Someone who never learned to compromise the interests of his nation, his leadership skills have been duly acknowledged by the administration of the prison. Respected by the fellow inmates he has become an ideal for many, inside and outside the prison cells. This prison is a correctional institution whose main objective is to convert its inmates into ordinary members of society by providing them with useful skills, education, and respect for the law. It aims to improve the inmates' self-esteem and strengthen their desire to improve, but my father has proved out to be a sagacious figure whose conduct & behavior alone has become an example for others to follow.

His punctuality, eloquence, & discipline has been an inspiration to the inmates who have known him and understood his philosophy of life. My father is the center of our ambitions & hopes like any other father, but I take pride in how he has lived up to his values & principles. I and my siblings are proud to be a  revolutionary’s child, but what makes us feel low is our future as a family, our father has lived 21 years away from us. He is growing old and needs time with family; we want him back with us. Please help a daughter fighting for his father’s rights. Please help a father who craves to be with his family to be able to shoulder his responsibilities. Join hands to bring justice for him. Justice for Hari Singh.