BANGALORE: "Hello CM," the phone-in programme telecast on Doordarshan's Chandana channel on Sunday was a women's special, and the two-and-a-half hour programme saw the head of the Government H.D. Kumaraswamy respond emotionally to the problems that women from all walks of life brought to him.

The day really belonged to three young women serving a jail sentence whose tales of life in prison had an emotionally overcome Chief Minister exclaiming, "I remember now, when I had visited the prison as an MLA, I had promised myself that I should return and do something about people in jails."

Kirana, one of the jail inmates who happens to be an engineer, invited the Chief Minister to visit the Central Jail and hold a "Jail darshan" and get a first-hand experience of the travails of those who were condemned to be there, and how difficult it was for the inmates to fight the psychological pressures, and learn to become "good citizens" who could return to society.

"Say no more, I will visit the Central Jail soon, and before I quit, I will do everything in my power to see how people who have come out of jail can join the mainstream" was Mr. Kumaraswamy's response, which rang so poignantly in the silence of the studios that many in the audience could barely stop the tears that welled up in their eyes nor hide the lumps in their throats.

Fellow prisoner Jayashree and she both quoted Gandhiji, who, after being sent to jail several times by the British, said long terms in prison affected the mind, and the deep psychological wounds took a long time to heal, and then the question of "What next?" haunted them when they came out of jail.

Jayashree reminded Mr. Kumaraswamy that his father H.D. Deve Gowda, as Chief Minister, had issued a Government Order that reduced jail terms for women to five years, and urged him to revive it, or pass another order that could help scores of women who wished to resume being "law-abiding" citizens after serving out their punishment.

The third jail inmate, Savita, voiced the misery of undertrials who were left to languish in jails for months, as lack of escorts pushed their hearing dates further and further in the courts. "Many of them are brought in for petty crimes, and you should consider Lok Adalats for quick disposal of such cases. Being denied a hearing could only lead to the creation of more offenders or criminals, and the chance to convert one of them into a good citizen would be lost forever, she said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy, who made it clear that the "jail darshan" would happen at the earliest, said, "I will sit down and talk with the officials and see what can be done to ensure remittance or early release of women prisoners, and this being the `Suvarna Karnataka' year, I assure you that not only do I know that no one wishes to go to jail, but I understand your anxiety about the future."

Pat for inmate

He was full of appreciation for Kirana, who has already trained inmates in the use of computers, and enthused them to take up courses that will help them find livelihood once they were released.

"I promise that before I quit as Chief Minister, I will put in place a scheme to provide facilities for mainstreaming people like you," he said.

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