cite two examples which clearly shows that life inside Tihar has definitely improved
Answers
Effect of Vipassana Meditation on Quality of life, Subjective well-being, and Criminal Propensity among inmates of Tihar jail, Delhi
Final report submitted to Vipassana Research Institute by Dr Amulya Khurana and Prof. P. L. Dhar, Indian Institute of Technology,New Delhi-110016
June 2000
Executive Summary:
This study aimed at investigating the effect of Vipassana Meditation (VM) on Quality of Life (QOL), Subjective Well-Being (SWB), and Criminal Propensity (CP) among inmates of Tihar Jail, Delhi.
To this effect the following hypotheses were formulated:
There will be a significant positive effect of VM on the QOL of inmates of Tihar jail.
VM will have a positive and significant effect on SWB of inmates.
Criminal propensity (CP) of inmates will decrease significantly after attending the VM course.
There will be significant difference in SWB and CP of experimental (Vipassana) group and control (non-Vipassana) group.
Male and female inmates will differ significantly in SWB and CP, as a result of VM.
The total sample comprised 262 inmates (males = 232, female = 30). A series of 5 studies were conducted using both before-and-after as well as control group experimental designs.
The independent variable was Vipassana meditation. The dependent variables were: Quality of life (QOL), Subjective Well-Being (SWB), and Criminal Propensity (CP). Life Satisfaction Scale (PGI, Chandigarh), Subjective Well-Being Scale (Nagpal & Sell, 1985), and Criminal Propensity Scale (Sanyal & Kathpalia, 1999) were used to collect data. Student's 't' test was used for data analysis.
The following conclusions represent the findings of the study:
The first hypothesis did not come as was expected. Since the questionnaire was difficult for the prisoners to understand, this questionnaire was dropped from the later studies.
The second and third hypothesis were accepted since the level of criminal propensity came down and that of subjective well being went up after the inmates attended the Vipassana meditation courses.
The fourth hypothesis was also accepted, as the experimental (Vipassana) group's CP decreased and SWB increased significantly as compared to control (non-Vipassana) group, among male inmates.
VM seems to have similar effect on SWB and CP of participants irrespective of their gender.
Thus, the fifth hypothesis was not accepted as the male and female inmates did not differ significantly in SWB and CP, as a result of VM.
The results obtained supported the hypotheses to a large extent, though not all the results are significant. Vipassana meditation significantly improved Subjective well being and reduced Criminal propensity of inmates of Tihar Jail.
Acknowledgements
We thankfully acknowledge the help received from the following:
Shri S.N.Goenka, the main force behind Vipassana movement in India and abroad. Vipassana Research Institute, Mumbai, for financial support Vipassana Sadhana Sansthan, Delhi for general support.