PATNA: A murder convict lodged in Bihar’s Bhagalpur central jail has translated religious epic ‘Ramcharitmanas’ into Angika, a language widely spoken in Bhagalpur, Munger and Banka districts of the state. The news emanating from the jail adds a different dimension to the ongoing controversy that erupted after Bihar Education Minister Prof Chandrashekhar had made objectionable remarks against Ramcharitmanas.
The murder convict, Harihar Prasad, a native of neighbouring Munger district, is a home guard and has been behind bars in Bhagalpur special jail since 2016. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case in 1991. He has already completed the translation while the proof reading of the translated work of epic is being done by jailor Manoj Kumar.
The prisoner, Harihar, has also written to the President Droupadi Murmu for remission of his sentence. He was motivated to translate Ramcharitmans into Angika by former jailor Rakesh Kumar Singh who was impressed with his good command over the language. After Singh got transferred, the present jailor also encouraged him and persuaded him to continue his translation work.
He was provided pens and papers for his translation work. He has requested the jail administration to get his translated work to be published by the jail press itself. His good behaviour with inmates has made him the most popular in the special central jail, where hardcore Maoists and notorious gangsters are lodged.
Harihar wears ‘pitambari’ (a yellow cloth with religious significance) and recites Ramcharitmanas while sitting on a platform as other inmates sit around him and listen to him patiently. “This has changed the entire atmosphere in the prison,” said jailor Manoj.
Around 1,700 prisoners are lodged in the special central jail against a sanctioned strength of 3,288. In the field of education, prisoners are provided the facility of education in the jail through National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Bihar Board of Open Schooling and Examination (BBOSE), Nalanda Open University (NOU) and IGNOU. Besides that, NGOs are also involved in educational activities in the jails of Bihar.