Indo-Asian News Service
BHOPAL, INDIA, August 14, 2005: When 50-year-old Dinesh Tiwari is released from prison in four years, he hopes to find employment as a priest in a temple. The Madhya Pradesh government has instituted a program whereby brahmin Hindu inmates are trained in religious rituals as part of their rehabilitation program. Every morning a Hindu organization called the Gaayatri Shakti Peeth holds classes for about 60 prisoners who are taught religious rites and hymns in Sankrit. Shyam Sharma, a member of Gaayatri Shakti Peeth, says, “When the inmates are free they will be eligible to get a job in a temple or perform puja in homes.” Sharma hopes that the prisoners will become good priests and avoid crime when they are released. Tiwari realizes that there will be obstacles and says, “Why would people or temples want to hire us when we have served a term in prison? But our job is to make an attempt and we will try.”