PUNE, INDIA , December 1, 2015 (by Andrew Marszal, Telegraph News):An Indian jail is to release prisoners early if they earn top marks in yoga exams at the end of a course. The scheme involves inmates at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune, where Mahatma Gandhi was twice imprisoned, and prisoners will be eligible for release three months early as an incentive to do well. “Yoga has been proved scientifically to improve the mental and physical condition,” said Bhushankumar Upadhyay, the prison director responsible for the programme. “It improves our overall behaviour and calms down our violent tendencies.” “Remission has been given by the government for good conduct. So as an incentive we are going to give remission to those who excel at yoga.”
Inmates who began the new program will sit a practical and a written exam after six months. Dr Upadhyay, 51, said he hopes the scheme, in which around 1,500 prisoners will initially participate, could spread across India and even to other countries. Inmates taking the course will also be encouraged to teach yoga to their fellow prisoners at other jails around Maharashtra state. According to the Sahayog Trust, which devised the year-long course, upon completing their studies, two-thirds of inmates believed their former activities were wrong and wished to ask for forgiveness from their victims’ families. Officials also claimed the number of violent incidents within the prison dropped as a result of the course.