Rehabilitation Behind Bars: The Role of Education, Meditation, Counselling, and Vocational Training in Reforming Prison Inmates in India
Elina Mehra
21/07/2026
The present narrative review critically explores the contribution of education, meditation and yoga, counselling and vocational training to the rehabilitation of prison inmates in the context of India and literature published from 2001-2025. The review concludes that, although there are systemic issues that must be addressed for each of the interventions to be truly effective (chronic overcrowding, under-staffing, punitive institutional culture, and the almost complete lack of post-release support), each of the intervention domains has the potential to be rehabilitative. One key conclusion is that the Indian context of rehabilitation is largely a symbolic process, and that a number of documented cases of rehabilitation, like those at Tihar Jail, are anomalies rather than the norm. The review adheres to the notion of desistance theory (Maruna, 2001) which posits that identity change is essential for meaningful rehabilitation, rather than just behaviour change. It is important to note that women prisoners are also subject to multiple disadvantages which are not sufficiently addressed by current programmes. For results to be meaningful, there must be an evidence-based, rights-based and gender-responsive reform. There are several key policy implications: establishing a systematic needs-assessment infrastructure based on the Risk-Needs-Responsivity model; ensuring post-release continuity of mental health and employment services, which are mandatory and not optional; and expanding of gender-responsive programming as a core rather than an additional element of the Indian correctional policy.