THE welcome note is one of silence. It could almost be a serene college campus. Well, one of the biggest literacy campaigns ever to be launched in jails across the country has almost made Amritsar Central Jail one.

A look at the records says it all: About 300 illiterate inmates here are learning to read and write, another hundred semi-literate prisoners have enrolled for a certificate course in food and nutrition while others have been pursuing preparatory programmes being run by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Another 260 have opted for computers courses.

There is more: One of the inmates is attempting an MBA while several others have enrolled for postgraduate courses.

The picture couldn’t have been more different some months ago—this prison was notorious for drug peddling and gang wars. DIG Jails, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who was one of the first IPS officers in Punjab to be posted as jail superintendent, admits the prison looked ‘‘different’’ when he took over.

‘‘Built to accommodate a thousand people, it housed more than double the number. And the jail staff was too busy squabbling amongst themselves to pay any attention to the inmates,’’ remembers Singh.

Today, the jail is considered a template for others. Singh, who recently got an award from the India Vision Foundation (IVF) founded by Kiran Bedi, for his jail reforms, counts her as his inspiration. ‘‘I wanted to change the character of the prison but it would not have been possible without the guidance of Kiran Bedi, officers in the police department and Dr S P Singh, the then Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University.’’

THE road to reforms was not easy. A portion of the jail was renovated and converted into a school block. Today, this block houses five classrooms, one library, a computer lab, and teachers’ rooms. The ‘‘Principal’’ is a qualified undertrial with Ph.D while the faculty comprises postgraduate and graduate inmates.

Needless to say an empathy with their students makes teaching a rewarding affair. Principal R S Uppal wears a big smile as he guides you around the campus. Nearly 700 students have been enrolled. Computer literate inmates, some of whom even hold an MSc in Information Technology, have chipped in with their skills.

The results are showing already. ‘‘Earlier, there was rampant drug abuse among prisoners. And many prisoners had taken to drugs only after coming here. Now all that has changed as they spend a lot of time on other activities,’’ says Joginder Kumar who has enrolled for a postgraduate degree in political science.

The de-addiction centre in the jail, the first-of-its-kind in Punjab, has also come as a great help.

‘‘So far 75 hardcore addicts have been cured and another batch of 25 addicts is under treatment,’’ says Surjeet Sharma, past president, Rotary Club, South, Amritsar.