Life In Jail

From Bihar to Tihar is Kanhaiya Kumar’s version of an agitation that rocked India.

- Mandira Nayar

Anti-national, then hero, then to symbol of hope, Kanhaiya Kumar has worn many labels. Some deserved, some he still has to live up to. Yet, there is no doubt that his story—from the president of the JNU Students Union to becoming headline news—is an incredible one. The day he stood in a black leather jacket and a blindly white T-shirt, under the arc lights of cameras demanding azadi just back from Tihar Jail, he had become a politician. His rise is the kind that is scripted to be told. And he does know how to spin a story. From Bihar to Tihar is his account of a story that on JNU campus has become part of folklore. But what isn’t, perhaps, is his struggle. This is his first book; for sure, it will not be his last. Exclusive excerpts:

I was put in a lockup. A CCTV camera was installed. An armed guard was stationed outside. There was nothing to sleep on. There was a blanket of some kind which acted as both the bedding and a cover. My chappals, jacket, etc, had been confiscated outside. I asked for my jacket as I was cold. They said they couldn’t give it to me as it had a drawstring with which I might attempt suicide.

My cell had a bottle of water, a tap and a toilet seat. I had to make do with this for drinking, bathing, washing, etc. I tried talking to the police outside my cell. On my first night I was rebuffed. When I asked the guard on duty for some soap I was told this was not my hostel. Later his attitude changed completely. He started to get me drinking water and taking me to the bathroom for bathing.

On that first night I was visited by two men. They asked me to write down everything that had happened. I wrote down the entire sequence of events of 9 February. We talked for a while. As they left, one of them said that had he not been on duty he would have liked to talk to me for longer. I enjoyed talking to you, he said.