He has lived in a dark, lonely, cage-alike room for years. He talked, asked, heard, laughed, got angry, cried – all on himself. Then, one sudden day, he was out in the daylight again. He saw the world around, with wide open eyes. “Life is beautiful”-he murmured to himself. “Spread the light”-someone spoke within. He laughed, walked ahead, and never looked back.
2nd September, 2014. Dayalpur Village, Vaishali district, Bihar. I was sitting face to face with Mr. Deepak Kumar, in his drawing room. Yes, the same man I was talking about. The man who committed a murder 24 years back. The man, who has spent the most productive years of his life behind the bars. AND! The man who has now turned a loving teacher and has opened a free school where over 300 local children from impoverished families come to learn.
I was going to shoot a film on him. I asked him to speak. About himself. About the journey, the transformation.
Q: So tell me, how did it all happen?
Ans: It was the year of 1991. I was pursuing my Master’s Degree on Chemistry from B.R Ambedkar University, Bihar. Some issues pertaining to land and property were going on in my family, which gradually increased with time. The conflict was with our landlord, who happened to be one of village’s influential men. He was harassing my family for quite some time. The day he finally got on my nerves, I couldn’t resist myself anymore. I arranged a desi Pistol, brought him to an isolated place and shot him thrice. One after another.
(Pauses)
Q: Then?
No guilt feeling occurred to me, even after killing him. I was relieved to have thought that no one would bother my family anymore. I calmly walked back home. But after two days, I was picked by the police from my University Campus. As per the court order, I was punished with imprisonment of 20 years, at the Mujaffarnagar jail.
Q: Tell me about the imprisoned life..
Ans: As I told you, I was pursuing my Master’s degree while this incident took place. I had committed a crime, but I was in no way a born criminal. My conscience wasn’t dead; neither was I an illiterate freak with no morality and education. Coping up a life inside the jail with criminals was a difficult task. I felt absolutely left out among them. But after the initial days, I had to accept the fact that I would have to live here for years and there’s nothing I could do it. I, then, wrote a letter to the jail administration and requested them to allow me to carry on with my higher education. The permission was soon granted. I completed my M.Sc., followed by an LLB degree.
Q. What about teaching? How did the teacher inside you evolve?
Ans: When in jail, I used to teach the fellow prisoners. Before that I had no idea that sharing knowledge could give you this much happiness! After I was released, I started practicing as a lawyer in Patna High Court. But soon I realized, it wasn’t my thing. I would only fit as a teacher.
Q. Starting afresh after two decades in jail isn’t easy I believe..
Ans: It is not. My tenure of 20 years was decreased to 14 years due to my good conduct in jail. In those 14 years, everything had changed. I grew older. A lot of people I knew years back, had left the village. There were new people who knew me only to be a criminal; and they weren’t quite ready to accept me as one of them. Neighbors weren’t comfortable communicating. Most importantly, children were scared of me. They were even instructed by their parents not to come close to me or talk to me. They ran away every time I wanted to talk to them.
(Chokes)
I love children. It did hurt me every time I saw them running away. I knew, I had to wipe away this fear and pull them close to me someday. In 2005 only, I started my school. I named it “Deendayal Kushpremi Central School”.
My school has over 300 roll counts today. The students are like my children. They’re like little buds, I see them blooming a bit every day.
Q. What’re your plans with the school? How do you plan to move forward?
Ans: As a reformed convict, all these years I have been knocking all possible doors for help. I need huge financial support right now. I want to equip my school with computers. Computer literacy and fluent spoken English skill are two most important things every student needs to grip on in today’s age. I need to install fans and adequate light in classrooms. I can’t undertake any of these until I receive financial grants from the Government or any other NGO. I just hope someone comes forward to help.
Q. One last question. What’s your take on imprisonment? Do you think a tenure in jail could kill the little devil, the criminal inside a human being?
Ans: (silence for a few seconds)
When I was in jail, I had two options. Either, I join the mafias and the gangsters, join politics, earn lot of money and live a rich life. Or, I resist the greed for money, awaken the good inside me, and live life as a good human being. I chose the later one.
Nobody is a born criminal. Discovering the good inside oneself is the challenge.
P.S: The world is nothing but the diary of great men, I had read somewhere. Today, I couldn’t agree more!
