Adaner Usmani
The project “The History of Punishment in India,” led by Adaner Usmani, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, explores the paradox of low violence rates in India despite limited policing and high poverty. The project began originally with an aim to understand the America-centrism on mass incarceration. The Indian specific research led by Rohit Sharma, a lawyer-cum-researcher offers a perspective on violence in developing countries, focusing on India’s penal system and its evolution with the data points from the year 1823. Supported by the Mittal Institute – through a grant from May 2023 to April 2024 – the project explores punishment trends from colonial times to the present, seeking to influence public discourse and policy. This work is part of a broader effort to gather the history of punishment worldwide.
Key Objectives and Accomplishments
The primary objective was to analyze punishment trends in India, publish impactful research, and expand data collection. The team collected over 180,000 subnational data points, covering various aspects of the Indian criminal justice system, including prison mortality, recidivism, and detailed demographic information, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the field. Additionally, the team has also documented over 3000 data points on national data which gives a holistic view of Indian punishment evolution.
The research findings were presented during an online session in November 2023, hosted by the Mittal Institute. The session provided an overview of the Indian penal state in a comparative context, highlighting the project’s findings on caste-based and religious inequalities. The study on the history of corporal punishment in the Indian subcontinent was also discussed, along with civil society efforts to mobilize data for policy reform and explore ways to make the data more accessible.
The project’s data accessibility efforts have been realized in the upcoming India Prison Portal, a collaborative platform with a Delhi-based not-for-profit, Project Second Chance, documenting materials related to India’s criminal justice system. The portal aims to bring multiple stakeholders on board, including civil society organizations, researchers, and government officials, to create a comprehensive resource platform for criminal justice reform in India.
Project Impact
The project’s impact extends beyond academic research. Active networks around the India Prison Portal are being built to engage civil societies, scholars, and government officials. This platform has the potential to drive meaningful reforms in India’s criminal justice system by highlighting gaps in data and infrastructure.
One notable outcome is the discovery of data inconsistencies in Rajasthan’s (a state in India) prison mortality reporting. Additionally, Himanshu Agarwal, an Associate Professor at Jindal Global Law School, presented on how whipping as a criminal punishment evolved in India during our November presentation.The research, combined with discussions with the government, has potential to improve reporting accuracy in the state’s prison system on multiple fronts. This demonstrates how the project’s data-driven approach can directly influence policy and improve the lives of vulnerable populations.
A section of the Madras Central Prison before demolition in 2009 | Source: Wikimedia Commons
Entrance to Yerwada jail campus | Source: Wikimedia Commons
Learnings and Future Directions
While the project has made significant strides, further exploration is needed. The team recognizes the need for a deeper examination of pre-colonial punishment practices and more extensive research into the immediate post-independence period. These areas are crucial for understanding the full trajectory of India’s penal system and its implications for modern justice. There are also challenges where data in the most effective form is not visualised and presented which can be used by different stakeholders. A better represented data backed by stories from the ground can assist various actors of the Indian Criminal Justice to understand the system from a different lens and to build solutions backed by data.
The team also identified inconsistencies in data reporting, particularly in prison statistics. By drawing on international experiences, the project aims to offer recommendations for improving data collection and reporting practices in India’s police and prison systems.
The project has laid the groundwork for a deeper understanding of India’s penal system and its unique challenges. Through data collection, research, and collaboration with stakeholders, it is poised to contribute to meaningful reforms in India’s criminal justice system.
Read more about Faculty Research Grants from the Mittal Institute here.