Comeuppance: My Experiences in an Indian Prison

by James Tooley

In March 2014, James Tooley, a champion of low-cost private schools across South Asia and Africa, was enjoying a well-deserved break in Hyderabad, reunited with his girlfriend Sara and niece Alissa. One evening he was visited by the ‘friendly’ Mrs Mantra, Deputy Superintendent, CID who was concerned about alleged irregularities in the funding of his NGO, the Educare Trust. Tooley clarified that he had already given a statement to the CID and shut the NGO down years ago. However, not to be brushed off, Mantra returned to his hotel later that night—this time with a posse of subordinates—to arrest him without a warrant. Conditions in prison were dire, and the jailers typically cruel and violent, but the other prisoners were extraordinarily kind. Appallingly, many had been inside for years, never charged with anything, often victims of police corruption and too poor to go to court. In this disturbing yet gripping book, Tooley recounts his time in prison and his Kafkaesque struggle against Indian bureaucracy. Even after securing bail, he was subjected to humiliating interrogations, threats from armed goons and demoralizing visits to the court. A searing memoir and a chilling indictment of the Indian prison system, the police, and the judiciary which allows them discretion to act with impunity, My Experiences in an Indian Prison is a timely reminder about the terrifying reality of twenty-first-century India.

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2017

Reviews

[Nish · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are all aware of the state of corruption in India and how a common man stands as a puppet in the game of duality - Power or Money. This book highlights similar revelations about excessive corruption, bribery, abuse of power, and how trapped a person of any position can feel if tried to choose an honest path. Media does a fairly good job of bringing these scenarios at surface through visual entertainment.
What stayed with me was the simple flowing writing style, author's own reflections on his work as he described the disturbing experiences at the receiving end of our law and police system, and how he candidly elaborates the loss of sanity through the interrogations, the wait, the emotional torture and all of this with endless uncertainty.

[Anil Dhingra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine book though made me hand my head in shame at the corruption in India and greed and bad manners of police officers, inefficiency and apathy off Court officials including judges.
A reputed British professor who is a part of the trust running low cost schools for poor in India is arrested for apparently having brought in some foreign currency for the trust 10 years back without approval of government.
A female CBI officer wants bribe and makes his life miserable making him spend time in prison and being nasty to him.
Really feel sorry for the author and really hope that the cops named in the book got punished and shamed.

[Shivank Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very real and disturbing book on the corrupt processes of India. The way James was treated by CID and his lawyers is extremely heartbreaking. This book should definitely be read by the powers at be as it reflects the harsh reality of Indian corruption.

[Tmk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well portrayed pitiful condition of undertrial prisoners in Indian jails