Indian Prisoners Stage Hunger Strike Over Cricket

By Alex Gonzalez
Remember when you were a kid and you were so mad at something that you would break your own toys? Or stomp around the room very petulantly when things don't go your way. Multiply that by 500, sprinkle in a little bit of cricket and you have the Alipore Central Jail in West Bengal. Inmates at the jail are clearly fans of the Indian Premier League, because they were demanding that the games be shown in their jail cells. Just picture 500-plus inmates yelling, "We want cricket! We want Cricket!" Does someone need to remind them that they're in prison where that kind of freedom isn't handed to them because they took it away from themselves?
The prisoners went so far as to go on a hunger strike to show their displeasure in not being able to see the games. Cricket is by far India's favorite sport and the Indian Premier League has been a major success after just one year. The second season began in South Africa this past weekend. The inmates did not get their way when they demanded the games be shown, so when their slop of food allotted to them came, they said no. Only in jail does someone say "Food? No. Cricket? Please."
An officer said two of the prisoners had manhandled a guard after the authorities stuck to their decision.
"The guard was pushed and abused by some of the prisoners. An inquiry is on," he said.
B.D. Sharma, the inspector-general, deemed the inmates' demand "unjustified".
"I have heard about the hunger-strike but the issue is absurd and the demand unjustified. The inmates should remember that they are in a jail and not in a five-star hotel," he said. Sharma said that only undertrials, not convicted prisoners, had joined the strike. "We will not accept the demand even if the undertrials continue with their protest. Security has been stepped up to avert any untoward incident," Sharma added.
Prisoners inside Alipore Central Jail can only watch state run television shows and reading newspapers and magazines. Until further notice, the only way these prisoners will be able to keep up with the IPL is through scorecards and results.
I love sports and I understand if someone's upset that they can't see their favorite sport on TV. I'm also not a criminal, so to the prisoners protesting, here's the one way you can make sure you can watch all the cricket in the world all while having a belly full of food. Stop committing crimes. Until then, eat. It's one of the only rights you'll have while you're in there.
So what do you guys think about this crazy story? Is there anyone out there that thinks these undertrials should actually get the cable TV they crave so they can watch IPL cricket? Are they being irrational by not eating? Drop us a comment about how ridiculous these prisoners are.