Back to the basics. Four years ago, Bedi introduced Vipassana meditation for Tihar’s prisoners. Was she being soft on hardened criminals? "They too have to atone for their past. They should be punished, but you can also try and alter their tomorrow," she explains, adding a large dash of vinegar to her soup. Clearly, Bedi never accepts things as they are. She even tried to reform Phoolan Devi!
"My role is that of an environment builder and that cannot be created without compassion," she says. It seems that the gentler side of Kiran Bedi has been inherited by her 25-year-old daughter Saina who works at the India Vision Foundation, an institution set up by Bedi to educate prisoners’ children. In fact, India Vision and Navjyoti Foundation figure high on Bedi’s retirement plans, another seven years away. But then, does someone like Kiran Bedi ever retire?
