Nirashrithara Parihara Kendra residents to have stall at Chitra Santhe, print Constitution Preamble

It’s time for yet another Chitra Santhe, and visitors this time can expect to see a very special stall showcasing human resilience and dignity, and the spirit of the Constitution. 

It’s time for yet another Chitra Santhe, and visitors this time can expect to see a very special stall showcasing human resilience and dignity, and the spirit of the Constitution. 

The santhe will have a stall selling frames of the Preamble to the Constitution, hand-printed by residents of Nirashrithara Parihara Kendra (NPK), the centre for rehabilitation of the homeless run by the Social Welfare Department of the Karnataka government. 

The department, in association with #ReclaimConstitution, has been training residents of NPK in hand-printing the Preamble to create awareness about the Constitution and to equip them with livelihood skills.  

“Close to 10 people at the centre have been trained so far in printing and the plan is to continue it,” said Rajendra J.P., Superintendent at NPK.  

It all started when #ReclaimConstitution made a proposal to the Social Welfare Department to print the Preamble for Constitution Day and distribute it to the public. As part of it, the residents at NPK were also trained to do the printing, notes Mr. Rajendra. 

“But we thought we shall continue the training at the centre so that more people get hands-on experience in printing and possibly make a livelihood out of it once their detention period is over. Of late, we are printing copies of the Preamble and giving them to government schoolchildren also. That way we are making it part of the various training programmes we already offer and also spreading the message of the Constitution,” he says. 

According to Mr. Rajendra, NPK is the largest government-controlled facility for beggars and the homeless in Asia. Inaugurated in 1948 by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, it has a capacity of 900. At the centre, residents are trained in sewing, agriculture, horticulture, making coir mats, and soap and detergent production, with the idea of integrating them back into society and preventing them from returning to begging.