Sins of their Fathers

Reny George hugged Nitish and asked him about his day in school. He ruffled the 11-year-old’s hair, and told him he should spend more time studying than playing cricket. “Yes, daddy,” Nitish sombrely said, before slouching on his bed. It was 4 pm, and over a hundred boisterous children were trooping across the garden on their way home from school. Reny stood at the door, smiling, with open arms. Everyone wanted to tell him of their triumphs and trials at school. Reny sat on the floor surrounded by the children. “Okay, now one by one,” he said.

The 136 children who live in Reny’s home, a three-acre facility located in the outskirts of Bengaluru, are the sons and daughters of prisoners incarcerated in Kerala and Karnataka. Reny was once such a prisoner, convicted of one of Kerala’s most notorious