To rescue his innocent father, Paul Raj
Joseph attacked the drunken scoundrel. In the scuffle,
unfortunately, the drunkard died. Police arrested Paul Raj
as well as his father, Jebamani. Now, the 20-year-old Paul
Raj had just passed his B.Sc Maths in first division and had
enrolled for his Master�s Degree. Having noted his academic
interests, Vijayanarayanam, the officer in-charge at the
Palayamkottai central jail, advised Paul Raj to continue his
studies.
Treating Paul Raj as a special case, the
Madurai Kamaraj University offered him a seat for a
correspondence course in M.Sc Maths. Paul Raj thus went on
to complete his Master�s in the first division! Presuming
that as a convict he would never get a job, Paul Raj thought
of studying Law. However, he did not get the necessary
permissions. Luck was in his favour, though! Paul Raj was
transferred to the central jail in Trichy. On the
recommendation of Vijayanarayanam, a wealthy businessman
named Devadas came forward to finance Paul�s studies.
He passed his Law examinations�again, securing the first
division!
Paul Raj then took up research work on graph
theory. The Madurai Kamaraj University awarded him a
doctorate for his study on Domination related topics.
Completeing his term of 14 year of life imprisonment, he
stepped out jail in 1994.
Paul Raj grabbed the offer of the university
to take up the post of coordinator of the special Education
Programme for prisoners. The scheme allows prisoners to
appear for graduate and post-graduate examinations. In Paul
we have an example how persevarance and strength of
character can lead a person from prison to profession.
