Anthology of articles

POLICING THE POLICE: Praveen Kumar; Sapna Book House, Thunga Complex, Opposite Tribhuvan Theatre, Gandhinagar, Bangalore- 560009.

Rs. 175.A POLICE officer and a prolific writer, Praveen Kumar, has published another anthology of his articles which have already appeared in many newspapers, in the form of this book. Being a topical subject any time, "Policing the police'' acquires more relevance today in the context of the criminalisation of not just politics, but of the services as well.

In addition to the canker of criminalisation comes the gangrene of corruption. And together, they have eroded much of the confidence and credibility that the services enjoyed in the eyes of the public a few decades ago.

In this compendium, the author has put together a host of articles touching all these aspects - from a more general issue on challenges and approaches, to the problems of corruption in the police, the quota system, the threats to internal security from terrorist groups, social justice and the need for humanising the force.Given the continuing deterioration in standards, it will be right to say at any point of time that the police or the civil service is at a crossroads - a vital juncture when it can make or break civil society.

The author also takes this line and shares many of his experiences in the force and in bureaucracy.

Coming as a sequel to his earlier book Policing for the New Age, the author chooses to describe policemen as "social doctors'' and policing as a "surgical operation to systematically remove cancerous growths from the body of society''. The basic question remains - If they are themselves (police) infested, what happens to the society?

He knows as well as we do, that the Indian police is not what it was earlier on - the pride, toughness and commitment to duty are missing; perhaps a wrong kind of toughness has crept in! It has become an "abused organisation'' by submitting to the wishes of its master, under false notions of discipline.

But it remains to be seen if the force will further slip into a "tragedy'' or take the right step forward to make it a "turning point''.

Clearly, the police system should become more professional and less political. From the time of recruitment, the standards must be set and met. Their salaries must be attractive enough for them to say a firm "no'' to bribes.

Crime, politics and police have now become the three sides of vicious triangle, posing a serious challenge to democratic India.

The author does come up with some suggestions, but one does not know if they are practical. For instance, he recommends an All- India Police Authority that is accountable to the President of India. A Supreme Court judge could head the national board, with the Cabinet Secretary and Home Secretary as its members; there could be a Regional Board at the States, with a High Court judge at the helm.

Unfortunately, all these decisions rest with the politicians who come to power. And they want to use and abuse the police force as well as the civil service for their own agenda. So how will they take the hard decisions to set things right and put the country or State first?

After all, there have been any numbers of Police Commissions and reports on revamping, modernising and streamlining the force. Perhaps, the push must come from the police themselves, if they want to redeem their image.

V. JAYANTH

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Scholar and philosopher-prince
Next     : Popularising science