The Indian police brutality that is often on display in the streets of the country-in the capital, UP, Maharashtra, and elsewhere, to tackle peaceful protests by resentful citizens, is a notorious phenomenon. Two latest incidents of the police high-handedness relate to Delhi and Maharashtra. In Delhi, the police mobilised in large numbers to deal with the BJP youth demonstration against corruption in which a large number of young people from all parts of India participated, went berserk. They did not spare even a polio-afflicted young leader from Bihar. The TV images of the incident provided the tell-tale evidence of the police mercilessness. The standard practice is to deny that excessive force was used as they did in the case of the forcible eviction of Baba Ramdev and his supporters with lathis and tear gas past-mid night in early June, 2011.
In Maharashtra, the Kisan protest of water supply from a dam, was handled even more ferociously: TV coverage showed how the police were firing into the demonstrating farmers to kill, resulting in the death of three. Contrast this with the riots in London and some other British cities recently where no one was killed in police action even though the scale of looting, arson and destruction of property was colossal. Some may say that the UK police was too soft. But, the fact remains that the situation was brought under control in a couple of days with large scale arrests of the criminals and raids of their houses to recover looted property. Our police appears like a brute force, a trigger-happy one, without mercy, that too in a democracy! Who is to blame? The buck must stop with the police leadership, lack of training in modern, civilised ways of policing, winning public goodwill and cooperation. The political bosses must also share the blame for police excesses on common people who are supposed to be the masters in a democratic system.
Some times, one has a lurking feeling that our bureaucracy-administrative and police-have not yet emerged from the colonial mindset. Their contempt for the hoi polloi is persisting, surfacing in their ill-treatment and arrogant behaviour. Among our first Prime Minister Nehru's several failures, indifference to administrative reforms, including those dealing with the police, can be considered high on the list. Unfortunately, even his successors largely ignored these. We are paying a heavy price for that negligence.
In Maharashtra, the Kisan protest of water supply from a dam, was handled even more ferociously: TV coverage showed how the police were firing into the demonstrating farmers to kill, resulting in the death of three. Contrast this with the riots in London and some other British cities recently where no one was killed in police action even though the scale of looting, arson and destruction of property was colossal. Some may say that the UK police was too soft. But, the fact remains that the situation was brought under control in a couple of days with large scale arrests of the criminals and raids of their houses to recover looted property. Our police appears like a brute force, a trigger-happy one, without mercy, that too in a democracy! Who is to blame? The buck must stop with the police leadership, lack of training in modern, civilised ways of policing, winning public goodwill and cooperation. The political bosses must also share the blame for police excesses on common people who are supposed to be the masters in a democratic system.
Some times, one has a lurking feeling that our bureaucracy-administrative and police-have not yet emerged from the colonial mindset. Their contempt for the hoi polloi is persisting, surfacing in their ill-treatment and arrogant behaviour. Among our first Prime Minister Nehru's several failures, indifference to administrative reforms, including those dealing with the police, can be considered high on the list. Unfortunately, even his successors largely ignored these. We are paying a heavy price for that negligence.
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