of police, politicians and the polis

M J Akbar has it right. The nexus between politicians and police  lies at the heart of the problem.    The problem  of  policing the POLIS. The City . The State. 

This picture from a series I had begun decades ago, say it all. The  police exist to protect the Politicians and their Sacred spaces.  Spaces like Rajpath - the Royal  road to their happy hunting grounds on Raisna Hill. 

That path had to be protected from the People. By any means.   It was. At huge expense to the very idea of Democracy  and its role of  being for the people, by the people, and of the people. 

                                        New Delhi - 1980s. From "The Days of the Gun"

. The Indian police do not protect the British anymore; but they serve a venal system as co-beneficiaries of a corrupt ruling class. The most effective alliance in government is between police and lumpen elements. This transaction is sealed by cash. 





When people sensed that government was protecting police in exchange for police protecting ministers from their own set of crimes, every young woman became truly Nirbhaya. Government heard a scream from people betrayed across the line. 

Rape is the worst form of violence. Men can sympathise, but never fully understand the traumatic abuse of dignity, as Jaya Bachchan so eloquently noted in the Rajya Sabha. The feminist movement gathered steam in the 1970s with a slogan that was clear, concise, and went to the essence: ‘Whatever I wear, whatever I do, Yes means yes, no means no!’ The decision lies with women, not men. 

Governments were forced to submit. Excuses disappeared. Laws changed. 

A government that shrugs off rape is raping the nation.


http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/TheSiegeWithin/entry/should-we-call-the-police

 The executive has become so used to lording it over the police that it cannot think of a situation where the police would have autonomy in taking important law and order decisions. It is like a drug addict being asked to give up narcotics.

We need police reforms not for the glory of the police but to ensure that the police uphold the rule of law and the Constitution of the country. At present, they are more bothered/concerned about the wishes and expectations of the political bosses, right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, rather than acting in the larger interests of society. The reductio ad absurdum of the situation is there for anyone to see. The police are not trusted and they do not inspire confidence.

It also needs to be emphasised that police reforms are absolutely essential if India is to emerge as a great power. Economic progress cannot be sustained if we are not able create a safe and secure environment. The democratic structure may also crumble if the police continue to feel inhibited in taking action against criminals, some of whom are entering the portals of democracy.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/for-a-peoples-police-from-a-delhi-tailwind/article4256353.ece