MONTHLY FEATURE uuu POLICE AND SECURITY uuu NOVEMBER, 1994

Dr.S.Subramanian, IPS (Retd.)

On November 1, 1994, Saharanpur Police, fought a fierce encounter with foreign mercenaries of Kashmir Militants and rescued three British Hostages unharmed. In the encounter, two valuable police lives were lost. Saharanpur Police would have been within their rights and followed the Rule Book to the letter, if they had summoned and waited for Commandos to launch the operation. But such a course would have damaged our Nation’s reputation beyond repair. Police, day in and day out, face the Hamletian Dilemma to do or not to do. They opt for the former facing grave risks to their lives. Recall how forty years ago on October 21, in the inhospitable region of Ladakh, ten gallant policemen of Central Reserve Police Force gave their lives in the altar of duty while safeguarding Indian territory from Chinese soldiers.

Every year, Police forces all over India observe October 21 as POLICE COMMEMORATION DAY, not only to pay homage to those brave ten, but also to remember and revere thousand of policemen, who continue to give their today for our better tomorrow. These sacrifices in the line of duty are offered while defending the country from external threats; fighting internal threats of disintegration from secessionist, insurgent, terrorist and extremist elements; fighting communal and divisive forces; and fighting crime and ensuring peaceable conditions in society. The much maligned and derided policemen have always lived upto their credo - Duty Unto Death. For these brave men, no bells toll and the society, which makes a hue and cry when an anti-national dies in the hands of Police, is insensitive to the deaths of policemen while performing their duty. It is sad that the Government of India has not yet thought it fit to hoist the Police Flag along with the Flags of Defence Services at the AMAR JAWAN JYOTHI NATIONAL MEMORIAL at India Gate, Delhi nor observe an Annual Flag Day for Police.

Statistics of deaths of Policemen in the line of duty are staggering and chilling. No where in the world, so many policemen make the supreme sacrifice for their country. Over thousand police lives are lost in India every year while performing duties, compared to around 2 per year in U.K. and 80 in U.S.A. In India, the death graph is steadily rising. While only 68 policemen lost their lives on operational duty in 1961-62, it has gone up to 1172 in 1993-94. It becomes more distressing to know from a Study of Bureau of Police Research and Development, that nearly 45% of deceased police personnel were under 36 and 10% of them were under 25 years of age indicating that they were snatched away by death in the prime of their life. It appears, that since Independence, Police fatalities are more than the fatalities suffered by the Defence forces in the four Wars and the IPKF operations. Anti-national and anti-social forces are now targeting police families - casualties among them are being increasingly reported.

Can a Liberal Democracy afford to remain complacent in the face of these facts and figures? Should not an effort be made to halt the trend and reverse the tide? It may be argued that risk to life is an occupational hazard for a policeman. While an occasional loss of life is unavoidable and inevitable, the staggering numbers of deaths as compared to other countries should make us ponder over the causes and consider possible solutions to reduce police fatalities.

What is the role of Police? Is Police a civil service organisation to prevent and detect crimes and maintain civil order as adumbrated in the Police Act of 1861 or a Force to fight elements of destabilisation and low intensity conflicts? Police are armed, trained and mentally equipped to be an unarmed service echoing use of force and avoiding deaths to citizens in their operations. Legal and procedural requirements stress on this aspect. When pitted against the laments of destabilisation, police often find that they are ill-equipped, ill-trained and mentally not prepared to adopt to conditions of urban and rural guerrilla warfare. Even the Para-Military Forces are not trained or equipped to fight low intensity conflicts. It is high time that the role of police is clearly defined and one wing of police is specially trained and equipped to deal with low intensity conflicts.

At present, police are operating under legal norms and procedures evolved over 100 years ago, when idyllic conditions existed. These are inappropriate to deal with the elements of destabilisation. There should be clear-cut differentiation between the legal norms and procedures applicable to law abiding citizens and those to be followed in respect of anti-nationals and anti-socials who defy the existence of the Nation. As observed by an American Jurist, Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact entered into by our Nation (USA) with its enemies for its own destruction. While citizens, who subscribe to the concepts of Rule of Law and Equality before Law and who accept the State as a holistic social organisation should be entitled to all the rights and privileges guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, those who do not subscribe to these basic tenets should not be allowed to undermine the Nation using the rights and privileges guaranteed to the citizens by the very same system which they seek to destroy.

Self-esteem is an essential component to motivate humans. Police are often condemned and denigrated as an organisation for the lapses of a few individual members. Policemen are expected to don the mantle of an ideal citizen and inspite of the best training, leadership and guidance, in large human organisations, there will always be a few black sheep. While ruthless efforts are to be made to weed these out, entire police organisation should not be condemned. People should support police for their right actions and punish the errant squarely. Media and non-governmental organisations can play a vital role.

Policemen are still paid very low wages on par with unskilled labour and their status in administrative hierarchy is very low. These are to be enhanced to give the policeman an adequate status in society to perform the role of a counsellor. Recommendations of the National Police Commission on welfare of Policemen deserve due consideration and early implementation.

One of the debilitating roles of Police is Order Maintenance. Contrary to popular belief, Law and Order do not go hand in hand and Law is not an instrument of Order and frequently it is its adversary. Order under Law implies rational restraint upon rules and procedures used to achieve Order. Order under Law, subordinates the ideal of conformity to the ideal of legality. Order maintenance demands initiative and quick action and Law emphasises on procedures and circumspection and demands conformity with procedures and adherence to norms of legality. As it happens during communal riots - policemen have to enforce order against the will of the society. On such occasions, policemen become the islands of sanity amidst the ocean of Hatred and Bigotry. There is an urgent need to bifurcate the roles of Law Enforcement and Order Maintenance by having two distinct wings in the Police Service.

Police are ill-equipped to perform their basic roles of crime fighters and maintainers of Peace. There is urgent need to review the adequacy of equipment available with the police. Many of the police lives lost in A.P. and M.P. in land mine explosions could have been averted if police had the required equipment and special vehicles. Even after the Bombay Blasts, it is a sad fact that, explosive detection and neutralisation equipment are not available in the districts and cities all over the country. Since policemen are not provided with scientific aids to detection of crime, they use third degree to solve crimes. Lack of vehicles affect mobility which in turn reduces the visibility of police thereby reducing the effectiveness of preventive functions. One can go on endlessly enumerating these handicaps. Since police are meant to serve the people, people should take active interest in forcing the Government to provide the required tools to the Police. The Police Modernisation Programme of the Govt. of India is too meagre and ineffective.

Society should realise that policing is their own function and police organisation is only a substitute to spare them of actual physical participation. Active cooperation between the public and police are required and N.G.Os. and public-spirited citizens can promote this. ‘Police bashing’ should be given up as the favourite pastime and instead ‘Police Backing’ should become the credo. An indifferent society will get an indifferent and inefficient police organisation. Constant interaction and close supervision by the society will keep the police organisation in the right path. Police leadership should also ensure that there is more transparency in the working of the police organisation to invoke public confidence and cooperation.

Police in India has stood as a bulwark against all forces of disintegration and destabilisation and let us help it to continue to provide peaceable conditions to enable the Nation to march into the next century as a prosperous Nation.

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