Need to implement Police reforms

Though it a significant development which could have a significant impact over the country in days to come, but ironically it failed to find much space in the mainstream news media. The latest development I am talking about is related to the implementation of long pending police reforms in the country. 

In 2006, the Supreme Court had issued a series of directions to initiate police reforms and after almost seven years, it observed on April 11, “... instead of improving the police functioning and approach, what we have seen is a journey from bad to worse in these seven years....” 

In 2006, the Supreme Court had issued a series of directions-- a Security Commission at the state level; transparent procedure for the appointment of police chief and desirability of giving him a fixed tenure; separation of investigation work from law and order duties; and a new Police Act to reflect the democratic aspirations of the people.

We all know how archaic our police organisations are. They are ill equipped, ill trained and over burdened with lack of specialisation. An inefficient police force breeds corruption and deepens the sense of insecurity, especially amongst the vulnerable and weaker sections of the society.

The first step towards police reforms could be setting up of the “Security Commission in every state to ensure that the state government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on the state police “

There is also a need “for laying down the broad policy guidelines so that the state police always acts according to the laws of the land and the Constitution of the country.”

The Court had suggested, "This watchdog body shall be headed by the chief minister or home minister as chairman and have the DGP of the state as its ex-officio secretary. The other members of the commission shall be chosen in such a manner that it is able to function independent of government control. For this purpose, the state may choose any of the models recommended by the NHRC, the Ribeiro Committee or the Sorabjee Committee."

I think police reforms is a much larger issue and time has come to give it the priority and importance it deserves. A modern police force requires not only modern equipments but also a modern outlook. So there is a need to bring structural change in all aspects ranging from training to the basic functioning of the police stations.

There is an urgent need for upgrading technology at all levels, improvement in working conditions and boosting the moral of our police force. However, the most important factor is accountability. The most common perception about our police organisations among common people is that they are law unto themselves. The common people often wonder whom are our cops accountable to? And if they are accountable to someone then why doesn’t this accountability gets reflected in the way they function.

I guess this is a good opportunity to initiate time bound action plan at all levels to modern and model police forces across the country.

A tale of two power centres

It is ironic, to say, the least that as the BRIC summit in Durban was underway earlier this week, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attending the meet there, a controversy surrounding a report by an international leading agency condoning the well known fact that UPA government’s poor performance owes a great deal to having two power centres and the PM having limited influence, has come to fore again.

In June 2012, Standard and Poor’s , a well-known international rating agency had come out with a report attracting ire of Congress leaders who had criticised it vehemently. The S&P report titled “Will India be the first BRIC fallen angel?”, had said: “The division of roles between a politically powerful Congress party President (Sonia Gandhi), who can take credit for the party’s two recent national election victories, and an appointed Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh), has weakened the framework for making economic policy, in our view.” The report also clearly indicated that the PM has “limited influence” and this is affecting India’s growth and economic prowess, directly or indirectly. 

Interestingly, 10 months down the line Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said in a television interview broadcast on News X channel (on 26 March, 2013) “Personally, I feel that this model hasn’t worked very well. Because…there should not be two power centres. And I think whoever is the Prime Minister must have the authority to function, although Sonia Gandhi has really never interfered in the functioning of the government.”

No Congress leader would dare to say that Sonia Gandhi interferes in the functioning of the government but we all know what is reality. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s has been making the point for quite some times that this UPA government is run by a “remote control” and that is not doing any good to this country.

I think, with India’s growth in doldrums, for people having national interest in their minds, it is time to revisit the issue once again as according to the S&P report the existing power structure within the UPA government is definitely harming India’s economic interests, to say the least. The S& P report had clearly mentioned that the divided leadership is proving to be one of the biggest hurdles in terms of expediting economic reforms.

It is unfortunate that party politics seem to have taken precedence over national interest as far as UPA government is concerned. And this has led to reversal of gains made by the country on all fronts during the NDA regime when there was much better coordination and the government was run as it should be run. The country had witnessed an economic boom during those years as policies were formulated and implemented within reasonable timeframes with the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee being at the helm of affairs in the real sense. He was supported by an able team of ministers. The real focus was “Nation Building” and there was no place for political sycophancy.

The people of this country want that the nation building should be the top priority of a government . But that cannot happen when there are two power centres as this negates the basic principles of good governance.

Brutalized and targeted for being Hindus

It is a grave cause of concern that Hindus are getting persecuted in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The systematic campaign against Hindus carried out by fundamental organisations and individuals in these countries have intensified in the recent times and the governments and authorities there seem to be mute spectators .

In fact the persecution of Hindus in these two countries is not a recent phenomenon though it has further intensified of late . The adversities faced by Hindus as a minority group is reflected in the drastic reduction in their numbers both in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In Pakistan, the population of Hindus was 22 per cent in 1951. In 1998 it came down to around 1.6 per cent and today it is believed to be less than one per cent! How does one explain this except the fact that Hindus have been systematically victimised in Pakistan.

Similarly in Bangladesh, a country for whose existence Indians too shed their blood, sweat and tears, the population of Hindus has come down dramatically. At the time of partition in 1947, the Hindu population in what is now Bangladesh, was approximately 31%. By 1961, Hindus comprised 19% of the population, and by 1974, the Hindu community had further declined to 14%. In 1991, the Hindu population in Bangladesh should have been 32.5 million, considering normal rates of growth. The actual population was only 12.5 million. By this calculation, the number of Hindus missing from Bangladesh over the two decades ending in 1991 is 20 million. This figure includes both those persons killed or forced to flee the country. The number of Hindus who fled Bangladesh between 1964 and 1991 was estimated at “5.3 million people or 535 people per day.”

Bangladesh now has a total population of approximately 158.6 million people, only about 9% of who are Hindus. The percentage of the Hindu community in Bangladesh has dropped from 31% to 9% (or less) in the span of 60 years. The Hindu population, as a share of the total population, dropped from 18% in 1961 to 12% in 1981, and finally to 9% in 2001.

In both these countries, Hindus are subjected to murders, rapes and all sorts of discrimination. These incidents have been documented by a number of organisations. Hundreds of them have been fleeing to India and seeking Indian citizenship. But we do not even have a clear policy of giving immediate relief and permanent citizenship to these hapless Hindu refugees. So they either continue to languish in inhumane conditions temporarily here before being sent back to these countries where they face the gravest threat to their lives and dignity.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) has aptly passed a resolution in the recent meeting of its “Pratinidhi Sabha” at Jaipur, highlighting the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is a wake-up call which should not go unheard.

I think that this issue demands much greater attention from Indian intelligentsia, media, other opinion makers and political establishment. Without indulging in any form of rhetoric all like-minded individuals and organisations must join hands together on this issue to restore the dignity of Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan and this needs to be done without any further delay as they are on the verge of extinction there.