There was poetic injustice in a policeman addressing a public gathering (read again, public gathering) in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, ironically called, Police Ki Pathshala (literally, All about the Police) when he said straight-faced and triumphantly, ‘Police officials are the most honest. If the police have taken money from you and said that they will get your work done, then they will get your work done’.
This shocker came from a state where the ruling dispensation is punting on returning to power owing to its claimed stellar record on law and order. Though, a Member of Parliament from the ruling party who is increasingly speaking his mind, Varun Gandhi, conceded, ‘When one looks at the comparison, empirically…the NCRB crime statistics of UP from 2016 to 2020 – the highest amount of murders, kidnappings and abductions, number of cases on dowry prohibition, SC/St, NDPS are in the state. Highest number of sexual harassment cases under Section 354.’
Further, in a recent chilling condemnation of the UP police’s unilateral highhandedness in arresting a Delhi family without informing the Delhi Police, the Delhi High Court slammed, UP main chalta hoga, yahan nahin (This may be the way in UP, will not work here).
Compromises Made By Police Forces
But the concern is not just about our oldest and the largest state police force of almost 2.5 Lakh personnel (more than the standing strength of Militaries in United Kingdom, Germany, or Japan) – it’s about the status of a force/state touted as ‘top spot’, by no less than the Union Minister of Home Affairs. It should be remembered, the junior Union Minister of Home Affairs remains mired in his own familial affairs in UP, pertaining to law and order.
Nonetheless, the state force that marches to its seemingly sardonic motto Suraksha Aapki, Sankalp Humara (Your Protection, Our Pledge), has indeed given some of the finest and most accomplished officers in police uniform, individually.
But in deeply politicised times like now, perception is reality and not the reality itself, so depending on whom you ask, the view on law and order in UP will emerge contrastively. Hard reality is, that there wouldn’t be much difference in perceptions or reality on law and order, in other states and union territories, either.
The overall rot as it were, is democratically widespread. Nothing signifies the systemic morass of the police forces, then the diminishment and compromises associated with the rank and majesty of the force, vested in its supreme officer, the Director General of Police ie, DGPs.
Russian Roulette of Top Job
A state like Punjab has approximately 70,000 police personnel in toto, though its top-heavy structure was exemplified by the presence of 11 DGP level rank officers ('3 Star' officials), at one time.
Equivalently, a solitary Army Corp Commander ('3-Star' Lt General) on the border marshals about 70,000 troops, with the additional complexity of taking on the Chinese/Pakistani hostility, directly and everyday. Moreover, amongst the many aspirants for the post of the principal DGP of the State Police, the Russian roulette of political wrangling, preferences and indebtedness, continues unabated.
In the rarefied air of command-and-control environments governing the uniformed forces, the optics of leadership is invaluable beyond words in determining the culture, standards, and ethos for the entirety of the force. All eyes are forever on the topmost rank to internalise, normalise and personify the visibilised behavioural demonstration of the DGP.
When the Fount is Poisoned
If the ‘flag’ as the forebearer of defender or enforcer of the Constitution surrenders that primary role to political/partisan consideration, then the rest of the edifice, bends accordingly. The adherence to the mandated apolitical independence of the institution, from the divisive politics of the day, is the only thing that truly differentiates the behavioural outcomes between the Armed Forces and the state police force. Soldiers from the same stock and families, display different behaviours under different ‘uniforms’, depending on the distance of the said uniform, from political interferences.
Therefore, it was with a foreboding sense of danger to the traditional ethos of the Armed Forces (who cannot remain insulated beyond a point), that responsible veterans recently called out the hate-speeches in a religious conclave that militate against the institution’s constitutional anchorage and harmonious belief systems.
That disassociation and disagreement with the unconstitutional and uncivilised societal-political expression, was telling. Often the ‘top-job’ in the state policing force owes its tenement to the ‘loyalty’ towards political leadership (and not necessarily on the account of seniority, experience, or other professional competency matters). The rank and file below watch the dynamics surrounding the DGPs very carefully and calibrate their own instincts accordingly.
Freeing the Forces Makes Political Class Weaker
Impending elections in the four States nails some unsavoury details pertaining to the posts of DGPs. In one state, the DGP had earlier been suspended by the erstwhile government for alleged irregularities in police recruitment, in another state the DGP suddenly took voluntary retirement (likely to contest upcoming elections), and in yet another State the keenly watched drama with clear political preferences held sway, till one was finally appointed – the political imprint, comfort and angularity in almost each case, apparent.
Former DGP (Uttar Pradesh, Assam & BSF) and arguably amongst the most professional and upright officers, Prakash Singh, spearheaded the much-needed action on Policing reform and structural changes, where he principally sought to insulate the forces from political pressures.
His reports like 'Role of officers of Civil Administration and Police' following the thoroughly embarrassing capitulation by the state police in the face of a mob, and many more findings, still gather dust in the corridors of power. Absolutely no political party, national or regional (without any exception) has shown any inclination to relinquish their vicelike grip on a force that sanctions the visible symbols of political authority, power, and intimidation.
The thought of freeing the forces enfeebles the political classes, irrespective of the political rhetoric and grandstanding of ‘non-interference’ of the institution, purported by political classes. However, the prevailing system that rewards cosying up to the ruling dispensations in the states or Centre, is a self-defeating perpetuation.
Why DGPs Do Not Hold the Political Class Accountable
Today almost all the states avoid coopting UPSC for empaneling the prospective DGP’s, thereby diluting the directions passed by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case. Because, the states with the same political party as the Centre tend to do the same – the Centre too, is unable to make a forceful case, as each political party has its own proverbial skeletons in the cupboard.
Even as no tangible progress on policing reforms takes place, the masses still remain enthralled about the vastly ‘improved’ or ‘deteriorated’ law and order situation prevailing – with the lamentable prism of partisanship, writ all over the institutional perceptions.
There has hardly ever been a case of a DGP taking on a ‘wrong’ as not perceived so, by the political masters in the state, and innumerable instances of them offering invaluable ‘covering fire’ on matters that suits the dispensation. Till the time the police forces are able to extricate themselves from the political clutches, even the states with the worst record of custodial deaths can openly claim ‘top-spots’ on law and order. As facts are not the reality, only perception based on partisanship is.
(Lt Gen Bhopinder Singh (Retd) is a Former Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Puducherry. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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