Guns and Roses

The police in India are a good instrument to use and abuse at will for politicians

Thursday morning started with an interesting piece of news. No, not one, but two. Talk of coincidence, both the incidents happened at the Indian airport in Chennai, formerly known as Madras . The first one was the case of a French cartoonist on vacation being roughed up by securitymen for lighting up in a non-smoking area. The other, interestingly, was the case of a former federal aviation minister trying to board an aircraft with a loaded pistol in his hand baggage. A pouch containing bullets was also found in his bag.
CM Ibrahim is no stranger to controversy. The former minister’s reaction to the ruckus is not known but the news report made it clear that he was allowed to board the plane and continue the journey.
While the news of the roughing up of the Frenchman would provide some devious pleasure to a few in the light of Indians and others being detained at western airports on “suspicions” and others being racially profiled, the simple truth here is the Indian securitymen behaved just as they have been trained — beat to pulp anyone who dares question them, unless of course, he is some politician.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, which guard the airports in the country, were initially raised as a force to protect government-owned industrial plants from thieves and saboteurs who were handed out rough justice when caught in the act. Handling air passengers is not their forte. Therefore, there is no point in blaming them for the Frenchman’s misfortune. It was a Pavlonian reaction on the part of the CISF — Frenchman or Indian, air traveller or rickshawallah — their justice is blind, beat him to pulp. Shoot first, ask questions later.
Meting out rough justice is but not the forte of the CISF alone, and as a colleague (who is the son of a police officer) remarked: “The Frenchman is lucky he was not handled by our local policemen!” The truth can’t be better. Indian policemen still behave the way they were 100 years back when the British were the masters and the police were the means to subjugate the restive natives who were asking for freedom from colonialism.
Anyone who has seen the movie Gandhi will have vivid memories of the policemen’s handling of the strikers at the Salt Satyagraha in Dandi. The cruelty was appalling but was a reality of those days. But there is no point in blaming the British. They left nearly 60 years ago, leaving behind some good institutions and some bad like the police force. Those who followed the British in the line of governance found the police a good instrument to use and abuse at will. No real effort was put in to reform the force in tune with the changed realities. The police machinery was reduced to the role of a force to be used for achieving the narrow political ends of the governing class. In the process the force learnt they have to fear only one species – the politician. The rest are of no consequence.
Recently, I read an article by a much-travelled Indian writer. His point was that India was one of the few places in the world where the citizen addressed the policeman as “Sir.” In developed countries it was the other way around – the policeman addressed the citizen as “Sir.” The reason, the writer opined, was the training that went into turning a normal guy into a policeman. He is taught who pays his salary, it is the tax payer, that is, you and me. He is the master and, not the other way around. Till this issue is sorted out the Indian policemen will make merry thrashing people and killing them in police lock-ups and their political bosses will collect rain cheques from them to protect them. The show will continue.
Meanwhile, VIPs like Ibrahim go scot-free for trying to carry loaded guns into airliners. Though his weapon was confiscated by the securitymen he was not arrested for the gross offence of trying to take gun inside the aircraft and produced before a magistrate as the law requires. His gun was confiscated because he did not have the licence papers with him. How nice. Can anyone see such a courteous police force anywhere in the world?
The report went on to add that CISF sources said Ibrahim had faxed the details of his pistol licence and it was found to be valid. No questions asked. His gun would have been released in double quick time.
That is rule of law in India for you.

This article was first published in Oman Tribune