INDIA IS one of the fastest growing economies in the world but still many intellectuals have argued that the nation’s progress is not holistic. A look at the ground reality reveals that these claims aren’t baseless. Problems like poverty, hunger, malnutrition, unemployment and illiteracy etc show no signs of depreciating even in the view of myriads of schemes and policies being initiated for the same. Then there is a steadily increasing toll of terrorist attacks and communal riots which have almost placed the country at the doorstep of a civil war. All the discussions about correcting these things reveal that all the above cited problems are interrelated and that the solution to any (or all) of them zeroes down to the problem of rampant corruption. And this definitely is not a novel reason that I am introducing here. Hitherto, corruption has been an inseparable part of our system but my humble proposition here is that the biggest cause of ever increasing corruption and many other similar problems in our country is the inefficient police force.

I am not blaming the situation entirely on the police force and I am well acquainted with the fact that there is a dire need of improving the working conditions and infrastructure for them. I am trying to picture a utopia where I see more than half of the problems solved in view of a highly efficient, revered and friendly police force. All these adjectives have a profound meaning but before I elaborate on them let’s have a glimpse of the consequences of an ill run police force which has not been paid the requisite heed.

India ranks 70 in the list of 163 least corrupted countries and the notorious bureaucracy of the country is highly lackadaisical and inefficient. This is largely because bureaucrats of all ranks indulge in the highest order of corrupt dealings without any fear of the police, the custodians of law and order because these officials are adept in settling issues with the policemen by bribing or influencing them. Here it will be interesting to note that the total monetary value of the bribe paid in the nation over the last one year works out to be Rs 3899 crores and that 53 per cent and 43 per cent of constables in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, respectively, were transferred from one district to another or from one place to another in less than a year. Its clear that the police is not functioning in the requisite fashion which results in the whole system being involved in filling their own pockets and the schemes initiated for the general public are never implemented.

The other reason that corruption levels and number of crimes are soaring high is that the common man in the country thinks lowly about the police force and would hardly want to indulge in the nasty police matters. According to the surveys, nearly nine out of every ten (87 per cent) respondents who had interacted with the police agreed that there are serious loopholes in the functioning. This tarnished image promotes working in the system through cumshaws, important cases not being brought to limelight and witnesses turning hostile.

We live in a country where hypocrites reign supreme and though many won’t admit but often attempts to do things in a just and right way are brutally curbed. Many people initially try to change the system but later compromise to keep themselves and their families safe. The point I am trying to put forth here need not be explicitly said because its very much evident in the scenario we are living in. In a nutshell, even after 61years of independence the Indian police force has failed to provide an ambiance wherein people willing to do things in the right way can do it fearlessly.

Of late mob violence has taken a new dimension which has created havoc in various parts of the country. Also there has been communal tensions all around. Fanatic groups like Bajrang Dal and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) created ruckus while the police could not do much in view of the political interference.

Now, it needs to be clearly stated that I am not here to castigate the Indian police force. Instead my intention is to emphasise on the dire need of honing it which I strongly feel can help in solving many other problems too.

Undoubtedly, the police force is expected to carry out probably one of the most risky, stressful and important work in the country. But the infrastructure and facilities provided to them to do the same are pathetic and with this we really can’t expect them to fulfill all our expectations. We have nearly 120 crore people and 6.5 lakh towns and villages but only 14,000 police stations and about 50 lakh crimes are registered everyday. There is a dire need to improve the working conditions by providing them requisite manpower, machines, facilities etc.

Apart from this, political intervention and a dismal and non-cooperative attitude from the common mass further mar the efficiency of the police force. As advocated by the National Police Commission, a chief of police of a state should be given a fixed tenure of office so as to encourage functional independence. Also the selection of the police chief could be entrusted to an expert committee (maybe headed by UPSC chairperson). The committee may be given a pre-specified number of candidates, decided on the basis of seniority, to choose from. Only these measures will remedy the current plight. The forces should also be helped with stress management. It’s high time that strict actions be taken to make the police force more autonomous.

In the end I’d like to cite the example of the defence forces of the country which all of us are proud of. And this is possible because it has been given the adequate set of powers and requisite independence to function well. There would be myriads of people ( even those who may be averse to almost everything which has the tag - Indian ) who can vouch that the Indian army rocks and on the contrary there is Indian police force that lately compelled the chief minister of a state to say, “ My police force is corrupt.” While Indian Army is sought after in times of dire need, hardly anyone would like to intervene in the nasty police matters. It may sound bizarre to even compare the two. But this is high time to delve into harsh realities about our nation’s police force and make them self-sufficient so that they fulfill their duties in a superb fashion and lead the nation towards real development.