welcome !!! presenter: dr g s bajpai commonwealth fellow department of criminology university of...
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome !!! Presenter:
Dr G S BajpaiCommonwealth Fellow
Department of Criminology
University of Leicester(UK) [email protected]://www.forensic.to/webhome/drgsbajpai
The presentation is available at
http://www.forensic.to/webhome/drgsbajpai/presentation.ppt
India: Policing a Post Colonial Inheritance?
Seminar Question:
To what extent have the Indian Indian policepolice overcome the colonial colonial inheritance?
On Colonialism
As per Oxford dictionary the word colonialism has fairly recently acquired the meaning of "alleged policy of exploitation of backward or weak peoples by a large power."
(http://www.postcolonialweb.org/poldiscourse/colony2.html)
On On ColonialismColonialism
Colonialism is a system in which a state claims sovereignty over territory and people outside its own boundaries, often to facilitate economic domination over their resources, labor, and often markets. The term also refers to a set of beliefs used to legitimate or promote this system, especially the belief that the mores of the colonizer are superior to those of the colonized.
Basic Police Data I
The Indian Police cater to One Billion plus Population
India is a union of 30 states and 7 union territories (Area 3,287,263 sq km)
Police are a State subject Each state/ union territory has its own
separate police force There are central police organisations for
specialised work.
Basic Police Data II The total combined strength of the
state/union territory police forces: 14,49,761 The strength of CPOs - 5,28,370. Police- Population Ratio- 10: 10,000 Police Area Ratio: 34 Policemen per Sq KM. 85% are constables
The Police System - A Colonial Legacy ?
The police system in India was established by the Police Act of 1861
This legislation came in the wake of the Indian Sepoy Mutiny of 1857
Aim was to quell rebellion & Perpetuate the rule
The Police Act produced A Police Force:
totally subservient to the executive accountable to anyone except their
own hierarchy and the executive;whose managerial philosophy was based on distrust of the lower ranks; highly militaristic and authoritarian in design’
Making of Colonial Police- Features
1. Police made subservient to executive and not community
2. Accountability crisis 3. Duel control 4. Structurally embedded Elitist
bias
(contd…)
Making of Colonial Police- Features
5. Managerial and record keeping practices
6. Judicial distrust
7. Recruitment
8.Training (outdoor and physical vs. indoor and academic)
Making of Colonial Police- Features
9. Partisan and political Image of Police
10. Authoritarian/Militaristic /Regimental
11. Brutal and arrogant
Making of Colonial Police- Features
11. Lacked transparency
12. Insensitive to people
13. Police subculture brand
The Police System - A Colonial Legacy ?
The British Govt appointed Indian Police Commission( 1902-03) said-
‘The police force is far from efficient, it is defective in training and organization, it is inadequately supervised, it is generally regarded as corrupt and oppressive, and it has utterly failed to secure the confidence and cordial cooperation of the people.’
The Debate
To what extent have the Indian police overcome the colonial inheritance?
After Independence_ Shadow of Colonialism
The advent of Independence changed the political system, but the police system remained more or less unaltered:
The Police Act of 1861 or state legislation modeled on the Act continued to govern it.
(contd…..)
Persistence---
The powers to exercise control and superintendence over the police remained the same
It remained largely unaccountable to the public.
Persistence……
Its managerial philosophy, value system and ethos remained what they were.
It was a ruler or establishment supportive police force and continued to remain so.
‘Overcoming’ may be traced in following initiatives:
1. Police Reforms: Appointment of Police Reform
commission by the statesGore committee on Police training,
1971National Police Commission 1979-81 (Contd……)
Overcoming….The Ribeiro Committee on Police
Reforms, 1998The Padmanabhaiah Committee on
Police Reforms, 2000The National Human Rights
Commission, 1993 The NGOs movement - The CHRI's
Initiatives
Indian Police Overcoming colonialism by 2. Structural Changes Specialized Units (women, juvenile,
weaker sections, rural, etc) IOs number enhanced
Indian Police Overcoming colonialism by3.Police training Varied inputs Forensic Weaponry Computer Human Rights Contd….
Indian Police Overcoming colonialism by
Community policing Human Rights sensitization Police complaint system Media Audit Judicial Activism
Individual Police Initiatives
Community policing Modernisation Police image Leadership
Concluding: Overcoming is possible by reforms Reforms at four levels1. Government- ( highly inadequate)2. Within organization( somewhat OK)3. Public ( beginning )4. Civil society ( Effective)
Concluding: Reforms to overcome
colonialism:1. Repealing Police Act 18612. Introduction of NPCs
recommendations: New Police Act Security commission
Additional Readings1. Police and Crime by Dr. Anand Swarup Gupta2. Defenders of Establishment- Ruler Supportive
Police Forces of South Asia by K.S. Dhillon ( Published by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla
3. Police, Power and Colonial Rule: Madras 1859 to 1947 by David Arnold
4. Police Power and Colonial Rule Madras 1859-1947 David Arnold