07-06-2005, 04:30 AM
Indian Administration
K.P.S. Gill says it as it is:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Asked to write about the Gujarat riots of 2002 by an European magazine, I was groping for images to convey the abject and inexcusable failure of the police to an audience not familiar with the functioning of the Indian police and the context they operate in. It was at this juncture I came across the photograph published on the front page of The Indian Express on July 2, of a joint commissioner of policeâhis name deserves to be reiterated here for his âexemplaryâ conduct, K. Kumaraswamyâriding on the shoulders of a constable in Vadodara, his trousers rolled up, appearing the more arrogant in dark glasses, looking smug and comfortable as the man carrying him wades through flood waters. Had he been carrying the constable, I would have commended him highly. An officer is meant to take care of his men. As it stands, he has disgraced his rank, uniform and service.
This image graphically reflects the utter collapse, not only of the Gujarat Police, but of the entire national administration, and is a slap in the face of the complete administrative echelon, right from the PM down to the lowliest babu. It is evident our system is now creating a race of âpalanquin commandersâ, indolent men, utterly enslaved by the privileges of rank, but equally incapable of meeting the challenges of their sworn duty. We have a police leadership afraid of getting its trousers wet; that treats its men as mules; and that has become soft, unwilling to get its hands dirty, unable to face adverse situations. And the problem extends to the top administrative hierarchy across the country. This is why, in crisis after crisis, the public complains about administrative failure, a failure located squarely at the leadership level, for the rank and file of our forces remain unreservedly willing to do their utmost and put their lives at risk. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
K.P.S. Gill says it as it is:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Asked to write about the Gujarat riots of 2002 by an European magazine, I was groping for images to convey the abject and inexcusable failure of the police to an audience not familiar with the functioning of the Indian police and the context they operate in. It was at this juncture I came across the photograph published on the front page of The Indian Express on July 2, of a joint commissioner of policeâhis name deserves to be reiterated here for his âexemplaryâ conduct, K. Kumaraswamyâriding on the shoulders of a constable in Vadodara, his trousers rolled up, appearing the more arrogant in dark glasses, looking smug and comfortable as the man carrying him wades through flood waters. Had he been carrying the constable, I would have commended him highly. An officer is meant to take care of his men. As it stands, he has disgraced his rank, uniform and service.
This image graphically reflects the utter collapse, not only of the Gujarat Police, but of the entire national administration, and is a slap in the face of the complete administrative echelon, right from the PM down to the lowliest babu. It is evident our system is now creating a race of âpalanquin commandersâ, indolent men, utterly enslaved by the privileges of rank, but equally incapable of meeting the challenges of their sworn duty. We have a police leadership afraid of getting its trousers wet; that treats its men as mules; and that has become soft, unwilling to get its hands dirty, unable to face adverse situations. And the problem extends to the top administrative hierarchy across the country. This is why, in crisis after crisis, the public complains about administrative failure, a failure located squarely at the leadership level, for the rank and file of our forces remain unreservedly willing to do their utmost and put their lives at risk. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->