Foreword and prologue
ForewordHuman in Khaki is a remarkable book from the pen of a police officer. It is a compilation of real life experiences which are like a whiff of fresh air and show the innate humanity and compassion which is there in a fairly large number of police officers. Unfortunately it is only acts of police high-handedness and brutality that attract media attention. Much of the good work remains unnoticed, unsung and unrecognized. “The best portion of a good man’s life”, as Wordsworth said, “are his little acts of kindness and love”. Ashok Kumar’s book narrates incidents where his humane and understanding approach wiped the tears of a rape victim, a man threatened with extortion, a person whose land had been grabbed, and facilitated framing of charges against persons accused of dowry death or guilty of exploiting a minor girl.
There is a lot of literature on police available in the market. Much of it deals with professional matters of investigation and detection. There are also books which revolve around distinguished personalities, narrating their experiences or expounding their views on topical issues. The present one strings simple, everyday stories in a sensitive manner, throwing light on the humane side of a police officer’s character and how he was able to redress the grievances of victims with the resources already at his disposal. There is so much that can be done without any legislative support. There is so much that can be done in spite of the shortage of manpower and paucity of resources.
Police job in India is perhaps more difficult than in any other part of the world. You name a problem, and it is reflected in one part of the country or another. The stress and strain is enormous. Every year about a thousand or more policemen are killed while performing their duties. And yet, the police is always in the dock. The powers that be have combined to virtually emasculate the force and now they are stonewalling the implementation of Police Reforms directed by the Supreme Court of India. The reforms, it needs to be emphasised, are not to empower the police, but to make it uphold the Rule of Law, more accountable and protect the human rights of the people.
The central theme of the book is that even while working within the confines of the system, which imposes tremendous constraints, a police officer can still do a lot to serve the people whose life, property and honour – human rights, in other words – he is mandated to protect. Struggle to change the system and make it accountable to the laws of the land and the Constitution of the country will continue. But meanwhile, whatever positive work can be done even under the existing system must be done in the larger interests of the society.
– Prakash Singh,
Padmashri
formerly Director General BSF,
DGP UP and DGP Assam
Prologue : The Inspiration
The seed for this book was sown the day I had the good fortune to join IIT Delhi. The stark contrast between my rural upbringing in a village in Haryana and the highly competitive environs of one of the best technological institutions in the world, that too in the nation’s capital, vividly brought to light the two opposite directions in which my country was heading. A unique value system grew within me and I wanted to bridge this gap between the haves and the have-nots. A will to bring about visible change that could really help the needy and the poor made me change my direction from engineering to the civil services.
Having accomplished my engineering studies at IIT, I joined the Indian Police Service exuding confidence in ideals that I had come to hold dear. With all the enthusiasm of a debutante, I picked up my pen and started jotting down stray thoughts in a diary during my days as a trainee at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. And once the flood gates of memory were shaken a little, thoughts just flowed through like the impatient waters in a barrage, awaiting an outlet. I reminisced about the days at IIT and after. But these notes would remain just jottings, stray pieces of heartfelt emotions lying less between the dog-eared pages of an old diary and more within the heart of a human being making efforts to do justice to the Khaki that he had donned. As I transformed from an IITian to a cop, public perception underwent a sea change. I have been haunted by this significance attached to labels and tags that we come to associate people with. And therefore, this book.
As I put in more and more years of service in the police force, at various stations, in various capacities, it became quite clear to me that despite all odds, I had been able to touch and make a difference to the lives of several ordinary people - people who had no connections, nor pockets full of cash. They were just ‘people’ – hoping, justifiably, to obtain redress from a system that was ostensibly put in place to serve them.
Incident after incident occurred, and my faith in a people-sensitive approach was reinforced. No doubt, the organs within the system, and its own inertia, raised hurdles at every step, and left me wondering whether the man on the street had any hope of securing justice for himself unless he acquired the two magic potions of our society – money and muscle power.
The system, the so-called ‘iron frame’, could be used as an effective tool to come to the aid of the citizen if there was a will in those who were empowered to make it work. This, in sum, has been my humble effort. Simply put, it is a philosophy of careful listening, understanding the victim's anguish as a fellow human and trying to relieve the pain as directly, with as hands-on an approach, as possible. This is easier said than done. Hence the need to narrate a few incidents to indicate that people-oriented policing is indeed a distinct possibility. The system may be in need of change, but its break down cannot be afforded. In most cases it is not the system per se but the people who run it who are responsible for its failure. If the people vested with power have the courage of conviction and sensitivity, the same system, with minor changes in approach and attitude can be made more effective and responsive to the needs of the people for whom it was created.
This book has appeared now as it strings together anecdotes of tenures at various stations. In the police service, as a fellow officer very aptly put it, “There’s never a dull moment”. Every day brings with it new challenges. These are stories of challenges faced with sensitivity, empathy and passion. Stories that I felt should reach a wider audience just to ensure that the man on the street is not disillusioned.
Through my career as a policeman, I have measured my actions against a common yardstick, inspired no doubt by Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman for all Indians – Will my action be good for society? Will it help the person who is right? Will it bring relief to the victim? Will it deter the wrongdoer?
If a policeman were to seek answers to these basic questions, he is likely to discharge his duties more satisfactorily. It has been my firm belief that the parameters against which a policeman's performance can be measured could be sincerity, honest, integrity, dedication and hard work, but the ultimate benchmark always has to be his effectiveness in helping the poor, the needy and the suppressed.
The aim of this book is to show that the right way to approach P-3 Policing – Positive, Passionate and People-friendly policing, is through basic human qualities – sincerity… honesty… courage… boldness… sensitivity… leadership… approachability and above all, the knack of winning people’s confidence.
And the officer better beware. His decisions, generally arrived at in times of crisis, are likely to have far reaching implications. As the saying goes,
“If a doctor commits a mistake, a person suffers, maybe even dies,
If an engineer commits an error, a few suffer,
If a police officer commits a mistake, entire society gets disheartened.”
This book is neither meant to be a biography, nor a work of research. It does not seek to preach to anyone but just strings together anecdotes and thoughts from a policeman’s life in the fond hope that society as a whole may gain from this effort.
Two people have pooled in their efforts to bring out this book in order to ensure that the narrative and commentary retain their objectivity and state the point. It has been the effort of both that the book is not reduced to a monologue of self appreciation.
Some names of people and places have been changed to protect identity of characters. Some incidents have also been modified at some places keeping in mind the sensitivities of the victims.
One sincerely hopes that the book will give confidence to the ordinary individual to approach the police and seek redress. It just seeks to reaffirm that policemen are also human beings who derive immense satisfaction from returning a kidnapped child to his parents, on returning a smile back on the trembling lips of a wronged woman, on ridding an old couple of the mental torture from extortion mafia, or to get to the bottom of a murder mystery that fails to yield any clues...
With a lot of hope,
Ashok Kumar
