http://timesofindia
COMMENT
Abuse Of Power
28 December 2009, 12:00am IST
The way a university professor was branded a 'Naxalite' and assaulted
by policemen in Bihar is most disturbing. According to Jamia Millia
Islamia professor Rahul Ramagundam, he and a companion were beaten up
by the police for asking why homes of Dalits in Amausi village were
being demolished. While we still await the police version of events,
why is it that prima facie we don't find anything surprising about the
events? That's because the police far too often abuse their authority,
and more so in the poorly governed states.
Instances of human rights abuse by the police are too many to recount.
In the past few days, the way former Haryana inspector-general of
police S P S Rathore tried to subvert justice after being accused of
molesting a teen has come to light. This is partly due to the media
having taken up the molestation case as a wrong that needs to be
redressed. But there are many more instances where the police
routinely abuse their authority that go unrecorded and unreported.
Those at the receiving end are more often than not unlettered and poor
people who don't have the means to raise their voices against the
state. It's only when the violations assume shocking proportions such
as the Bhagalpur blindings of nearly three decades ago where several
undertrials were blinded by the police that we sit up and take notice.
There is a different kind of abuse of power in Naxalite-affected
areas. Here in the name of maintaining law and order, the police often
overstep the line. The incident at Amausi falls in this category.
Anyone who is seen to be sympathetic to tribals or the oppressed is in
the danger of being branded a Naxalite. This is an absurd policy on
the part of the administration. There are so many people who believe
that tribals or Dalits have legitimate grievances against the state
but at the same time are critical of Naxalites and their strategy. If
the police and the administration cannot make this distinction, it
would only prove to be counterproductive to their strategy of
containing Naxalites and other militants.
We need to rethink the way the police function as an institution. The
police haven't yet shed many of their colonial-era trappings and still
have an adversarial relationship with citizens. They haven't been able
to win the trust of the people, something that is reflected in popular
culture. Incidents such as the one involving the Jamia professor who
is ironically a respected Gandhian scholar and activist only help in
reinforcing the poor image of the police.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD?
Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to ZESTMedia-digest@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/
PARTICIPATE:-
On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com
TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:-
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to ZESTCaste-subscribe@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/
Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/
No comments:
Post a Comment