"Indira Gandhi used to appoint retired Army Chiefs as Ambassadors. How would it appear if retired career diplomats were appointed as Army Chiefs?" Words to this effect were reported to have been spoken by a senior retired Indian diplomat, some time ago. The analogy, on the face of it, seems absurd. In any field of public service, the question really is one of finding the right man for the right job. A genuine and unadulterated desire to serve, an equally genuine and unadulterated liking for people, a large dollop of commonsense, a liberal helping of humour, a balanced temperament and a broad knowledge of human psychology— these are the basic ingredients which make a good public servant in democratic India.

        In January 1985, when I was appointed Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia, some sceptics asked me how a cop was going to fare as a diplomat. I put a counter-question: "What else is a successful cop in a democratic society if not a diplomat?" In many ways, I felt I was training for this job for the last thirty five years!

        During a span of nearly fifty years after independence, I was destined by Providence to serve in a number of important positions and observe the wide spectrum of human behaviour: as an academician and a judge; as a policeman and a prisons official; as a trainer and a researcher; as a bureaucrat and a U.N. expert and, finally, as a finance man and a diplomat. The assorted collection of selected essays presented in this volume is an attempt to cover the entire gamut of my varied experience. It does not claim to represent the cumulative wisdom of an arm-chair academic but it does represent the random reflections of one who has gone through the mill. These essays have already appeared in various national and international journals and newspapers and must, therefore, be read in the context in which they were written.

         In a world riddled with violence, crime and disorder, "the Police have become the touchstone of the spirit and quality of civil administration of a country".' (Police by Coatman). The role of the Police has always fuelled coffee­house discussions, media comments, public scrutiny and debates all over the world.

         Five decades after independence, India continues to be a "society in transition", "a welfare state in the making" and "a poor, industrialised society" as some would like to call it-Some have even called it the most complex society in the world. In a rapidly changing social situation in which old values and aspirations are giving place to new ones, we have witnessed a sea-change in most Government departments but not in the Police. It has suited vested interests, both political and bureaucratic, to maintain the status-quo, and the role of the Police in modern India continues to be largely diffused and undefined.

          In India today, poverty may not have disappeared but the common'man has become more vocal, more articulate and more conscious and assertive of his rights than he was under the British Raj.

          If I were asked to describe in one sentence the greatest social change that has taken place in the country after independence, I would say that it was social equality.

          Youth unrest has become a world-wide phenomenon. In our own country, economic growth has not conformed to the principle of social justice, bringing in its wake undesirable social consequences. Crime and delinquency are the negative by product of lop-sided economic development. Mere stress on "rule of law" has no meaning for the common people. What is important is the "role of law", which is to ensure social justice. As things stand today, the benefits of development have not percolated to the lowest levels of society. Anarchic development and mushroom population growth have resulted in large-scale poverty and unemployment, and the consequential tensions. No wonder, frustrated and disillusioned, the young people often take to the streets.

        The implications of the social transformation for the Police in India have been aptly summed up by the Gore Committee on Police Training (1972) in the following words:

•  "(i) Police Officers should acquire a high degree of professional competence and be fully aware of the means whereby science and technology can help in police work.
  

• "(ii) They must develop a clear understanding of the social purpose of their activity and a sensitivity to the trends and forces at work in the environment in which they have to act.
  

• "(iii) They must develop attitudes in consonance with the concept of social justice contained in the constitution and the development of programmes with particular reference to the weaker sections of the community, including the poor, the minorities and the scheduled castes/tribes."
  

        India is yet to evolve into a full-fledged Welfare State, and our social services are yet to be fully developed. Rightly or wrongly, the people have a tendency to look upon the Police as their only saviour, almost the only agency which can redress all wrongs. Being the most visible symbol of State authority, it behoves the Police not to let them down.

       Gone are the days when warring factions in rural areas dispersed at the very sight of a constable or a chaprasi in uniform. This kind of a thing would be unthinkable in the India of today, and rightly so. "I can think of no task that I would less like than governing India as an autocrat," said J.K. Galbraith recently. The days when H20 (honesty, hard work and obedience) was considered a good recipe for making a successful cop are gone'. for•-ever. The qualities needed today are fundamentally different. It is not enough to say that a policeman must be a servant of the people. He has to be a lot more than this. He has to be, in a true sense, a "social scientist in action." The thorny crown of Police service is not for those of puny stature.

         The service needs giants, not pygmies. The future in the service belongs to those who possess qualities of a contradictory nature, qualities such as intellect and common-sense, firmness and tactfulness, the persuasiveness of a lawyer and the impartiality of a judge, the diagnostic skill of a doctor and the endurance power of a patient, the tact of a diplomat and the eloquence of a cabinet minister and, to top it all, the skin of a rhinoceros and the smile of a film-star!

          In a democratic set-up, the policeman must show the courage of a lion in controlling a communal riot and the meekness of a lamb when dealing with students; the energy of a tiger in chasing criminals and the wisdom of an ow J in settling disputes. Qualities such as courage, initiative, common-sense and a sense of humour are mostly inborn. It is possible to detect these qualities at the time of recruitment through well-developed psychological tests, and groom and polish them by training. What we need in the Police is the right man, not necessarily the best man from among a group of candidates appearing for selection. The assumption that intelligence and integrity, brilliance and character always go together is a fallacious one. There are many instances of brilliant officers who are not straight but are "power-hungry, manipulative, arrogant and inaccessible."

          At a Seminar on Police Administration organised by the Department of Public Administration, Post-Graduate Centre, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh (1971), Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy posed a pertinent question: "Quis Custodiet ipso Custodes? Who will police the Policeman?" He answered the question himself in the following words:

         "The courts of course are there and so is the Legislature. Their vigilance may help. But, in my opinion, it is the policeman alone who can police the policeman. The training and tradition must protect him from himself and must protect us from him. It is therefore essential that every policeman must be given a liberal education as part of his training. He must be taught what democracy means; he must be made to understand how sacred basic human rights are; he must learn to respect the dignity of the human being. He must be inspired by a deep regard for the common man and by a love of the liberties of a common man. If he learns these things, he is on the way to be a model police officer. If he learns something of law, a little of human psychology, a little of the science of detection, you have an ideal police officer."

         On 2 January, 1950, I had entered the portals of the Central Police Training College, Mount Abu, with this humble prayer:

                "God, help me to create a heaven on earth,
                 Unshapely things remould, for what I'm worth!
                  Help me to help those in distress or fear,
                  Make life sweeter or even wipe a tear!"
                                                  (From my poem A Soliloquy).

           At the time of my retirement, on 31 August, 1982, I felt that, in my own sphere of activity, my prayer had been answered in good measure:

                "The Police-public attitudes,
                 Of the olden days are changing.
                 Not merely through vain platitudes,
                 Through deeds they are now improving.

                 To Policemen of ideas new
                 Life is sweet but service sweeter!
                 Aye, they'll die that others may live;
                 For them no honour is greater.

                 Ice-cold winter or summer hot, '
                 The cop a constant vigil keeps.
                 It is, indeed, the Police lot
                 To keep awake when the world sleeps.

                 His task is great, resources few;
                 He sheds no tears, but sweat and blood,
                 You must have espied, haven't you,
                 The way he wades through fire and flood.

                 Anchored in selfless service
                 And covered with prestige and power,
                 He sees before him many skies!
                 Not for him the ivory tower.

                 The Indian 'Bobby' is to-day
                 Firm but friendly, worthy and wise.
                 The man in Khaki is, they say,
                 A social worker in disguise!"

                                                               (From my poem The Police in India).                                                                 MAHMOOD BIN MUHAMMAD


"Palm Grove"
117, Shantinagar,
Hyderabad-500 028. (A.P.) 
India.