Today morning, I was driving down to work. I stopped at the junction leading towards Brooke Bond road for the policeman's hand signal. The traffic signal was not on. There were three two-wheelers in front of me. Finally, the policeman allowed us to go. The three two-wheelers went straight while I took the right turn. Before I could pass, the policeman asked the oncoming traffic to come. I had to brake as there were two wheelers in front of me before I could go. I asked the policeman, very politely, 'Enna sir'? (What sir ?). He started shouting at me. I put up my hand in utter disgust as a sign of giving up and said, 'Eh ok' and kept coming. At some other point of time, I would have stopped and questioned his right to shout at me when he had made a mistake and had put the lives of the two-wheelers as well as me in danger by his impatience. If I had hit the two-wheeler, I am sure he would have charged me for causing hurt to the persons on the two-wheeler. He might also have written down that I broke the rule in crossing when it was halt, though it is not true. He will charge me under all possible sections. Today, I had to be in college on time and so, I continued, telling myself that talking to him will not help at all.
Is there no means or place where we can question a policeman's behaviour towards the public, especially when his action will cause danger. Or does the policeman think that whatever his action, even if it is wrong, it cannot be questioned. I hope the day will come when policemen are answerable for their actions to the public.
There was a time when I used to look upto policemen - that was when I was young - Kiran Bedi, Swaran Singh. But then that image has changed a lot. Today, good policemen are hard to come by. Whenever I find one, I always think that he is one of a dying tribe that I used to admire. You will see policemen asking for money from lorries parked in business areas as well as taking fruits and vegetables for free from the hand carts that line the road, for if the sellers object, they know that he will cause unnecessary trouble. Then you will find policemen breaking signals so often that you wonder if they are above the law of the land. Once, at a signal of four roads, I found two policemen on a bike taking a circle in the center area. God knows what they were thinking of. So, an encounter with a policeman is something you best avoid. For in India today, despite the supreme court questioning the actions of bad policemen, it continues to date.
Is there no means or place where we can question a policeman's behaviour towards the public, especially when his action will cause danger. Or does the policeman think that whatever his action, even if it is wrong, it cannot be questioned. I hope the day will come when policemen are answerable for their actions to the public.
There was a time when I used to look upto policemen - that was when I was young - Kiran Bedi, Swaran Singh. But then that image has changed a lot. Today, good policemen are hard to come by. Whenever I find one, I always think that he is one of a dying tribe that I used to admire. You will see policemen asking for money from lorries parked in business areas as well as taking fruits and vegetables for free from the hand carts that line the road, for if the sellers object, they know that he will cause unnecessary trouble. Then you will find policemen breaking signals so often that you wonder if they are above the law of the land. Once, at a signal of four roads, I found two policemen on a bike taking a circle in the center area. God knows what they were thinking of. So, an encounter with a policeman is something you best avoid. For in India today, despite the supreme court questioning the actions of bad policemen, it continues to date.
2 comments:
I'm so sorry for you. India is not "People-Centric" society as US and other countries. People don't respect each other in here, I feel really ill about this. I think these people have not evolved from monkeys yet, they are still in the process of evolution. I wish future India is much better.
I think we are a country in transition. Here,in our country, the value of human life is near to nothing, mostly nothing for we are a country of 1.2 billion and all of us are in a rat race to get somewhere. However, we have seen instances of magnanimity - the Latur earthquake, the Mumbai floods. We have a past that is so rich with culture and inclusiveness. We just need to get back to our roots. So, as an Indian, I am always positive.
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