The arduous role of the police has been made more difficult by political interference and neglect of reforms.
A police commando stands guard near the Red Fort in Delhi; (Photo: Getty)
a A clear note prepared by the Union Home Ministry after 2013, summarizing the state of police in independent India, states: “Police reforms have been on the agenda of governments since independence, but … deprived of politicization on it.” and has been accused of criminalization.It needs to be noted that the infrastructure for the police in India was created in 1861, after that there have been little changes, while the society has undergone dramatic changes.
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In a landmark judgment in September 2006, the Supreme Court directed all states and union territories to bring in police reforms and implement measures to ensure that police can function without political interference. Yet little action has been taken, while the political nature of police forces has reached new heights, with police teams from different states clashing among themselves.
a young policeman in Calcutta in the mid-1950s; (Photo: Getty Images)
The expenditure on the police has increased by more than 4,000 times since independence, but most of the expenditure is on salaries and maintenance. Even now, the Center spends only two percent of its total police budget on modernization of forces. Policing is a state subject, yet the states collectively spend only one percent of their police spending on modernization. With 21 percent of the posts vacant, there has been a slight improvement in the number of police personnel per 100,000 people—from 131 in 1951 to 194 now. The police in India certainly needs political patronage to perform well—but of a different kind—a big push in reforms and strengthening infrastructure.
