Caste and Communal Biases in Police
SR Darapuri I.P.S. (Retd)
Recently a video of a police
officer from Maharashtra, Bhagyashree Navtake had gone viral wherein she is seen
bragging about how she files false cases against Dalits and tortures them and
Muslims. It represents a crude but true picture of social prejudices in India’s
police force.
After all
our police men come from the society, hence the police organisation is the true
replica of our society. It is well known that our society is divided on caste,
religion and regional lines. Therefore, when the people from the society enter
the police organisation they carry all their biases and prejudices with them.
Rather they become stronger when such persons come to occupy positions of
power. Their personal likes and dislikes; caste and communal prejudices influence
their actions very strongly. These biases are often displayed in their
behaviour and actions in situations where persons of other castes or
communities are involved.
A
situation of blatant caste discrimination came to my notice when I was posted
as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Gorakhpur in 1976. As ASP I was in
charge of Reserve Police Lines. On one Tuesday which was a Parade Day, while
taking round of Police Mess I found that some persons were taking food sitting
on the cemented tables and benches whereas some were sitting on the ground. It
struck me as odd. I called one Head Constable and enquired about this dining
situation. He told me that those sitting on the benches are high caste men and
those sitting on the ground are low caste men. I was wonder struck to see this
blatant display of caste discrimination in the Police Lines. I decided to end
this discriminatory practice. Hence on the next occasion when I noticed the
same situation I asked the police men sitting on the ground to get up and sit
on the benches. I had to repeat it once or twice and was able to discontinue
this discriminatory practice of segregated dining. Incidentally during that
very period I was asked by my boss to give a report on the observations made by
Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which in its report of
1974 had mentioned that there was a practice of segregated messing in Police Lines
of eastern U.P. and Bihar. I told my boss that it was true and I had abolished
this practice only recently. He told me that I should just mention that it is
not there now. I don’t know about other districts of eastern U.P. but it was abolished
by me in Gorakhpur district.
It came
into news reported sometimes back that even today the
practice of not only segregated dining but there are separate barracks for high
and low caste men in Bihar Police. It is shocking that it continues even today whereas
Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had pointed out this
discriminatory practice as back as 197.
Actually the police force on
account of its composition is dominated by high caste men and such
discriminatory practices continue unabated. It is only due to reservation
policy that some persons belonging to low castes especially Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs) have found a place in police force which has
made the force more secular and representative. But still the caste biases are
quite strong in police men.
As we
know there have been very frequent complaints of communal bias against
Provincial Armed Constabulary in U.P. I found it to be true when I was posted
as Commandant of 34 Bn P.A.C. Varanasi in 1979. On noticing it I had to make
lot of efforts to secularise my men. I always made it a point to sermonise them
to be above caste and communal biases. I used to tell them that religion is
your personal affair and you are only police men when you put on your uniform
and are duty bound to act according to law. My constant briefing and debriefing
had very salutary effect on them and I was able to secularise my men. It came
very clear in 1991 during a communal riot situation in Varanasi. The occasion
was the General election of 1991. One retired I.P.S. officer Shri Chand Dixit
was contesting election from Varanasi city as a Vishav Hindu Parishad (VHP) candidate.
As usual VHP engineered a communal riot to keep the Muslims away from voting.
As a result curfew was imposed. News appeared in the papers that PAC men had
resorted to looting and beating up in a Muslim locality. I immediately started
making an enquiry. To my surprise I found that these were not PAC men but
Border Security Force (BSF) men who had resorted to looting, destroying
property and beating up of old men and women in the Muslim area. It shows that
communal biases exist not only in PAC men but even among Central Para Military
forces. No such complaint was received from the locality where men of my
Battalion were posted.
I have
experienced that the behaviour of lower ranks of police mainly depends on the
behaviour and attitudes of the higher officers. If higher officers have caste
and communal biases they are likely to accentuate the same among the men under
them. I have personally seen many top ranking police officers openly displaying
their caste and communal biases. What to talk of lower ranks even many I.P.S.
officers do not show any change in their attitudes towards lower castes and
other communities after such a rigorous training. Actually change of attitude
of a person is the most difficult thing because it requires a lot of effort to
relieve one of ingrained prejudices and biases. Communal biases are so often
displayed in so called terror cases where there are lot of complaints of false
implications of Muslims.
It is
also my personal experience that role model of the higher officers plays a very
important role in changing the attitudes and behaviour of lower ranks. As
mentioned earlier, as Commandant of 34 Bn PAC I continuously briefed my men to
be secular and free of caste and communal prejudices. My efforts gave a very
good result during 1992 when Ram Mandir movement was in full swing. One day
Bajrang Dal people had planned to have a demonstration. They were to collect in
the premises of famous Hanuman Mandir of Varanasi city. The administration had
planned to arrest them as soon as they came out of Mandir gate. They had put PAC men to surround the agitators
and put them in the buses. S.P. City and City Magistrate were on the spot. When
the agitators came out of gate the officers on duty ordered the PAC men to
surround them and put them in the buses. But to their utter shock PAC men did
not move at all and the agitators started moving towards the city. Then more
PAC men had to be rushed to the spot from the City Control Room. As soon as
they arrived they surrounded the agitators and put them in the buses. Thus a
possible disturbance in the city could be avoided due to the prompt action of
these PAC men. Happily these PAC men belonged to my Battalion. The other PAC
men who had refused to act belonged to another Battalion which was notorious
for indiscipline. This prompt action by my men was appreciated by district
administration and the recalcitrant PAC men were removed from the duty. The
point which I am trying to make is that leadership in a uniform force makes a
lot of difference.
As seen
from the video of the Beed I.P.S.
officer Bhagyashree Navtake, it is obvious that if officers like
her occupy a position of authority they are likely to act in a partial manner. A
constant watch needs to be kept on such officers. They should not be put on
such duties where they can display their prejudices. It is also necessary to
change the composition of police force by recruiting more men from minorities
in order to make it representative and secular. Training programmes for both
officers and men should be organised to sensitise them about SC/ST, minorities
and women issues.
