On the morning of July 6, 2013, during a Su TV program, Sri Suki Sivam discussed the plight of the police while also addressing some of their excesses. He shared a story about police officers demanding free meals at a hotel. When the hotel owner repeatedly refused, they filed a false case against him. However, when the case went to court, it was dismissed as a baseless accusation. The hotel owner then took the matter to human rights authorities and won, with the police being ordered to pay compensation of around 2 lakh rupees.
While highlighting such police excesses, Sivam also shed light on the challenges the police face. He recounted an incident where he was invited to speak at a police gathering and was accommodated in a star hotel. Upon checking out, the hotel management demanded that Sivam pay the room rent. He explained that the police had invited him and were responsible for the bill, but the hotel staff told him that the police never paid their dues. Shocked but unwilling to argue, Sivam was about to pay the bill when a police officer intervened, berating the hotel for even asking for payment. The officer rebuked the hotel, saying, “We overlook many of your illegal activities, and if we were to enforce the law, you’d be dragged to court every day.”
What surprised me was that Sivam did not point out that one wrong by the hotel does not justify another wrong—especially when the police, who are supposed to uphold law and order, are involved. Instead, he emphasized the difficult working conditions of the police and suggested that the public should occasionally be generous and show some leniency when police take advantage of them, as they serve in tough and challenging circumstances. While Sivam did acknowledge that police excesses should be stopped, he seemed more focused on their hardships.
For the common man in India, the police have earned little respect. They are viewed worse than beggars or sex workers. Beggars ask for money without shame, and prostitutes at least earn their livelihood with their own bodies. In contrast, the police are the worst kind of beggars and freeloaders, living off others at their expense. They are terrorists in uniform, shielded by the government. While terrorists might affect a few innocent people occasionally, the majority of middle-class and ordinary Indians, who have no voice or power to confront the police, remain perpetual victims.
This reality plays out in everyday life. I’ve seen firsthand how the Railway Police harass Bihar laborers when they travel home for festivals. The police come in groups, demanding money to allow these laborers to travel in reserved coaches. Even in unreserved coaches, despite having valid tickets, the laborers are forced to pay bribes. Police officers also travel in buses and autos without paying, take vegetables from street vendors, demand free meals in restaurants, and, even worse, receive free services from call girls during hotel raids.
While it’s true that a few honest officers exist at lower levels and some among the higher ranks, the majority of ordinary citizens are continuously harassed by what can only be described as police terrorism. Though top police officers like Dr. Kiran Bedi frequently call for urgent police reforms, as long as corrupt politicians, dishonest bureaucrats, mafias, and goons continue to use the police for their own vested interests, ordinary people will bear the brunt of this corruption.
I wish speakers like Suki Sivam, while addressing police excesses, would focus more on their atrocities rather than their hardships. Highlighting the challenges of police work is pointless—these challenges are part of their job, and they are not doing charity for the public. If they are being overworked or underpaid, it is the government’s responsibility to address their needs, not the common people’s burden to bear.
DB
July 8, 2013
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