The argument that police is a state subject won’t wash. There are plenty of other state and concurrent subjects in NCMP. If nothing else, the Centre can incentivise reforms. But, if you are a private and rich entity, you can privatise the police function through security guards. And if you are within the government, broadly defined, you either know how to work the system, or if sufficiently high up, have quasi-privatised through NSG and SPG. The poor disappear from the discourse, even though such reforms aren’t contentious, unlike opening retail, insurance, banking or pensions. The Left won’t object either, since they believe in privatising law and order and security through the party system.

Everyone knows the Police Act of 1861 is colonial and old and needs revamping. We had the National Police Commission, with eight reports between 1979 and 1981. Following a PIL (the Prakash Singh case) with Supreme Court in 1996 (final judgment in 2006), there was the Ribeiro Committee, with two reports in 1998/99. There was the Padmanabhaiah Committee in 2000. Tangentially, there was the Malimath Committee in 2001-03 and a Review Committee in 2004-05. Finally, there was Soli Sorabjee’s Police Act Drafting Committee in 2005-06. By December 31, 2006, the Centre and states were supposed to comply with Supreme Court directives. However, if you read compliance reports, you find most states, and certainly the Centre, have ducked. What with ensuring reservations for minorities and recommending Padma awards, where does Home Minister have the time?

Disgusted with this Delhi dilemma, one should travel to more salubrious climes. One doesn’t have to travel far, Jaipur and Rajasthan will do. But one shouldn’t go there for usual tourist trips. Home Ministry’s active interest would have amounted to open heart surgery. Rajasthan shows what bypass can achieve. Did you know that Netherlands-based Altus Global Alliance (AGA) ranks police stations across the world? A large number of countries aren’t covered — only 23, but the list includes Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, the UK and the US. Out of 450 global police stations, did you know that Jaipur’s Shipra Path was rated the best? (There is also Palakkad in Kerala with a high rating.) I will not even attempt to describe what you see in Vidhayakpuri police station in Jaipur. Take the trip or check out the website, especially sections on community involvement. Have you heard of police stations with ISO certification? There are 711 police stations in Rajasthan — 42 already have ISO certificates and 164 are in the process of getting them. MIT and the Poverty Action Lab are working with Rajasthan police to improve public perception and performance. The BJP should win in Rajasthan only for this, even if one forgets Resurgent Rajasthan policies of roads, power, water, industry, IT, tourism and natural resources. And there will be endless debates about secularism vis-à-vis fundamentalism, forgetting that for poor, livelihood matters the most.

... contd.