Government Security Institutions & Democracy

A democratic framework involves mutual understanding between the government and the people of the democracy. Both the government and the people are expected to be loyal to each other. The development of a democracy depends upon the execution of the respective responsibilities from both these sides. India, being the largest democracy faces a lot of problems in the proper functioning of democratic governance. These problems or democratic set backs are the results of not just governmental failure but also of publics’ misinterpretation of democracy.

Concentrating on governmental security institutions like Police, CRPF, Home guards, BSF etc. when we think that how do these institutions put up with the democratic framework we realize that there are two sides to the way these institutions function. One indicates that these forces keep a watch on law and order and hence maintain the democratic balance. The other indicates that they contempt the basic rights of citizens and misuse the power they are trusted with. There have been reports about security forces torturing innocents in their custody. Deaths of under investigation suspects have been reported frequently. In some parts of the country the fear of police equates their reputation with mafia. Sometime ago, in an incident in Bihar two policemen tied a thief and dragged him around the village. In this “amusing” act the thief was killed. This was one story out of thousands which take shape in numerous petite police stations across the country.
Human rights commission and related NGOs keep raising these issues. There was a lot of hue and cry when for the investigation of ’93 Mumbai blasts, police jailed numerous suspects and interrogated them using there usual hard ways. A.S. Samra, then commissioner of police, Mumbai said that under such high pressure situations police should not be expected to consider human rights before every question they ask a suspect. These are not small time criminals but trained and motivated miscreants who do not break by threats and pain, is what he had said. This throws light on something which is not in the light for us or human rights activists to notice. This provides us some clue about the enormous pressure under which these institutions work. This probably explains why BSF personnel shot his senior officer or why two constables raped a naxal female in their custody. These certainly are not the justifications to any of the acts but they do lead to the possible reasons of such irresponsible criminal behavior.
As initially mentioned, that a progressive democracy demands mutual understanding of responsibilities and rights, I would conclude by mentioning that the basis for this mutual understanding is the mutual respect in one human being for another. Simply blaming the system or the security forces would not revive our democracy. The operation and organization of these government institutions needs to be closely observed, reviewed and reworked.

Suneet