I strongly object to calling cops criminals in uniform. It is not only insulting but untrue. You cannot generalise what a micro minority of the police force indulges in, and you cannot casually assume that all officers are dishonest. It is not proper to imagine that all cops are corrupt, on seeing how the traffic constables in Tamilnadu harass the two- wheeler and four- wheeler drivers in our cities and towns, presumably to earn their breakfast and dinner. We should also learn to ignore the sniveling of the national-permit truck drivers who complain that they are harassed by the cops every ten miles on the national and state highways. But let us listen to their suggestion that our police men also follow the example of the cops on the MP and UP highways where a token system is followed which effectively prevents paying bribes for the same service twice.
I strongly object to calling cops criminals in uniform. It is not only insulting but untrue. You cannot generalise what a micro minority of the police force indulges in, and you cannot casually assume that all officers are dishonest. It is not proper to imagine that all cops are corrupt, on seeing how the traffic constables in Tamilnadu harass the two- wheeler and four- wheeler drivers in our cities and towns, presumably to earn their breakfast and dinner. We should also learn to ignore the sniveling of the national-permit truck drivers who complain that they are harassed by the cops every ten miles on the national and state highways. But let us listen to their suggestion that our police men also follow the example of the cops on the MP and UP highways where a token system is followed which effectively prevents paying bribes for the same service twice.
You cannot always blame the police men. Look at the way they are humiliated in the homes of the higher officers ; the constables are required to walk the dogs, buy vegetables for the kitchen and take the babies to the KG classes; it is also said that they had to clean the bath rooms and run errands for the chambermaids. It is unfair. Shed a couple of tears for these poor blokes who stand to lose their integrity and self respect and turn into aggressive individuals. When these orderlies, after sometime, are let loose on the roads of the cities where it is possible to threaten innocent road- users by quoting certain moth- eaten rules and extract money, they gloat over their power. Think of the glow of pride and satisfaction on the faces of the erstwhile orderlies when somebody is afraid of them and is ready to pay and buy them off. What a contrast to the stint of service in the DIG’s house where they were bossed over even by the kitchen-helps. Let us pardon them if they indulge in certain excesses in their new found freedom.
Imagine a young man of 30, sleeping beside his young wife, being woken up at the small hours of the morning and ordered to go and stand as a guard at an abandoned old bridge through which a Cabinet Minister was supposed to pass any time in the morning. And when that never happens and when his office
Forgets that they have ever posted a guard there, his temper rises, turns into tension, and repeated happenings like this bring in resentment and stress. After all he is human too. The only way for him to take out the stress is to harass the truck drivers and the lawbreakers. You cannot blame him if sometimes he slaps a pillion rider for not wearing a helmet.
When a cop asks you to stop your two- wheeler, be prepared to part with a good amount of money ; don’t grudge the poor fellow if he is a little aggressive or foolish. If he refuses to believe that your license is the original or if he says that your insurance is two years old, forgive him ; he is under stress. Let us be friends of the police.
The home front is not all too pleasant for these poor policemen. The wife perpetually complains about his irregular hours about which he could do nothing ; she accuses him of never taking her out, not being home on important festival days; no one can blame her if she says that he never accompanied her to her mother’s home town even once. Finally when she accuses him of being friendly with the newly appointed woman constable in his station, he fiercely protests his innocence though he cannot but admire the accurate instinct of his wife. He cannot spend even a single night blissfully with the young lady without evoking and fearing the jealousy of his wife.
He is subjected to temptations all the time. When a contraband is seized in a surprise check on the state high way, the owner tempts him with a lot of money. A nod from him would allow the vehicle to leave and his pocket to fill with an amount equal to his six month’s pay. But he cannot do it. He would be in trouble if this matter came out ; he knew it would certainly come out when this same truck-owner goes to bribe the higher officials. The loss of this huge amount stresses him for a couple of days and when he mentions it to his wife, she says she always knew he is an irresponsible slacker.
For the police men, it is not always all work and no play. There are ample opportunities to threaten a wayward young woman and take her to bed or to persuade the grocer to give things free. He can always have a free haircut, a free bus ride, a free cinema or a free ride in a taxi. These are all built- in compensations of his job. Some evenings, Kabali would saunter in casually and toss a fat cover on the table and walk away without a word. It means he is going to snatch a chain, rob a house or hit his rival that night. He demands a blind eye on the part of the police if any crime is reported the next morning.
What usually annoys young constables is the zeal of the newly recruited asst. commissioners and DSPs. They would have worked as college professors before writing their Class I examinations, and they come with raw fire to change the society and cleanse the police force. It takes nearly six months to douse the fire and transform them into regular, proper police, and during that period, the young constables and inspectors go through real hell caused by their adolescent behavior.
The reel life policemen irritate the real life counterparts. The Suryas, Karthiks and Vijays, who don the police uniform, chase beautiful girls, shoot the villains down, outsmart the politicians and finally ride on the shoulders of their comrades to victory, while a beautiful girl waits on the sidelines to lead him to marital bliss.
This is the dream of the newly recruited constables, but disillusionment awaits them round the corner. An arranged marriage has brought home the uncle’s daughter who is 10 kgs heavier than him and ten inches shorter. Nonetheless her tongue is sharper. Within six months, she discovers there is a weakling in the police uniform and she learns how to manipulate and get things done. When the children come, the process of castration is complete.
You can’t blame the police men when they take out their frustration on the two-wheeler and four- wheeler drivers. The policeman is pleased when rich young men and beautiful girls wait for his nod with fear in their eyes and fingers in their purses. He likes to see them fumble and shiver. If anybody tries to outwit him, he does not hesitate to manhandle them. After a long one hour wait, he will pocket the money and let them leave gracefully. When a sleek foreign car glides by, ignoring his presence, he stops it and if the owner is not in the back seat, he tries to humiliate the driver by making him wait in a corner. When a fellow constable whispers that it belongs to the local MLA, he says sorry to the driver and asks him to go, with a smile.
He has no respect for the higher-ups but he pretends to be courteous and respectful. When the government introduces new rules making helmets compulsory for two wheelers, compelling the owners to keep in the vehicle only the original driving licence, and original insurance certificate etc, he knows they are only trying to help him to augment his salary. My advice to the road users is, don’t argue with the traffic constables; pay them their due, poor fellows. My advice to the constables is, make money on the roads, but be careful how you go about it. Remember everyone of the big crowd on the road has a smart phone and the chances of videographing your actions are abundant. You can go wrong, my dear policeman, but be smart like your bosses!
You cannot always blame the police men. Look at the way they are humiliated in the homes of the higher officers ; the constables are required to walk the dogs, buy vegetables for the kitchen and take the babies to the KG classes; it is also said that they had to clean the bath rooms and run errands for the chambermaids. It is unfair. Shed a couple of tears for these poor blokes who stand to lose their integrity and self respect and turn into aggressive individuals. When these orderlies, after sometime, are let loose on the roads of the cities where it is possible to threaten innocent road- users by quoting certain moth- eaten rules and extract money, they gloat over their power. Think of the glow of pride and satisfaction on the faces of the erstwhile orderlies when somebody is afraid of them and is ready to pay and buy them off. What a contrast to the stint of service in the DIG’s house where they were bossed over even by the kitchen-helps. Let us pardon them if they indulge in certain excesses in their new found freedom.
Imagine a young man of 30, sleeping beside his young wife, being woken up at the small hours of the morning and ordered to go and stand as a guard at an abandoned old bridge through which a Cabinet Minister was supposed to pass any time in the morning. And when that never happens and when his office
Forgets that they have ever posted a guard there, his temper rises, turns into tension, and repeated happenings like this bring in resentment and stress. After all he is human too. The only way for him to take out the stress is to harass the truck drivers and the lawbreakers. You cannot blame him if sometimes he slaps a pillion rider for not wearing a helmet.
When a cop asks you to stop your two- wheeler, be prepared to part with a good amount of money ; don’t grudge the poor fellow if he is a little aggressive or foolish. If he refuses to believe that your license is the original or if he says that your insurance is two years old, forgive him ; he is under stress. Let us be friends of the police.
The home front is not all too pleasant for these poor policemen. The wife perpetually complains about his irregular hours about which he could do nothing ; she accuses him of never taking her out, not being home on important festival days; no one can blame her if she says that he never accompanied her to her mother’s home town even once. Finally when she accuses him of being friendly with the newly appointed woman constable in his station, he fiercely protests his innocence though he cannot but admire the accurate instinct of his wife. He cannot spend even a single night blissfully with the young lady without evoking and fearing the jealousy of his wife.
He is subjected to temptations all the time. When a contraband is seized in a surprise check on the state high way, the owner tempts him with a lot of money. A nod from him would allow the vehicle to leave and his pocket to fill with an amount equal to his six month’s pay. But he cannot do it. He would be in trouble if this matter came out ; he knew it would certainly come out when this same truck-owner goes to bribe the higher officials. The loss of this huge amount stresses him for a couple of days and when he mentions it to his wife, she says she always knew he is an irresponsible slacker.
For the police men, it is not always all work and no play. There are ample opportunities to threaten a wayward young woman and take her to bed or to persuade the grocer to give things free. He can always have a free haircut, a free bus ride, a free cinema or a free ride in a taxi. These are all built- in compensations of his job. Some evenings, Kabali would saunter in casually and toss a fat cover on the table and walk away without a word. It means he is going to snatch a chain, rob a house or hit his rival that night. He demands a blind eye on the part of the police if any crime is reported the next morning.
What usually annoys young constables is the zeal of the newly recruited asst. commissioners and DSPs. They would have worked as college professors before writing their Class I examinations, and they come with raw fire to change the society and cleanse the police force. It takes nearly six months to douse the fire and transform them into regular, proper police, and during that period, the young constables and inspectors go through real hell caused by their adolescent behavior.
The reel life policemen irritate the real life counterparts. The Suryas, Karthiks and Vijays, who don the police uniform, chase beautiful girls, shoot the villains down, outsmart the politicians and finally ride on the shoulders of their comrades to victory, while a beautiful girl waits on the sidelines to lead him to marital bliss.
This is the dream of the newly recruited constables, but disillusionment awaits them round the corner. An arranged marriage has brought home the uncle’s daughter who is 10 kgs heavier than him and ten inches shorter. Nonetheless her tongue is sharper. Within six months, she discovers there is a weakling in the police uniform and she learns how to manipulate and get things done. When the children come, the process of castration is complete.
You can’t blame the police men when they take out their frustration on the two-wheeler and four- wheeler drivers. The policeman is pleased when rich young men and beautiful girls wait for his nod with fear in their eyes and fingers in their purses. He likes to see them fumble and shiver. If anybody tries to outwit him, he does not hesitate to manhandle them. After a long one hour wait, he will pocket the money and let them leave gracefully. When a sleek foreign car glides by, ignoring his presence, he stops it and if the owner is not in the back seat, he tries to humiliate the driver by making him wait in a corner. When a fellow constable whispers that it belongs to the local MLA, he says sorry to the driver and asks him to go, with a smile.
He has no respect for the higher-ups but he pretends to be courteous and respectful. When the government introduces new rules making helmets compulsory for two wheelers, compelling the owners to keep in the vehicle only the original driving licence, and original insurance certificate etc, he knows they are only trying to help him to augment his salary. My advice to the road users is, don’t argue with the traffic constables; pay them their due, poor fellows. My advice to the constables is, make money on the roads, but be careful how you go about it. Remember everyone of the big crowd on the road has a smart phone and the chances of videographing your actions are abundant. You can go wrong, my dear policeman, but be smart like your bosses!