Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Public Events and Police Response: Understanding Public Order Policing in Democratic India by T.K. Vinod Kumar
Author T.K. Vinod Kumar in his book, Public Events and Police Response:
Understanding Public Order Policing in Democratic India displays a series
of studies, in which he investigates and analyzes controversial public events
that have taken place in India and how the police proactively and reactively
responds to them. Having worked as
Superintendent of Police in Districts, Commissioner of Police of Calcutta City,
Deputy Inspector General, Inspector General of Police in Kerala and being a
reputable member of the Indian Police Service, Kumar presents an
interesting insight when he takes a neutral stance and reveals both the
positive and negative sides of the Indian police, varying on the events offered
in the book. Public Events and Police
Response: Understanding Public Order Policing in Democratic India
demonstrates how certain unfortunate and controversial events in India and the response
of police to these situations reflect and depict the disastrous reality and
nature of political and social interaction within the country. One thing that
catches the reader’s eye throughout this book is Kumar’s statement where he constantly
admits and advocates for the Indian police to maintain law and order, without
infringing the rights of the individuals. Kumar’s use of both quantitative and
qualitative method of research in this book really helps the readers form their
own opinion and understand each event thoroughly and what could have happened
and has happened. In totality Kumar presents this book through the various events
that have taken place in India and explains the role the Indian police force has
played and where the mistakes took place, whereas what should have technically happened.
This book really gives the readers an understanding of how India is lacking in
the institutions of public enforcement and highlights the importance of reform,
due to the frequency of increasing occurrences of such events and levels of
violence and disorder associated with these high volumes of controversial
cases.
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This book seems like an interesting read due to the perspective it allows one to read from. Seeing as Kumar's work history would indicate first hand knowledge of corruption in Indian law enforcement. I wish I saw this sooner I would have recommended Half the Sky by Kristof. Certain chapters in Half the Sky deal directly with the corruption of Indian institutions, focusing on how paying off officials allows you to get away with murder, literally. I also like how you mentioned that the book allows the reader to formulate their own opinion on the topic instead of forcing one upon the reader. Great review!
ReplyDeleteSandeep I find your discussion of the book interesting especially, given the fact that I can relate to the region. Coming from Pakistan, I have also done reading on corruption sort of similar to the events described in your book.
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