In an address on the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the foundation of the Bureau of Police Research and Development, the Union home minister made an important observation. The freedom to express opinion, Amit Shah said, was integral to democracy and this freedom — this is significant — is predicated upon a modernized police force. In other words, Mr Shah attempted to draw an organic link between the success of democracy and an effective law and order machinery. Unfortunately, it is the police and their political masters who have been instrumental in encroaching upon civil liberties, most notably since Mr Shah’s party attained political ascendancy. There is evidence to support this conjecture. Students’ protests in campuses, be it in Jawaharlal Nehru University or Jamia Millia Islamia, have faced the brunt of police excesses. Participants in anti-government demonstrations have been accused of hatching conspiracies against the State by the Delhi Police that is subservient to the Union home minister. The police, perhaps in their enthusiasm for crossing the line, have been found to be deficient in their primary duties. The judiciary has taken note of this and other transgressions. To cite one recent example, an additional sessions court commented tersely that the Delhi riots would be remembered as a monumental abdication of duty by the police.

Mr Shah agonized over the fact that the good work done by the police seldom merits attention. The discrepancy perhaps has to do with the bunglings by investigators, something that has prompted the Supreme Court to contemplate assessing the performance of the Central Bureau of Investigation. This demand for accountability must be turned into a public campaign with the judiciary, civilians, media and, most important, politicians pressing for the police to function within the ambit of the law. For policing to complement democracy, the police — the government’s proverbial stick to beat opponents with — must reform itself. The first task would be to depoliticize the police: minimal intervention from the government would help policemen serve as custodians of justice. The template of police modernization should also pay adequate attention to the sensitizing of personnel to the need of being fair and transparent. Only then — why is Mr Shah oblivious of this? — can the police become the do-gooders that they are mandated to be.