EMPHASISING EDUCATION and sustained engagement as central to reforming the relationship between the police and denotified communities, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G S Malik on Tuesday said policing must be rooted in listening, fairness and accountability.
Malik visited the Vimukta Reform Centre in Chharanagar, a locality that takes after the denotified tribe, Chharas, and interacted with the residents.
Malik said that under the Gujarat Home Department’s Suraksha Setu project, the idea is that access to the police system should begin with dignity. “If anyone comes to a police station, the first instruction is to listen to the victim. Seat them comfortably, offer water or tea, and hear them fully before anything else,” he said during an interaction with community members and youths.
On concern about the naming of individuals in FIRs, Malik said corrective mechanisms were essential. “If someone is not involved, remove the name. Sometimes allegations start and it becomes difficult, but the effort is always that justice should be done,” he said.
Public prosecutor R C Kodekar, who is also a member of the Chhara community, said education played a decisive role in altering Chharanagar’s trajectory. “This school is proof of what education can do. Today, there are 300 advocates, 10 doctors, many engineers and graduates who have emerged from this place,” he said.
Reflecting on the historical mistrust between denotified communities and the police, Kodekar said long-held perceptions had now begun to change. “We were made to believe that the police were our biggest enemy. That thinking stopped us from moving forward. But when you understand the system, you realise the police mechanism works to protect society,” he said.
Citing Dr B R Ambedkar, he added, “Education is the weapon. Education is your identity. Never underestimate it.”
The visit also included an open dialogue wherein residents raised concern about stereotyping and everyday discrimination. Filmmaker Kushal, recounting an experience while seeking police permission for a short film, said, “Instead of asking about the project, I was asked to identify suspects from my own community. When someone wants to do something different, authorities should help… Not make them question themselves.”
Responding to such issues, Malik reiterated that policing must be fact-based. “If there is no involvement, there should be no harassment. Investigation must be based on facts, not assumptions,” he said.
DCP Atul Kumar Bansal, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, said the changes in Chharanagar were the result of sustained engagement rather than isolated interventions. “This did not happen because of one visit. Officers at every level were involved, and the effort was continuous,” he said.
Earlier in the day, children from the community staged a short play at the Centre, written and performed in their own language. Theatre artist Dakshin Bajrange, associated with the initiative, said the performance reflected lived realities. “This script is by the children. They see what happens in Chharanagar and other communities. If a society wants to stay alive, its language must stay alive,” he said.
He added that parents were involved throughout the process. “First we mobilised the parents and spoke about how society can change. The children wrote and improvised this play in their own language,” he said.
Several speakers traced the reform effort to a small community library established over two decades ago. “This library has been running for 25 years. Rain or cold, it has never closed for a single day,” claimed a community member, adding that many children from the locality spent their evenings there studying.
As Malik’s visit concluded with a walkthrough of the Centre documenting the community’s past, present initiatives and future plans, speakers repeatedly returned to the idea of continuity rather than symbolism, stressing that reform depended on consistent access to education and institutions rather than one-time interventions.
Summing up the emphasis of the day, Kodekar said the real measure of change would be visible over time. “When children grow up seeing education, dialogue and institutions as part of their everyday life, that itself becomes the foundation of reform,” he said.
(Nishant Bal is an intern at the Ahmedabad office of The Indian Express)
Malik visited the Vimukta Reform Centre in Chharanagar, a locality that takes after the denotified tribe, Chharas, and interacted with the residents. (Photo: ANI) 
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