No one does it better

Change, especially in a government set-up, is inevitably met with resistance. Did you face such opposition while instituting the changes at Tihar?
When change is not autocratically imposed, is for the better – the responsibility is shared by everyone, since support for it comes from within. My job was merely to create an enabling environment and everything else followed. The only hurdle was the time factor. Everything needs time and I am impatiently patient!

Vipassana seems to have played an important role in this transformation…
If anything can make a person’s life turn around, particularly while grappling with internal turbulence, it is Vipassana. In the angry, disturbed, condemned atmosphere of Tihar, this form of meditation became the answer to all problems.

Guru Goenka stayed in Tihar for 14 days, and at the end of the 10-day camp, there was not a single convict who remained untouched. The change was evident in each and every case. Hundreds of prisoners were unafraid to confess publicly that they had planned on continuing with crime even after release but how Vipassana had evoked regret in them for even having harboured such thoughts. Vipassana has been integrated into the police training programme and in March, 300 sub-inspectors and 1,000 constables will undergo a mass Vipassana programme. If the police force becomes internally sensitive, it will automatically become truthful, which will do wonders for their credibility.

Can you relate any specific cases of transformation amongst the convicts?
It was a large scale prescription that worked for all. What it entailed was the constructive utilisation of time. By ensuring that time was used positively, the change came on its own. Their life was spread into activities like getting up on time, yoga, education, self-help, cleanliness, sports, music, trade, learning… Each one was participating, thus each one was touched.

What did this transformation teach you?
For one, how to utilise limited or no resources to your advantage. For instance, to start an education programme for 9,700 inmates, can you imagine the logistics required? And we had nothing. So we appealed to schools, asking every child to donate a notebook and pencil out of their pocket money. We told them that all it entailed was giving up one soft drink. They responded and we had our study material. It was not difficult identifying 500 educated convicts from the lot who took on the mantle of teachers; every tree in the premises became a classroom. So all it requires is the will.

In Pune, you were seen visiting the disabled? Is that another cause you have taken up?
Anything that is brave motivates me. Being with handicapped children is inspiring. Whatever your achievements, they bring you down to Earth and show you that you have a long way to go before you can match their strength. It also makes you more grateful to God for your blessings.

Why do we never see Kiran Bedi in more dressy attires, like a sari., rather than the trademark trousers and shirts even when off-duty?
From my childhood, I have been a sportsperson. I also took up the National Cadet Corps (NCC) activity. This necessitated such practical attires. Immediately after that, I joined the police force. So where was the time to wear a sari? But I do have and wear Pathani suits that I design myself. All of them have my signature jackets, along with lots and lots of pockets for me to stuff in my spectacles, pens, money – since I do not carry handbags.

Having had such close contacts with convicts, what do you think plays a more important role in making them criminals – heredity or environment?
Environment. A deprived upbringing or then an overtly extravagant one breeds criminals, though the patterns of the two vary. In India, the former is more common. Which is why a balance is so critical and we were working towards restoring it.

Since the tilt is towards a human touch, do you feel India should do away with capital punishment?
No, it must stay because it is a very strong deterrent to crime; you cannot take away the bite from the law.

As joint commissioner, Delhi Police, is your agenda ready?
I am really looking forward to spearheading the Delhi police and moulding it into a participative police model where people police themselves. Another mission is to bring greater transparency into the force’s functioning, which would also mean more accountability. This will enable people to have confidence in the police and would reduce corruption. The best way to go about it is to make all information accessible. Put the information online, so that anyone desirous of knowing the status of his case only needs to go to an information booth and access it on the computer. Of course, in some cases where it is impossible to give out the information, it could be withheld. And all this could be done at a very low cost. This is my dream.

But in a country like India, given its population and level of technical advancement, will this be possible?
The lady leans back, gives a wide smile and says, “It’s always possible”!