Columnists

Abhinav Kumar

The writer is a serving IPS officer. Views are personal.

Policing a lockdown: Every day brings challenges, heartbreaks, acts of inspiration

Fri, Apr 03, 2020

This virus is deadly and infectious enough. We don’t need to add to its lethal prowess by holding onto our past legacy of mutual distrust. For all the threat it represents, this epidemic is also an opportunity for police forces in India to redeem themselves in the eyes of their fellow citizens by exemplary standards of courage, professionalism and service.

Why Delhi burned: The police, courts and media failed to stand up for rule of law

Fri, Mar 06, 2020

What happened in Delhi on February 24 is a matter of grave concern and raises troubling questions, regardless of one’s ideological affiliations. If the nation’s capital can experience this kind of sustained mayhem over hours and days, then what hope is there for law and order in the supposedly less well-policed parts of the country?

As a father, I cannot tell my daughter India is a safe place for women

Fri, Dec 06, 2019

If I ever ran into the parents of the December 12 victim or the Hyderabad vet, I don’t think I would be able to face them without a sense of shame and failure. We simply couldn’t do enough to prevent their daughters from becoming victims.

In Kashmir, people’s fears about loss of identity must be addressed

Sat, Nov 23, 2019

It is a huge opportunity to prove to the people of Kashmir and to ourselves that the long dark night of violent hatred that began in 1989 is coming to an end in 2019. Naya Kashmir can finally look forward to a new dawn of prosperity and peace in the heart of India.

For uniformed forces, the last five weeks in the Valley have been a great test of commitment, capability

Wed, Sep 11, 2019

Centre’s goal is to engage with Kashmiris tired of violence, provide safe spaces to express their desire for peace. Post-relaxation of curbs, the government’s priorities will be development and employment generation, something jihad and azadi had little space for.

Why Article 370 had to go

Fri, Aug 16, 2019

The constitutional, democratic, historical and moral arguments being marshalled against the Centre’s move in Jammu and Kashmir are unfounded. I, for one, regard it as an extraordinary privilege and honour to be a part of this historical exercise.

A new deal for Kashmir

Fri, Jul 05, 2019

Constitutional concessions have failed to facilitate the Valley’s assimilation with India. The rules of engagement need to change

Soldiering on, after Pulwama

Wed, Feb 20, 2019

We are acutely aware of what is at stake in Kashmir. And that there is no easy way out

Central Armed Police Forces should continue to be headed by IPS officials

Tue, Jan 29, 2019

The Central Armed Police Forces are primarily a reserve resource for supporting state police. The leadership provided by the IPS to five of the BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF and CRPF, is now being questioned.

Propaganda in an exit

Tue, Jan 15, 2019

In his resignation post, Shah Faesal invokes a narrative of Kashmiri victimhood that is at odds with the reality on the ground and filled with political posturing

A colder winter in Kashmir

Wed, Dec 26, 2018

The post-Pulwama narrative has been hijacked by separatists. Let it not distract from what is at stake in J&K.

Death of an SHO

Thu, Dec 06, 2018

UP has a dysfunctional criminal justice system. The mob lynching of a police officer underlines it

Battle at Bomdila

Wed, Nov 14, 2018

Winning this one is no feather in the cap for the Indian Army.

Crime and complicity

Thu, Oct 04, 2018

Gomti Nagar murder may not be related to UP police’s ‘encounter culture’. But it calls for introspection.

Smoke and errors

Thu, Jul 12, 2018

Punjab government’s approach to drug menace is counter-productive. Compulsions of electoral politics and demagoguery continue to trump common sense, decency and evidence about what doesn’t work.

Kathua’s inconvenient truths

Tue, Apr 17, 2018

Outrage over heinous crime cannot be a replacement for strengthening rule of law. Civil society must start — and sustain — a debate on the need for improving the quality of policing.

Rhetoric to reasoned debate

Sat, Apr 07, 2018

The SC order on Atrocities Act calls for a dispassionate discussion. At stake is not just the question of justice for victims of caste atrocities, but also the issue of due process and the rule of law.

With fear and favour

Wed, Nov 15, 2017

The Gudiya and Pradyuman murder cases should be a wake-up call for the entire IPS leadership of the country. We need to ask ourselves: Who do we serve and who do we protect?

Piercing the Panchkula haze

Thu, Aug 31, 2017

The states of India have simply not invested enough in the police. As a result, for anything more than a routine, local law and order problem, the states end up seeking assistance from the Centre. This is usually provided in the form of CAPFs, and in extreme cases, by the Indian Army.

The ineffective state

Fri, Jun 30, 2017

After the Delhi 2012 gangrape, outrage and breast-beating became the substitute for thoughtful analysis and policy-making. Let it not happen again, after the lynchings