Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's remarks at the DGPs - IGPs Conference

"I would like to begin by congratulating all the police officers who have been awarded the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service this year. I take this opportunity to convey my deep appreciation of the Police fraternity for the good work done in coping with challenges we as a nation face to national security and law and order, often under very trying circumstances.

I am conscious of the difficult environment in which our police, intelligence and security agencies work in today's world. The single most important challenge in today's world is the management of change itself. Social, economic and political changes throw up increasingly complex challenges which exert a great deal of stress on existing fault lines in our traditional society. In the last few years we have seen rapid urbanization in our country. This poses unique challenges because of the breakdown of traditional social orders which could restrain unlawful action. There is also the growth of mafias, urban gangs, drug trafficking, kidnapping and threats to the security of our women and senior citizens. At the same time, migration out of rural areas poses a different set of challenges. There is the problem of providing security to women, children and the aged who are left behind. There is the problem of growing disparities between the rich and the poor, which is now becoming acute and visible even in rural areas. There is a growing sense of deprivation vis-a-vis urban areas whose relative prosperity is beamed day in and day out by modern media. These challenges need resolution within the framework of our liberal democratic polity. This is the challenge we have to face and face effectively.

Our diversity is our greatest asset. We rejoice in it. But our ability to harmonise various elements of diversity makes us something very special. This is a precious part of our heritage. We must do all we can to preserve and promote it. However, we have also to recognize that open societies like ours are increasingly vulnerable to threats from many disruptive sources. There are misguided elements at home and in our neighbourhood. Their ideologies negate all that our country stands for. Unfortunately, these groups have embraced violence as their creed and have committed themselves to use terror as a tool to weaken our polity and hamper our economic progress. The challenge of terrorism therefore has to be countered comprehensively. No religion sanctions the killing of innocent citizens, including children and women. We need a firm response from our security forces. We also need a resolute response from all those who constitute civil society and all our political parties. Our Government is determined to fight and root out terrorism and the ideologies that justify and seek to sustain it.

We have found repeatedly that one of the objectives of terrorist groups has been to disrupt communal harmony and foment communal violence in our country. However, we find that the people of our country have refused to fall prey to these nefarious designs. I commend every Indian citizen who has refused to fall prey to such provocations. Wherever the police and security forces have handled such situations with sensitivity, they deserve our fullest appreciation. Our police and security establishment must remain steadfast in its commitment to preserve and protect communal peace and harmony. There lies our inherent strength.

Terror in India is no longer centered only on the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Attempts to take this threat to other parts of our country to create fear in the minds of our people are now in evidence. By and large these attempts have remained unsuccessful. And for this, I commend our security forces for largely foiling such nefarious plans. But there is no scope for complacency. We cannot be satisfied with status quo. Our security apparatus must be alert and resilient enough to meet the grave threats posed by terrorism to our polity and to our society at large.

The positive developments witnessed in J&K have generated the hope that political solutions can be found to address public grievances. To allow the political process to take the desired direction in Jammu & Kashmir, it is imperative that the level of violence is brought down significantly. This requires strong will and determination to sustain the anti-militancy effort but with greater sensitivity. I am confident that our police forces are well equipped to deal with these challenges.

In the North East, the option of conflict resolution through dialogue has been pursued with all groups that have shown willingness to abjure violence. While we are committed to the process of peaceful dialogue to resolve all outstanding problems, the Government will not countenance the deliberate use of violence against innocent citizens. The people have rejected violence and opted for a democratic path to ensure peace, stability and development. The people in the north-eastern States and elsewhere expect the security forces and the Police to protect their lives and property and to this they are legitimately entitled to.

Naxalite groups continue their attempts to spread their influence in the countryside and threaten the internal security environment. I am pained when I see the extent of suffering inflicted on ordinary people by the naxals who claim their movement is for the benefit of the same common people. What justification can there be for brutal and inhuman killings of innocent tribals of Chhattisgarh, or the blowing-up of a truck carrying tribals witnessed earlier this year? What can justify causing damage to roads and railway tracks, inflicting untold hardships on the common people?

There is therefore a need for faster development of naxalite-affected areas, and for a responsive, transparent and sensitive administrative machinery. We need a greater focus on employment generation, on land reforms, on redistribution of land, better education and health facilities, backed up by firm police action wherever needed.

While security is important, our fight is not about security alone. The fight today is about preserving our values and our traditions. I have said on many occasions earlier that the police in modern India must become a partner in development. It is an essential component of our institutional framework to ensure economic prosperity of our people. At the same time security devoid of justice has no meaning. The Rule of Law and transparency are the bedrock of our democracy. It is your responsibility to ensure that our people have the assurance of an environment of security with justice.

If the police have to fulfill their mandated role in these changing times, they need to adapt themselves to new requirements. There is a need for the police machinery at the grassroots level to become more responsive to earn the trust of all law abiding citizens. The nation needs a modern, capable and friendly police. We need a police service that is more gender sensitive, more humane and more respectful of the rights of citizens. You have to see people as your partners and not adversaries. Your conference will, I believe, address the issue of developing and strengthening your relationships with people and building bonds with the community at large.

There is, at the same time, a need to strengthen the civil police at the cutting edge of Police Station level, the level at which basic policing functions are discharged. The constables and inspectors need to be provided basic amenities; their families well looked after; their morale kept high at all times. Officers should pay attention to ground level policing work - work usually perceived as dull and unexciting.

At the higher levels, we need better intelligence gathering. This would, of course, depend on how good the police force at the bottom is performing. We need to improve our capabilities both in respect of human intelligence and technical facilities as an aid to intelligence gathering. Our training institutes must operate on the frontiers of human knowledge to cope with the challenges now on the horizon. There is also a need for better coordination between the center and states and among states themselves - be it in intelligence sharing or for joint operations.

During my interaction with you last year, I had expressed a desire to set up a Police Mission to give a new outlook and a new vision and a sense of priorities to the police to help meet emerging challenges. I am happy to note that the Government has since constituted an empowered Steering Group to identify the goals, objectives and role for the Mission and delineate a roadmap and milestones. An Executive Committee has also been set up to work out details of the implementation methodology.

Closely linked is the issue of police reforms. Governments, from time to time, have been working towards improving the police set up. The Supreme Court too has issued directions in this regard. We need to act, and act fast, so that we have a first rate police force - a more skilled, more competent, more effective, just and humane police force. A force that not only ensures the rule of law but is also viewed as fair, efficient and honest and able to meet the democratic aspirations of our people.

In conclusion, let me remind all of you that the architects of our Republic and our Constitution viewed the all India civil services as a truly pan-Indian institution. Sardar Patel, who is the architect of modern administration in independent India, viewed you as members of the "steel frame" of our Republic. You have a duty to perform wherever you are, in each of your states.

However you also have a duty to perform as members of a national service. You must, at all times, remember that our oath of allegiance is to the Constitution of India and your loyalty is to our Republic, and to the values that define our secular and democratic Constitution. Even as you serve your respective organizations and state governments, you must remember that you are members of an All-India service, and should have national interests at heart. The strengthening of the unity and integrity of our country must be the abiding concern of all All India Public Services in our country. I sincerely hope your conference will address some of these issues. With these words I wish you well in your task."