Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's address to IPS Probationers

From your introductions, I am very encouraged about the future of our country. I think you combine in yourself a vast amount of knowledge and diversity of subjects. This augurs well for the future of our country. India is a union of states. But in practice we are a quasi federal country and in the management of the relations between the Centre and the States, in the management of our complex polity, the All India Services play a very important role. And you have the privilege of belonging to one of the three All India Services, the IAS and Indian Forest Service are the two other Services. A heavy responsibility rests on your shoulders to manage the affairs of States during your tenure as IPS officers.

We are passing through difficult times. Maintenance of law and order is the first and foremost duty of any civilised state. And in the enforcement of law and order, in the administration of justice without fear or favour, you and your service play a very crucial role. I therefore urge you to do careful preparations apart from what you've learnt at the academy. I have often said to probationers before and I repeat it - in the modern world, human knowledge is growing at a pace which is unprecedented, and therefore, it is very important that if we are going to manage the affairs of our State efficiently, those who administer our system should be so equipped that they operate on the frontiers of modern knowledge. Particularly in your discipline, it is very important that you should be well versed in subjects like cyber crimes, in the disaster management activities of the State because we are a country where disasters are now becoming more and more frequent. And invariably the Police Service is the first one which is called upon to act in times of disasters. So, management of disasters and how we can handle them is a very important part of your responsibilities.

Fundamentally, the law and order situation in our country today is under strain. There are a number of sources of this strain, there is terrorism, there is naxalism - left wing extremism, there is also regionalism and then communalism. All these four areas are of great concern and we have to ensure that they are not allowed to harm the unity and integrity of our country. As I said, India is a quasi federation. You work in various States, you belong to particular cadres, but you also belong to the fraternity of the three privileged services whose responsibility it is to use their knowledge, wisdom and experience that they gain through operations in various parts of our country, to serve our country, to maintain its unity and integrity at all costs.

Your final bible must be the Constitution of India. Our State guarantees certain fundamental rights. In administration of justice, one increasingly hears complaints of high handedness of officials, sometimes they happen to be police officials. So I think it is very important that in discharging your responsibilities, the enforcement of law and order must be endowed with the spirit that is consistent with what is stated in the Constitution of India.

There are issues with regard to police reforms. They have been looked at from time to time. More should be done to ensure that our police services operate on the frontiers of knowledge.

We have today trouble in various parts of our country, particularly in Central India. There are special problems of the North Eastern States, there are special problems of J&K, all these areas require sustained attention if India is to retain a cohesive national identity. If the tribal areas' problems are not given the attention they deserve, then as we have seen in some parts of our country, it can give rise to naxalism. We cannot allow any group of our people to go the misguided path of taking law into their hands. We must do so in a manner which enhances the peoples' trust and confidence in our administration particularly the police administration.

Also you are a small select privileged group leading a very large number of police men and women all over the country. There are over 2 million policemen in India. We hope you will create in them a feeling that you are worthy of their trust and confidence. I think in the Armed Forces, officers are given special responsibilities to ensure that people who work under them are a satisfied lot. If they have any problems they should be attended to with speed. So the well being of policemen and policewomen and the way our police stations are managed are important.

Recently concerns have been expressed that very often if people go to register a First Information Report there are obstacles that they have to experience, problems arising out of the existence of vested interests. I think these are type of concerns which must be addressed. It is the right of every citizen who has a genuine complaint to have an FIR registered.

So these are some of the concerns that I have which I share with you. As I said our country's law enforcement is under strain, I have listed four sources of strain - terrorism, naxalism, regionalism and communalism. It is very important that all of us should be well equipped to recognise the problems that face the country. We must deal with these forces with a great degree of efficiency, commitment and with a sense of equity and fair play. But we are also dealing with our own citizens. If some of them have gone astray, we must bring them to the path of rectitude. But we must never forget that we are dealing with our own people. Therefore, while enforcing law and order, I think we must also be endowed with a spirit of fair play and equity. These are some of the issues which I notice our people expect from our police forces.

I compliment you for the training that you have acquired, the academic studies that you have completed. There is a great diversity of talent today in our police force and I am very happy to meet with you. I wish you all the very best in the service of our people. As I said, you belong to one of three privileged All India Services. You have been charged with enormous responsibilities in the processes of nation building.

Law and order is a pre-condition of sustained development. And therefore, if you discharge your functions well, I think you will create an environment, a climate conducive to maintenance of law and order and if law and order is maintained, development processes will be so much smoother, so much quicker. Ultimately as a State, as a polity, our primary responsibility is that our country should so develop that we get rid of chronic poverty, ignorance and disease and the inequalities that plague many sections of our society. We are now implementing development plans and processes which I hope over a period of time would get rid of this poverty. The precondition of all that is that there must be effective enforcement of law and order, that the country must remain at peace. Nobody should take the law into his or her own hands and if that does happen, we must enforce rule of law in our country and it is therefore my expectation from each one of you that in serving your country, you bear in mind the type of concerns that I have just now expressed. With these words I once again wish you a very productive career in the service of people of India.

God bless you.