Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence.

 

In Episode 1 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed policing in India. The police are at the frontline of the criminal justice system yet they are possibly the most feared and the least trusted arm of the system. Every time there is a high profile incident of police excess there is talk of police reform. Yet as the saying goes the more things change the more they remain the same.  In this episode we chatted with Vipul Mudgal who helped us understand the nuances of the policing system better and suggest paths to reform. Vipul is the Director and Chief Executive of Common Cause. Common Cause is a Delhi-based organisation that has been in the vanguard of the campaign for probity in public life and integrity of institutions. Over the years, it has earned a reputation and credibility for its initiatives, advocacy and public interest litigations (PILs). Common Cause periodically publishes the Status of Indian Policing Report an indepth evaluation of policing across India through an analysis of official data and elaborate perception surveys. 

Reading list:

1. Atman Mehta, IndiaSpend.com, ‘It’s not like Singham’: Policemen in India work 14 hours a day and get few weekly offs The Scroll https://scroll.in/article/941656/its-not-like-singham-policemen-in-india-work-14-hours-a-day-and-get-few-weekly-offs
2. Basant Rath, It's Important to Make India's Police Force More Welcoming for Women, 2018 https://thewire.in/gender/india-police-gender-women
3. Crime and Punishment in Indian Entertainment Civic Studios https://sway.office.com/CUIjI1M69CLiVxCN?ref=Link
4. Human Rights Watch, Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse, and Impunity in the Indian Police https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/08/04/broken-system/dysfunction-abuse-and-impunity-indian-police
5. India Justice Report 2020 https://www.tatatrusts.org/Upload/pdf/ijr-2020-overall-report-january-26.pdf
6. State of Indian Policing Report 2019, Common Cause https://www.commoncause.in/uploadimage/page/Status_of_Policing_in_India_Report_2019_by_Common_Cause_and_CSDS.pdf

CREDITS:

Host: Leah Verghese

This is a Maed in India production.

Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas

Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome