Policing in India

Policing in India dates back to a long history consisting of traces and bits which need to be compiled together to narrate the whole story. It has been a practice since Vedic period which did not consist of a designated force of people; the traces of it can be found in the Rig Veda and Atharva Veda. In order to keep in check the unlawful elements of the society, the concept of "Dharma" (Later known as Law) was introduced by the peace loving people of the society. In Vedic India, as there was no authority like King in that era, God was considered as the supreme entity behind Dharma. The concept of "Dharma" was also mentioned in the Shanti Parva of Mahabharat as "There was neither kingdom nor the king, neither punishment nor the guilty to be punished. people were acting according to Dharma and thereby protecting one another" (Jois, M.Ram, Legal and Constitutional History of India, vol.1, p, 575).

The Harappa Civilization and Mauryan Period also showed the presence of policing in the then society.  One of the leading foundation for policing in India was put by Chanakya. Kautilya's Arthashashtra still plays a major role in defining the role and responsibilities of police and is regarded as the Gita (Holy book) of Policing in recent times. It had all the important concepts of policing that we are still struggling to imply in our system, which can be listed as:

• Community Policing : The villagers were responsible for detection and prevention of crime under the authority of the headman.

• Royal Household Guards (VVIP protection) : Danvarika

• Lady Officer : Antevansika, Women guards of Royal Palace.

• Police Officers : Dandapala, Durgpala and Antpala 

• Forest Police : Atavikas 

With the passing time, the police force continued to consist of royal guards and soldiers. Other than these the Indian society did not have police dedicated for people of the kingdom. 

With the advent of British rule in India the term "Police" came into existence in the subcontinent. The British police concept consisted of brutality, abusive language, indecent behavior and corruption towards the Indian population.  This concept of misconduct somehow continued with the Indian Police after independence. Even after these many years of Independence the Indian Population prefers to handle the serious incidents themselves instead of contacting the Police. This gives the notion that the population fears to get involved with the police as it is seen as a bad thing in the society. With the modernity achieved along time, the Indian population is slowly changing its perspective about police. This change of notion in the society started with the initiatives taken by police, like the Community Policing Programmes, inclusion of Women in Policing and many more. This has brought a change of mind set in the recent population and has given a brand new image to the police. While an image created is difficult to maintain for anybody, in this era of visual perfection, everybody sees us as we present ourselves, it applies to police too.