Of late, it seems everybody wants to become a sub-inspector. Let's trace this trend. A year ago I wrote in these columns that if insurgency doesn't kill us, chief minister O Ibobi will. Ever since he allowed mass recruitment in the police, people of all varieties, including former call centre workers, unsuccessful lawyers and successful jaywalkers have lined up to become the next big sub-inspectors. There's nothing wrong in filling up vacant posts. But how they are being filled is a suspect. All you need to do is to have a good chat with somebody involved in the recruitment process and you would get the picture.

With only a few sources of revenue available for the state government, and that too not enough to run its own house, Ibobi has hit the jackpot this time -- turn anybody who wants a job into a policeman. Of course in exchange for a hefty sum. Also, one can't tell for sure whether the wannabe cops are not suffering from mental illness, as is often the case.

Who suffers? I guess that would be you and I.

Ibobi and his team have become so desperate for crisp rupee notes that they have set up a system where everybody gets a reasonable cut, starting from the lowest footsoldier to the CM himself. This very network is the one that is currently playing host in the police recruitment process. The money taken from 'confirmed' candidates is good 'revenue' money because other sources of income are drying up.

Very few households in the state actually have the decency to pay electricity bills. Transport department officers eat road taxes right at the toll gates. The money deducted from income-tax goes someplace nobody knows. But the government has to keep itself breathing anyhow -- and things always turn bad when it comes to the point of anyhow.

The police department had the misfortune of being the scapegoat. Even if there is no need for more armed men of both types -- those who work under the law and those who don't -- the state government makes New Delhi believe that the former needs more firepower to combat insurgency and hence more money. The department that's eligible for upgradation is naturally the police force. But back home we all know what the Central funds are for. In fact the sentence should be: we know for whom the funds are for.

Ibobi has a solid understanding that there is no sense in providing jobs in other fields such as education and agriculture because power flows from the barrel of an AK-47. With power comes money and how to get it is child's play.

The problem doesn't end here. Out on the streets when it comes to actual law enforcement activities, the fine line between cops and insurgents is erased. This would not have happened if the right people were recruited instead of signing up any random madman who had the means to pay the nulti-lakh bribe. The professional conduct of a former drunkard or a drug-abuser is quite different from a graduate who joined the force through the proper method.

The solution is in everybody cleaning their backyard first. This is a difficult task but a necessary one. Instead of givng lip-service they should ensure their own friends and family members are 'clean enough' to become a police officer. Don't put money into the pocket of a crude minister whose only skill in the real world wouldn't qualify him even for the post of junior toilet cleaner.

That hard-earned money you have can be put into a venture of your own or for further studies. Think about it. Even the life of a tainted cop is not an easy walk in the park. This state needs more entreprenuers than anything else. All one needs is vision and courage to take the right risk.

Otherwise you will see bulls on parade everyday for the rest of your life in the small town that you call home.

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Ginvanglian   |2010-07-25 07:45:19 Manipur government solely depends on breast feeding from the centre government. The recent cribbing of the govt. for non implementation of 6th pay to its implementation was a joke, but its true. State government is a beggar to the centre despite being given so much monetary help. In sum, without any revenue how can a state meet its expenses! Reply | Quote 1   0

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