A small group of people in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been demanding their services to be Organised Group A Services (OGAS) so that their organisations would remain uncontaminated and they would get their just dues. They’ve “organised” themselves with a rarely-seen-before ferocity and insubordinate, intemperate language and have convinced a large number of people that all that is wrong with the country and its foundations is something evil called the IPS.
This is ridiculous. The arguments advanced are specious.
The first argument is that the Assistant Commandants are recruited by UPSC so they should be on par with any other person recruited by UPSC. UPSC is mandated by the Constitution for appointments to the services of the Union and All India Services. That doesn’t mean that all these services are equivalent and interchangeable. What they do not mention is that the examination and the level of competition are nowhere near the same.
The second – and bizarre – argument is that IPS officers handle “minor” duties like law and order in the states whereas CAPF officers have to move at short notice anywhere in India and abroad to perform very onerous duties (interview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHYcZDiJFnM). OMG, the reality is that mainstream policing is a thousand times more difficult – an SHO’s job itself is so complex that even after serving in the IPS for a lifetime I’ve wondered how these officers actually cope with so many things at the same time and still survive to face another day.
A third argument is that the requisite qualifications for both IPS and CAPF officers are the same. In reality, the minimum qualification for all Group B services recruited by UPSC is also graduation, the same as for Group A services. Would a Section Officer then be eligible to be promoted to head a CAPF?
Another argument: CAPF personnel have laid down their lives in large numbers in the service of the nation. But then, so have the other police personnel. As far as the Group A officers are concerned, IPS officers have led from the front, regardless of the rank. The near-fatal attacks on Mr. Ribeiro are too well-known. I have lost three of my own batchmates in attacks by terrorists. Do not talk to us regarding sacrifices and laying down lives. A CAPF officer is always with a large contingent of force while most times, an IPS officer rushes in with barely 5-6 constables and still manages to dominate mobs numbering thousands.
The force morale is argued to be going down. No Sir, the only people who are affected and are agitating are the Assistant Commandant direct recruits. What about the morale of the lower ranks? Conversely, where will the IPS officer go and what about his/her morale? 40 % of the IPS posts are reserved for central deputation. Whenever an IPS officer is inconvenient to the political dispensation of the time, the state is too keen to put him on the offer list. Even though, theoretically, they are eligible to be posted anywhere, there seems to be an unwritten ban on IPS officers being posted in Ministries and non-security related posts. While Railway officers, Forest Service officers and even Estate service officers manage to get posted in our own Home Ministry, there have been hardly any IPS officers in the Ministry. In my entire career, I saw only four such.
The sub-text of the arguments by these disgruntled officers is that IPS is injected from “outside” to pollute “their” organisations. What nonsense is this? What is it with “their” organisation? CAPFs are as much “their” organisation as it is ours. Barring CRPF, all the other CAPFs were founded and nurtured by brilliant officers from the IPS. Even CRPF underwent a much-needed wholesome transformation under the stewardship of IPS officers. The Britishers had designed it as an instrument of colonial oppression. Slowly, it has grown into a well-sensitised organisation with enormous contribution to nation-building and maintenance of the nation’s unity and integrity, while retaining the best of its earlier avatar such as zero-tolerance to indiscipline, extraordinary mobility and integrity across all ranks.
In fact, all the CAPFs are shining examples of organisations any country would be proud of. That has been possible because of a healthy infusion of IPS officers who have brought into them the benefit of their vast experience from the nooks and corners of the country, their abilities, their vision and their connections across the governments. I was once visiting a unit and the Commandant had been trying to get some land for his unit for a year without even managing an appointment with the BDO even though the land had been earmarked for his unit. On his request, I took an appointment with the District Magistrate. Something which was pending for a year was resolved in half an hour. I'm not detailing the many successful intelligence-led operations which were feasible only because of the coordination of the IPS network. Many times, whom you know and can access is much more important than what you know.
While the internal officers specialise in their organisations and the nitty-gritty of battalion management, I found that there is a reflexive hankering on their part to make these organisations into cheap copies of army-like units. However, that is not at all the purpose of these organisations. Army has a different role. Normally, they are supposed to stay in the barracks in battle-ready position for quick and mostly destructive mobilisation in extreme situations. Their other skirmishes are also designed to be engaged with overwhelming force. On the other hand, the CAPFs basically do a day-to-day policing job whether it’s in internal security or guarding duties – they tackle crimes of lawlessness, infiltration, etc. and serve as early warning and engagement systems too.
How did we get here? The problem is not the IPS or the direct-recruit Assistant Commandants. The problem is, despite knowing the structure and the requirement of the CAPFs, there has been over-recruitment of Assistant Commandant level officers in the CAPFs. Induction has not been planned and systematic. The hierarchical pyramid has been distorted. Releasing just a few top posts “from the clutches of the IPS” as they put it won’t solve the problem of morale. The Supreme Court hasn’t gone into the systemic problem and has addressed only the existing situation. The morale would be improved if someone sits down and carefully calculates intake at each level for the future so that there is no stagnation at any level. The exercise is a little tedious, factoring in attrition rates, future requirements, etc. but is eminently doable. This exercise should ensure that a Sub Inspector would have some chance of reaching IG level and an Assistant Commandant would have an excellent chance of doing so. The entire organisation structure and the Recruitment Rules of each rank should be drastically redesigned to cater for this. That would boost the morale.
With that organisation structure, the officers found surplus at each level right now should be given a strictly one-time alternative assignment – there are many organisations where they can have equivalent or better career prospects. That should include the state police forces.
One final thing. The new bill has removed a lot
of ambiguities but it hasn’t done enough. It’s silent on IPS intake
for DIG rank and below. I feel, legislation/ Rules should designate 20 % posts
of Commandant rank, 40 % of the DIG rank, 60 % of the IG rank, 67 % of the ADG
rank and 100 % of the SDG/DG rank in CAPFs (to be renamed as Central Police Forces)
for IPS officers. That would benefit the CAPFs, the IPS and the nation.
