Dear Sir,
Thank you for sticking to your stand. It was unfortunate that an impression was created earlier that only one of us was making immature and silly comments on the performance of people whose position they were not able to judge through personal experience.
Since it is apparent that you do not know the difference, a policeman
is an unarmed civilian.
Under the regulations under which they operate, you will be further interested to know, they are not permitted to carry firearms except as per the express order of the DG & IGP of their state, or of the equivalent Commissioner of Police.
Very specific numbers of policemen are allowed to bear arms, under express authority only.
They are not permitted to open fire except under the orders of a Magistrate. That is why the City Commissioner and a few, a very few other officers are designated JP; they are IPS, JP, because that gives them the authority to order firing without waiting for a magistrate's order. This has subsequently changed; I understand that by ordinance, the Commissioner is now allowed to exercise an Executive Magistrate's authority.
Neither a traffic policeman nor a beat policeman receives even rudimentary arms training; that is restricted to the Crime Branch, to the CID. Besides these, there are armed police battalions which are on standby, never on duty on normal days. That was the horrifying part of the Bombay attack: it happened to a perfectly peaceful, unprepared city which had no inkling of terror in the offing.
It is difficult to decide which to applaud more, your ignorance or your condescension.
The dilemma is resolved; we are to applaud your brilliant selection of words over both your ignorance and your condescension.
Please remind me: what is the distance between Toronto and Saragarhi?
I made the mistake thirty years ago, when I was a pup which knew how to piss but nothing much more, of criticising a Punjabi steel scrap trader for something which in my opinion could have been done better. His answer will live with me forever, and I present it to you for your education, gratis: He had engaged a companion for the night, and was dissatisfied with her performance, and made the mistake of saying so. Her response was to say, "Phir thalle aake hilke dikha de."
It is truly appalling to see these criticisms made by those who cannot even make their own present environment safe for India.
Before criticising policemen on duty for their failures against overwhelming odds, could you share with us, briefly, listing only the top 500 items so that it does not tire you, what contributions you have made either to the defence of India, or to the civil defence of India in the last twenty years?
Sincerely,
'Joe S.'
Dear Sir,
You will understand as you get older and wiser, and undoubtedly you will do so, that
old people can be as foolish and prone to losses of temper as young people. You were right to say that in a democratic society, there is something called free speech, and you are entitled to exercise it. Perhaps it would be better if I draw back and submit my criticism and objections in a properly argued form, rather than allowing my personal hurt to overwhelm me and let me pass on that hurt to you.
My apologies for the excessive reaction.
Let us debate the matter calmly; you have said a little more than you might have, I have said much more than I might have. Let us go forward to address the problem: how do we tackle highly armed, high-tech terrorists in a low-tech environment like a South Asian city?
Sincerely,
