The sankaracharya of Kanchi has been put into police custody ? the charge being conspiracy to murder. Why are the courts not giving him bail? He has not been convicted. Why is he not being treated like all the others in similar cases, pending judgment? Denying legitimate bail to a man for being part of a conspiracy is only making the ?event? sound as though it is politically motivated or, motivated by sheer greed ? the math is wealthy! There have been innumerable cases of unacceptable police behaviour in the past across India, a force that we all know acts at the bidding of its political masters.

The BJP, capitalizing on this incident for some kudos, since they have been shooting themselves in the foot with regularity, need to question the corrupt police system, and thus radically reform the authority. Instead, they don?t seem to like the manner in which the godman is being treated. Why do political parties always get the wrong end of the issue? Why are they so pathetically out of sync with the horrors that we Indians face each day of our lives, thanks to political ineptitude. No citizen should be treated wrongly, the Kanchi seer notwithstanding.

The rampant misuse of some of the police acts under which innocents are booked because of personal vendetta is commonplace. A person can lodge a false complaint under section 420 and suchlike, for example, where you as the ?victim? can do nothing till the case starts and you are proven not guilty. Through those months and years, as an innocent, you are humiliated and dishonoured. It is despicable. But those who are masters at ?working the system? are free and some even get away by admitting pure murder. Wander through the corridors of the lower courts and witness the transparent corruption, money passing hands and so on. If we can be transparently corrupt why cannot we be transparently honest? This jurisdiction of the police is dangerous and needs to be amended because it is used primarily to settle personal scores and from top to bottom, all Indians, rulers and citizens, know that. We need a messiah to restore dignity in our lives.

Patronage power

Rape has become a household word, the act has become a daily occurrence and often policemen, paramilitary and military men are indulging in the assault. This is becoming the norm. Why are those serving men not arrested without bail? Why are those rapists either under ?suspension? or under a probe and not in police or judicial custody? What kind of jurisprudence is this? How can we be a proud people when the ?authority?, both political and administrative, is consciously and consistently breaking the rule and getting away with it. And we can all see it happening under our noses.

Is there no judicial and police reform because it suits those who rule us to ensure ambiguity and loose structures? Is it because this way all their misrule and wrongdoing can be protected? Is this their way of ensuring the vulnerability of their citizens, making them totally dependent, having compelled them, through archaic rules and deliberate mismanagement, to abdicate all their rights, privileges and values through this terrible system of ?patronage??

The real problem lies in the fact that we inherited rules, and laws from the outgoing colonial power which had initiated an administrative infrastructure to deal with and handle the natives. Our rulers took over the mantle of the departing British and have ?ruled? us in the same arrogant manner. We have been looted by our own brown administration as well. We learned well! This country needs to launch a non-violent protest, a civil disobedience movement, to force the hands of our rulers to clean up their act, kill corruption and restore civility into our lives. We desperately need a Gandhi to lead us in this century!