Sujavna 1:21

Giri at 1700 hours on 17^th July 2011

Skinning a frog alive, and relishing it as a delicacy. Eating fruit-eating bats, nibbling on their wings and body first followed by munching of their heads in a mouthful all at one go, as another bizarre food option for those seeking adventure. Killing over 20 people and maiming another 120 with three bombs that were blasted in crowded urban centres. Do these three provoke the same levels of reactions in you?

All three were images that were broadcast last week on television; the first two were part of a travel and living channel while the third was news from Mumbai. And I thought that each portrays the psychological degradation and mindless insensitivity that human beings are capable of.

While I will probably comment on the first two in some future column of Sujavna, I would like to comment on the Mumbai blasts here, in this column. The media, and most commentators, have been incessantly commenting on the fact that the police and anti-terrorism agencies have not progressed substantially in their investigations as to who the perpetrators are. “72 hours after, no leads” cry the headlines. I strongly feel, that this is a misdirected enthusiasm that bodes no good for the future of public security and law and order management in India.

What if there are good leads that the investigators are quietly pursuing to ensure that they end up into solid cases for the prosecution? Why do we not give them the professional space and freedom to do their investigative jobs? What will we achieve by pressurising them to show some half-baked investigative results within 72 hours, if those results do not end up in appropriate prosecution or add to the overall intelligence of the terrorist networks that have colluded or plan to collude?

So my idea for this week’s Sujavna is for news agencies and the general media to give the police and investigative agencies at least 1 week notice period before asking them to share the outcomes of their investigation; perhaps the police could mandatorily have a press conference on the progress of their investigations at least once in 72 hours and for as long as the investigation is active. This will promote a healthy balance between the twin objectives of professional investigations of crime and citizen’s need to be informed and assured that the cases are being investigated.

I hope that the week ahead will be more positive and will see more instances of human kindness and love. Wishing you all a lovely week ahead. Till next Sunday......