Union Minister for Home Affairs, Amit Shah said that in a federal country like India there must be a holistic approach to internal security as the country has to fight the challenges of securing its borders, infiltration, fake currency, cyber-attacks and trafficking of humans, arms, narcotics and animals. He said that this is all the more important as India has over 15,000 km land boundary, over 7,500 km coastline and a hostile neighbour always trying to sow the seeds of terrorism in the country.Addressing the concluding session of the 47thAll India Police Science Congress in Lucknow this evening, the Home minister said that in the above context, it is of paramount importance to have an effective coordination between border security forces and State police.Emphasizing on the importance of strengthening the internal security apparatus in the country, Shri Shah said that as India is a multi-lingual and multi-cultural Nation, enemy forces always try to take advantage of this diversity. He underlined that such attempts must be dealt in a very strong fashion and said that internal security in 21st century cannot become fool proof unless all the State governments work in coordination and cohesion with the Central government.The Home Minister said that the Central government has taken several steps like changes in the NIA Act and the upcoming changes in Arms Act, Narcotics Act and making IPC and CrPC through suitable changes to reflect the ethos of India of 21st century. He said that IPC and CrPC were enacted during the British rule to secure its empire but a free country like India must change its priority for a better future of the citizenry. He sought suggestions from State police departments, judges and lawyers, besides civil society to bring IPC and CrPCin line with a democratic functioning of the government. He added that the suggestions given by BPRD in this regard is being looked into by the Home Ministry.
The Home Minister also praised police for maintenance of effective law and order situation after abrogation of Article 370 and Supreme Court verdict on Ram Mandir. He also said that the measures like country-wide NRC and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill can be implemented with effective coordination between the Central and State security apparatus.Shri Shah talked about the government’svision to establish a Central National Police University,with affiliated colleges in each state, where students after 10th standard can learn about law, forensic science, communications, Constitution and Police and coordination for creation of a specialised force. He also outlined the vision to establish a National Forensic Science University, with an affiliated college in each State and forensic science lab in each district, to make prosecution and conviction more effective as he said that the rate of conviction in the country is at a pitiable level.Shri Shah talked about establishing a Modus Operandi Bureau to study the psychological profile crime and criminals, for effective implementation of law and order. On a similar line, he talked about creating post of Director (Prosecution) in each State and the same must be institutionalised with full accountability and responsibility. He further said that Narcotics is spoiling the youth of the country and promised to bring about a wholesome change in the entire structure of Narcotics bureau and a model of the same would be given to the States in advisory format.Praising the UP government led by Yogi Adityanath for effective handling of the law and order situation, the Home Minister said that this has been achieved because of high motivation and said that from constable to DGP must work as a team to get desired results.Emphasizing on the importance of this event, Shri Shah said that the All India Police Science Congress is an important platform for brainstorming and adopting best practices in the field of policing.
Talking about the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), he noted that the mandate of BPRD is to find solutions to challenges facing the police forces and this periodic gathering is a melting pot that can provide a platform through which the work of BPRD can be percolated to the grass roots. The Home Minister also asked the police congress to have a separate session dedicated to ponder upon the outcomes of all the previous All India Police Science Congress resolutions and research papers from 1960 to 2019, so as to find out how much of the same has been implemented at the ground level.The Home Minister remembered and paid tribute to the over 35,000 security personnel who have laid down their lives in line of duty. Talking about the need to change people’s perception about police, Shri Shah told how the Modi government has developedthe National Police Memorial in New Delhi to pay homage to these martyrs. He informed that he has written to all State governments to establish such police memorials in the respective States to showcase the valour and sacrifice of the police personnel. He said that such memorials can also become centres of tourist attraction, which would go a long way in transforming the public image of the police in the eyes of common man. The Minister also highlighted the need to popularize the good work done by our police forces through documentaries and short films.Concluding his address, Shri Shah said that internal security is all the more important today as India is a huge market of 1.3 billion people and is at the centre stage of the world. He said that while in 2004, India was the 11th economy in the world, but in the last 5 years it has jumped to the 7thposition and expressed hope that by 2024 India would become a $5trillion economy with a position in the top three global economies. This aim can only be achieved through PM’s vision of a SMART (Sensitive, Modern, Alert, Responsive and Technosavvy) Police force, he said.
Amit Shah