Editorial Board Contents - Bureau of Police Research and ...

excellence, dedication and commitment to dutywithout any quid pro quo, which to say the least,was simply sublime. Those days, our TrainingSchool was located in a ramshackle rented buildingin Anand Parbat, but it nonetheless could boastof some outstanding teachers (all non-IPS) on thefaculty. Their articulation, clarity of concepts,and width of knowledge were awesome. Thoughmore than 40 years have since elapsed, I still doremember their names, alongwith the subjectsthey taught; and failing to mention them wouldbe unfair to my own conscience.Mr. Shanti Swarup on Agents and Sources;Mr. Murthy on Progressive and RevolutionaryMovements; Mr. Seth on Communalism; Mr.Kapoor on Trade Craft and Mr. Kriplani onCommunications and Liaison (may God blessthem all).To add to my excitement of sitting in North Block,I was assigned to the Branch dealing with LeftWing Extremism, this too at a time when CharuMazumdar himself had stepped up the ‘prairie fire’of revolution that swept through large parts of thecountry, with endless violence, countless slogansand more than a hundred revolutionary journalsin English and various vernacular languages. Itwas a subject difficult to comprehend in its subtledimensions and complexities, and even moredifficult to keep pace with, because of the rapidityof events. Endless hours were spent, virtually everyday (24X7 in today’s jargon), by us, going throughplethora of reports, analysing them to discernemerging trends and keeping the Governmentconstantly informed and alerted, besides issuingadvisories to State Police/Intelligence. Thisindeed was a great beginning to my debut in thelB, under the guidance and care of my seniorcolleague, the impeccable Mr. Prakash Singh,whose contribution to the cause of Indian Policeis too well known. Another inspirational figureoccupying an adjacent room was Mr. M.K.Narayanan (now Governor of West Bengal andearlier the National Security Advisor), whoseprowess of conceptual analysis and projectionwas regarded as matchless. We all lookedupto him in awe and reverence. Above all, myimmediate boss, Mr. R.K. Khandelwal (laterretired as Chairman, J.I.C.) was perhaps the besttrainer a young officer could aspire for; a manobsessed with professional excellence in bothdesk and field work alike. Highly industrious andcommitted, and a hard taskmaster, he took greatpains to groom his wards. In a sense, he taughtus virtually how to hold the pen and write. Amoment of great personal joy, right to this day,is when Mr. Khandelwal fondly calls me his‘Arjun’.For a young entrant into the lB, particularlythrilling but initially unnerving was the exposureto the weekly Friday Conference, chaired bythe D.I.B. and attended by a galaxy of seniorofficers, rich in multifaceted experience andexpertise. Here, the Assistant Directors makepresentations regarding developments in theirareas of responsibility and more importantly,respond to queries and comments made by theirmore experienced seniors. This weekly exercise,which has become a kind of an institution in itself,is immensely helpful in improving the prowess ofarticulation, analysis and projection of the officersbesides giving them the confidence to face anyaudience. Virtues of precision and brevity are,thus, inculcated into l.B. officers from the verybeginning.In keeping with lB’s policy of rotation of officersbetween the lB Hqrs and SlBs, I was due for afield posting and was offered a choice betweenSIB, Lucknow (i.e my home state of U.P.) or SIB,Shillong, in the North-East. Believe me, in myquest for newer territories and people, I opted forShillong, a three year long posting that indeedproved a boon, both professionally and socially.One got the opportunity to go on inspectiontours, driving through the entire length andbreadth of the North-East, including distant placeslike Kohima, Manipur and Aizwal, soaking intotheir rich cultural diversity. In a similar vein, itwas soul satisfying to see numerous lB officersand men serving in every nook and corner, andin the mountainous border area, unmindful ofthe severe health and security hazards faced bythem. A sizable number of these middle levelfunctionaries were Keralites/South Indians, andno wonder, at many places, they used to run their‘Malyali Canteens’ serving delicious food, notonly unto themselves but to the culinary delightof other colleagues as well! As an lB officer, onecame face-to-face with top functionaries, bethey Ministers, top bureaucrats, Police officersand the like, while the entire family enjoyed theThe Indian Police Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue 83