Politicization and Legitimacy of Police in India

Abstract

Purpose

The police in India do not meet the standards of legitimacy. This chapter examines a significant question – why in the largest democracy police are deemed illegitimate and untrustworthy?

Methodology/approach

The chapter draws from the literature about police role and functioning in India. Data from the Crime in India and other publications is utilized to assess the nature of policing and interactions with the citizens. Since the police derive their legitimacy from that of the government, the nature of politics and its impact upon the police organization is assessed from various reports and publications.

Findings

There is significant evidence to suggest that in India, citizens distrust the police and fear the officers while the police too remain mired in corruption, brutality, violating the rights of citizens. Two arguments are made to explain the reasons for the illegitimacy of police system: first, that the police model is incompatible with the plural and diverse democratic framework of the country. Second, that the political leaders have vitiated the democratic polity itself, preventing the growth of independent public institutions that could hold them accountable. All these have serious consequences for the health and vitality of the largest democracy in the world.

Originality/value

This chapter provides evidence about incompatibility of colonial policing with liberal democratic order and argues that political leadership is largely responsible for the illegitimacy of police and other public institutions.

Citation

Verma, A. (2016), "Politicization and Legitimacy of Police in India", The Politics of Policing: Between Force and Legitimacy (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 21), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 115-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-613620160000021007