By Our Correspondent
HYDERABAD/BHUBANESWAR: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah addressed the convocation ceremony of 74 RR IPS batch of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy at Hyderabad on Saturday . Shri Amit Shah paid tribute to 36,000 martyred police personnel who made the supreme sacrifices for the internal security of the nation at the Martyr’s Memorial.
The passing out parade of 74 RR batch of IPS Probationers was also attended by the Governor of Telangana Smt. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Director of the Academy Shri AS Rajan and several other dignitaries.
In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that joining the great tradition of IPS, the 74 RR batch of trainee officers will be known as the batch of Amrit Kaal. After training this batch is capable, dedicated and equipped to face every challenge that may emerge before the country. With the culmination of our 75 years of independence, this batch is marching to protect the internal security of the country, which is a matter of great pride. He said that during the last seven decades, the country has seen many ups and downs in the field of security and faced many challenges, and while facing these challenges, more than 36,000 police personnel have made the supreme sacrifices.
Shri Shah said that looking back at the 75 years after independence, today India’s situation has changed from Local to Global and from Violent to Vibrant. The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that after the independence of this great nation, while beginning the All India Services, Sardar Patel had said that it is the responsibility of the All India Services to keep India intact under a federal constitution, and officer trainees should make this sentence their motto. Shri Shah said at the time of establishment of this college, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had said that this college is first of its kind in India and there was no precedent like this in the past but it will become an inspiring example for the future generations.
Shri Amit Shah said that the goals set by the country’s first Union Home Minister for the Academy have been well accomplished during the past 75 years. Currently, a total of 195 officer trainees are undergoing basic course training at the academy, including 41 women officers and 29 officer trainees from our neighboring countries Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Mauritius. He said that most of the trainees of this batch have completed their basic qualification in technical fields. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set up ‘Police Technology Mission’ to meet the challenges of the future, and empower all the police institutions of our country to be in tune with the global technical challenges from the point of view of technology. Shri Shah said that the mission will not only make the entire police system from constable to DGP capable to tackle the technical challenges but will also make them tech-savvy. This Police Technology Mission will make all the police institutions of our country in sync with the global technical challenges from the point of view of technology.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a goal for the people of the country that when we celebrate the centenary of independence in 2047, the country should emerge at the top of every field, globally. Fulfillment of this goal is both the responsibility and duty of every Indian citizen. The IPS trainee officers present here have a special responsibility because no nation can be great without good law and order and impenetrable internal security.
Shri Shah added that the protection of the rights of the weakest citizen, the sensitivity of the system towards him/her and a police system that can withstand all the challenges, are essential elements to lay the foundation of a developed nation. He said that we aim to make India a five trillion dollar economy by 2025 and ensure that India becomes a fully developed nation by 2047. It is definitely possible to achieve this goal as in 2014, we were at the 11th position in the world’s economic ranking and in a span of just eight years, we have been able to reach at the fifth position. According to Morgan Stanley estimates, by 2027 India will emerge to be the third largest economy in the world.
Shri Amit Shah said that the officer trainees are passing out today after imbibing the Constitution of our country and its spirit. They must be able to appreciate that the three types of system are essential in our constitutional system. The first one is the citizenery, which votes once and elects the governance system for five years, second one is the government elected by the citizens for a period of five years and the third one is the selected bureaucracy which serves the country for 30 to 35 years. He said that the citizen has the right to vote once in five years, the people who get elected work for the development of the country for five years, and later have to go back to the public to seek mandate, but the selected officers in the All India Services have the right to serve the country selflessly for 30-35 years. Shri Shah said that the next 25 years are crucial for the country, as they can help us fulfill the dream of a great India envisioned by our freedom fighters. He added that during the next 25 years, this IPS batch is going to be responsible for the internal security of the country, and the cognizance of this responsibility should always reflect on the mind, duty and accountability of these officers. These 25 years are the years of ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that when we assess the internal security scenario of the country eight years ago, the terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency inside the Northeast and increasing violence in the left wing extremism areas, were the three major challenges in front of us. Now, after 8 years, the government has succeeded in countering these three challenges to a large extent. He said that after the abrogation of Article 370, there has been a huge reduction in terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that over 8,000 cadets have been brought back to the mainstream by signing a peace deal with many insurgent organizations in the North East and settling the border disputes between the states, a wave of development has begun today and with the establishment of peace a dawn of new era has been witnessed in North East. By filling the security vacuum and cracking down on their top leadership of LWE, the number of 96 districts under Left Wing Extremist zones in 2010 reduced just to 46 in 2021. Shri Shah said that India has showcased a successful example to the world by banning PFI. Central agencies and the police of all the states of the country have succeeded in banning an organization like PFI by successful operation in a single day. It shows the maturity and power of our democracy
Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the main reasons for the reduction in the incidents of terrorism across the country, are the policy of ‘zero tolerance’ against terrorism, strong framework of counter-terror laws, empowerment of all agencies and strong political will. The global participation of our agencies is also expanding. The holding of the Interpol General Assembly in India and India’s leadership in the field of terrorism and finance in No Money for Terror conference symbolises the acceptance of our security agencies globally.
He said that by establishing Forensic Science University during the past 3 years, India has endeavored to fill the expert human resource and logistical gap in the field of forensic science. The Officer Trainees when they move from Academy to Field, they will be associated with ICJS and the main pillars of Criminal Justice namely e-Courts, e-Prison, e-Forensic, e-Prosecution and Crime and Criminal Tracking Network (CCTN) and facilitate linking the work of policing with ICJS. Shri Shah said that at present NIA is extending in all the states of the country and the expansion of NIA and NCB is a very important step to crack down on criminals linked to international narcotics and terrorism. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, National database on crimes like terrorism, narcotics and economic offenses is being developed. NAFIS (National Automated Fingerprint Identification System) has also been launched for making a fingerprint database. Government of India has also established Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) and launched schemes to ensure housing and health for the soldiers and many other schemes to ensure that they spend more time with their families.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister said that at present the security scenario is changing from Geographical to Thematic, now multi-dimensional policing will have to be accepted instead of single dimensional policing. In place of Geographical Threats like Northeast Left Wing Extremism, Communal Hotspots, now thematic threats like Cyber Crime, Misuse of Data, Misinformation are emerging that need to be dealt firmly. Earlier there were challenges of terrorism, extremism and day-to-day policing, but now we are faced with multidimensional challenges like Terror Finance, Narco Terror, Fourth Generation Information Warfare, etc. Our police forces have to be equipped to grapple with them. Shri Shah said that a new approach is to be devised by the authorities to counter the challenges and strengthen policing. Our focus should be on the security of the country’s economic centres, protection of human rights of the poor, evidence-based investigation, evidence-based forensic science, and cracking down on terror links of narcotics, cyber and financial fraud.
Shri Amit Shah said that the police force has to be Accessible, Accountable and Approachable. Being accessible means bringing a balance between knowledge, skills and approach. We will have to set an example of accountable policing by imbibing fresh energy and confidence within us and becoming approachable. He added that the police force will have to address the law and order only after understanding the local language, geography and culture. He said that the soul of the constitution is the citizens and their rights and the police force has to interpret all the clauses of the constitution and law keeping this goal in front. Officer Trainees will have to move forward by balancing their professional and personal life. Officers will need to win the trust of the citizens and retain their humanity. Shri Shah said that it is the responsibility of these officers to ensure welfare of the personnel working on the ground in stress situations, improve welfare measures, being sensitive to them, augment police capacity building and ensure that their approach matches the global standards.
The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that he would like to again emphasise on the Police Technology Mission and on the basis of the three mantras of Awareness, Preparedness and Enforcement, the technology mission is going to progress ahead. He appealed to all the trainee officers to be a part of this mission and strengthen it further. He added that as the head of a police force, it is very important that the officers do not succumb to pressure, should take precautions, stay away from fame and at the same time understand the rights and sensibilities of the person sitting at the lowest level. Shri Shah said that all the officers are not only leaving as IPS, but are also taking the responsibility of laying the foundation for the centenary year of independence of our country in the coming 25 years. He said that it is also the responsibility of the officer trainees to lead the journey from 75 years to 100 years on the ‘Kartavya Path’ of ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’ from the perspective of the internal security. Together, we will ensure our maximum contribution in the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the creation of a great India and will always remain devoted to the unity and integrity of the country.
