UNREST in the US - Create Police Boards - Lessons Learnt for India

UNREST IN THE US DUE TO POLICE ACTION AND LESSONS LEARNT TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN INDIA - Creating Police Boards to have representations with community and police together

I got a chance to read Obama's post on Medium ( https://medium.com/@BarackObama/how-to-make-this-moment-the-turning-point-for-real-change-9fa209806067 ) where he has given his views on the unrest.

He is one of the world leaders I admire, especially for the way they handle things when things go wrong.

Today, I learnt about how the police boards are formed in each county, with the elected leaders working with police unions at the local level to decide how to handle some of the tough situations such as these.

Obama is worried that the voter turn out in these elections are so low, that it does not make sense to not vote and later crib about having no say on how these boards handle such situations.

He uses this opportunity effectively to communicate that both peaceful, non-violent protests and participation in elections should go hand in hand.

I got a chance to also read the 'New Era of Public Safety', a toolkit prepared to help Americans prepare themselves to bring in the change needed to bring in more equality and reduce such discriminations in the future. For those interested, here is the link: https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf

India has a lot in common with the issues faced in the US today.

For example, there was a similar incident in India when someone was killed in New Delhi, but it is all about 'setting expectations and achieving it'.

In the US, the expectation is that human rights have to be respected and hence people are finding it difficult to accept when one thing is said and another thing is done.

In India, the expectation is that human rights is a joke and you better shut up your mouth. If you open (like how I am doing now), be prepared to face the consequences. I am ready to do whatever it takes to help and make my country better.

Three sentences (the ones above) is the maximum negativity I can bring into any write up, which is aimed at helping my country become better - so will now move on to focus on the positive thoughts.

The article by Obama and the 'call to action' has a few lessons I have learnt and hope to implement by understanding and working close with the police officials in India.

If the 'Friends of Police' (FOP) teams formed at various levels in India can be expanded to be more active and tied to the decisions made at police levels, the relationship between citizens and police will improve - thus resulting in more respect for police among people.

We should actively advertise how voting in local elections, guiding FOP teams and influencing decisions taken by police during such controversial times can all go hand in hand.

Photo Courtesy: obama.org website