The .303 Problem.

.303 is the name of the work horse of Indian Police services. It's a rifle that has been in service since the British Raj. If you are too particular about the dates, then 1880 it was , when the Rifle actually shipped out of it's factories. So for the last 128 years, the .303 Rifle has been untiringly rendering it's service in almost all the police forces in our country (State police forces) without exception. The paramilitary forces too used it as it's primary weapon till as late as 2001 when finally it's was firmly phased out in favour of the SLR (Self Loading Rifle, a 1950's product) during the tenure of Home secretary Kamal Pandey. But it's not as bad as it all sounds cos even though it's old, it's a very effective weapon with a fair degree of stopping power. And better, most of our policemen are actually trained on the .303 , so that ends up making it one of the most effective weapons in their hands when an 'aimed firing' need arises. The .303 did even prove it's mettle in the Parliament attacks in 2001.

But times & circumstances have changed a lot since 2001. And the present era calls for a huge spending towards modernisation of our Police forces. And of course, a systematic de-coupling of the police-politician nexus.

We as a nation have some of the best elite forces in the whole world , as proved in Mumbai. They are amongst the most intensively trained for sure. But as Mumbai again proved, the first line of defence in our system is always invariably the state police forces. And we saw heartening scenes when the brave Mumbai police jawans devoid of bullet proof jackets took on the terrorists with their .303's. It also proved systemic failures when the elite forces took more than acceptable time to reach the scene of crime. Also , we shouldn't forget that the most adopted terror tactic against our nation has been bombs dropped in trash cans, Mumbai was a new form which might not repeat itself again.

India today pays Trillions of rupees in taxes every year.We definitely have money to upgrade out on security. The political will hopefully will come now. As for upgradation of the .303, the most common excuse given is that an Automatic weapon in the hands of a routine beat policeman is too dangerous, for the unfortunate event of him becoming hostile, the risk would run high. It's a classic example of not attacking the root cause of the problem.

The average police constable doesn't live too comfortable a life if he belongs to the non 'Chai-pani' cadre. Having personally seen the lifestyle of the lowest rung of our forces, I am not usually surprised when I hear stories of Indian policemen going hostile against their own comrades. The problems are almost the same as the other low income Indian families. Daily family issues, Childrens quality education, daughters wedding, supporting parents back home etc.. Now add to that 12 hour work shifts, routine denial of eligible leave , no tolerance for revolt, punishment codes and strict disciplinary actions.

The mordernisation of out State police forces have to start from the bottom. Govt housing has to be ensured for all, creation of Police schools on the lines of Army schools, subsidized ration/groceries, counselling services,strict 8 hour workshifts, subsidized personal loans etc.. might be a good idea to start with. The point being , a constable who is adequately rested with lot less worries back home would be infinetely more effective than someone who is refused to go home to attend his sister's marriage and yes, lot less dangerous when he is armed while on duty. It is when we meet & solve this fundamental issues with our police forces that we can actually go and mordernise the .303's with AK 47's and Mp5 machine guns without any fear. Another important aspect is the working condition. Police stations should be equipped with technology. Special vehicles should be custom made for Chase operations. And all policemen on duty should be available on the radio.

One might ask, how in the world would these things help when most of the police force in our country is inherently corrupt. My answer is simple - No human being is bad by birth. It's circumstances that exist in our society today that makes us bad/corrupt/unethical. Lets change the fundamentals, we have got them wrong. And let's see if that brings about an attitudinal shift in the system. That's the best hope we can have today.It also comes from close observation of the system. An armed policemen is almost often never seen accepting bribes. I feel it's due to mere sense of ownership that comes automatically when a task demanding some responsibility is assgined to you. So when we create an ecosystem wherein we have a lot less stressed policemen on the street, armed, on the radio recieving intelligence, with a happy family back home, a financially sound bank account, a well equipped work place to head back to, I personally feel we would have created a very strong first line of defence. And that might make all the difference in most of the cases.