The common man in Tamil Nadu feels the loss of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa as they would for their own mother. This is because she placed the welfare of the people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, as the first priority of her administration and ensured this using her remarkable understanding and grip over all departments of governance. I write this to show how she insisted on even the coercive arm of governance — the police to adopt a humane approach to the public. In 1993, she commissioned me, as consultant to the police department, to formulate a blueprint to modernise the police force with a humane face. When I submitted my report, she provided it with a graceful yet meaningful foreword. In it she said: “Modernisation is not simply a process of making equipment of the latest technology available and teaching staff how to use them. It is also a process that creates and promotes scientific thinking, attitudes and actions on the part of police officers. I am particularly happy to note that the police department has recognised this and is seeking to fulfil these needs through a specially designed course of training in police modernisation. I am glad to see this new approach documented in this book which is to serve as a handbook for ready reference of all senior officers who will be taking this course ... I look to senior officers of the Tamil Police Force to take this training course with the utmost seriousness and take the Force firmly forward on the road to modernisation. But I would like them to constantly remember that the efficiency and effectiveness of the force should be built into a functional style that emphasises helpfulness and sympathy as a primary response to people in distress, especially the poor and the helpless. — J. Jayalalitha (12.10.1993)
N. Krishnaswamy,
Chennai
