Raid on Illegal Brick Kilns: A Story from Jalpaiguri

Alipurduar is a picturesque place tucked away in the northern district of Jalpaiguri in the state of West Bengal. At 2500 sq. km, it is almost half the district of Jalpaiguri in term of area and has a population of over 14 lakh people. Peopled by different linguistic communities including a substantial tribal population, the mainstay of the local economy rests on the 66 tea gardens where a good number of local people including the emigrants from neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand are employed. In fact, the tea gardens, even though a good number of them are sick, still continue to provide employment to a substantive number of people and thereby create demand for other sectors of the local economy.

It is surrounded on its north by Bhutan, on its east by Assam, on south by the district of Cochbehar and on its west by Sadar and Mal sub-divisions of Jalpaiguri. Very lush and beautiful place with very good scenic locales and forests, Alipurduar is one of the tourist delights in the state of West Bengal.

Even though the District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri is in overall control of this sub-division, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate is the actual guy who calls the shots locally as the 130 kilometres distance between Alipurduar and district headquarters makes SDM the de facto Collector in his jurisdiction for all practical purposes. Being one of the very important sub-divisions of the state, SDM is usually a direct IAS officer.

Ram Mohan joined as the new Sub-Divisional Officer at Alipurduar in the year 2004. Like every new regular recruit, he was full of energy, ideas and motivation to do something for the local society. As such, he was very pro-active and accessible to all. Soon, he endeared himself to the local people who responded very well to all his initiatives and activism. He would meet everyone and respond to all public complaints with alacrity and empathy. He would keep his weekends free for some enforcement activities which usually comprised matters relating motor vehicles, land revenue, excise, different illegal medical practices including drive against quackery, illegal pathological labs and any other public grievances.

It was against this background that it was brought to his notice that there are certain illegal brick kilns running for many years in the Ethelbari area of Birpara Block of his sub-division, which has a substantial population from North India. He gathered all the requisite information relating thereto and got to know that about 23 brick kilns have been operating illegally for years together on tribal land. He was informed that non-tribals were operating these brick kilns on tribal land which is an offence as tribal land can not be converted or transferred to non-tribals but for certain specific procedures and formalities. Not only this, they were also not paying any revenue to the government for the purpose which is quite obvious.

He also got to see an old Supreme Court judgement clearly ruling against these brick kilns on tribal land, giving direction to the local administration to immediately shut down these kilns and take appropriate measures against those involved. Having known all this, SDO was raring for some action against these illegal operators. Be it noted that the post of the Sub-Divisional Land Officer was being held by one of his Deputy Magistrates making his control over the local land department further strong. So, accompanied by his Second Officer (senior most Deputy Magistrate in his office) and a team of some officials from the land department together with the relevant case records of each brick kiln, SDO headed to the spot on a pre-determined day.

While SDO proceeded to the spot, he did not deem it fit to find out the reasons for inaction or no action against these illegal operators all these years. He just thought that may be his predecessors did not have enough guts for the same and he would prove that he definitely has it. So, they all proceeded to the spot. However, SDO did not take any police force with him as he was not used to taking police force with him on all occasions as he had led many of the enforcement drives successfully without any assistance from the police. He would also not do this because doing that would also mean spoiling the entire drive as police would invariably leak the information, defeating the very purpose of the enforcement. He just had a wisp of a man for his personal security officer (PSO) with him.

So, there they were all at the enforcement site in Ethelbari. Since it was a big expanse of land, secluded from the populated areas as well as very dusty, SDO’s PSO requested him to exempt him to accompany him any further as he could not tolerate dust because of his asthma problem. SDO granted his request. So, whatever trace of police support SDO had, was also gone.

Undeterred, SDO proceeded further with his team to the first brick kiln where more than hundred labourers including some children were busy working. He asked his Second Officer, Arshad Hasan Warshi, a very good and dynamic state civil service officer accompanying him, to call the owner. The owner was not readily available, so the Munshi Babu supervising the kiln activities came rushing to attend on him. The Munshi was brimming with humility and invited SDO and his entourage for some tea and snacks.

Without responding to Munshi’s mealy mouthed reception, SDO, matter-of-factly, asked the Munshi to produce the kiln license to which the latter replied that there was none to show. SDO asked for some land papers, any authorisation to run the kiln or any document proving that the requisite land revenue and other tariffs had been paid. When the Munshi again replied in the negative, SDO grabbed him by his collar, slapped and kicked him. Then, he directed his Second Officer to arrest him.

From there he proceeded to the next kiln and almost same sequence was repeated there as well. SDO thus kept entering deep into an uncharted land, replete with billowing brick kilns and working labourers, unaccompanied by any police force. He kept moving from one brick kiln to another, arresting either the owner or the Munshi. In all this, he was ensuring that he gave a good thrashing to the guy giving wrong answers to his queries before arresting him. At many occasions, it also happened that the person he beat up and arrested was almost double his size and taller than him, but he had the confidence of the power enshrined in his office and a courage stemming from the company of a retinue of officials.

It was when he had beat up and arrested about ten people that his Second Officer Warshi whispered in his ears that they had entered quite deep into the influence area of these illegal operators and it was advisable to get back and move out at the earliest. SDO sensing the situation, immediately decided to retrace his steps. As they were retracing that they saw a crowd of people approaching them. It was the local panchayat member Ms. Sabita Chhetri accompanied by the local party functionaries and followers.

On approaching SDO, she remonstrated with him saying that as a local public representative she should have been informed of the action. To this, SDO politely replied that he is not supposed to inform her of all his decisions and activities. He informed her as to how these people had been operating illegally for years together on tribal land and not giving any revenue to the government. Ms. Chhetri told him that had she been informed of it, she might have taken action against the same. Knowing very well that taking action in such cases was beyond the jurisdiction of a panchayat member, SDO told her that she should be happy that he had made her job easier. All this conversation was going on while SDO and his team were walking back with these people to the place where their vehicles were parked.

Talking and discussing with them, SDO and his team were soon near their vehicles. In the meanwhile, the crowd led by Ms Chhetri and another local leader called Rajesh Singh had got very agitated. They soon started shouting all sorts of slogans against SDO including ‘SDO ki gundargardi nahi chalegi’ and ‘SDO murdabaad’. SDO tried to pacify them and explained to them everything, but to no avail. They soon placed a demand to SDO that they would not allow the kiln owners to be arrested. Sensing the mood of the situation, SDO conceded the demand after a while and handed over the three owners to the crowd. Immediately, the crowd led by Ms Chhetri asked for all the Munshis to be let off too. SDO had no other option available but to discretely concede to the demand. His refusal may have led the crowd to be more agitated and violent resulting in stone pelting and what not.

SDO along with his team members soon left the scene amidst the slogan shouting by the agitating crowd which had by now swelled to over five hundred people including labourers from the various nearby brick kilns. Directing the other team members to go back, SDO along with his Second Officer went straight to the local police station and met the local Circle Inspector and Officer-in-Charge. He spent time discussing various aspects and nuances of the incidents with them. Then, he directed Mr. Warshi to lodge an FIR against the people involved in the incidents for obstructing a public servant in the lawful discharge of his duty. It was seen to it that the FIR was lodged in such a way as to implicate them under more sections and for cognizable/non-bailable offences.

Soon, it was all big news all over the district. Very soon, many people were arrested by the local police. Since all the illegal brick kiln operators including those arrested were local influentials and also the important members and financiers of the locally dominant party, they were soon out of the custody at the instance of the local Minister. The District Minister, a member of the locally dominant Scheduled Tribe, was furious with the way SDO had handled the entire affair and prevailed upon the DM and SP to have his men out of the jail the same day.

The Minister is learnt to have pushed for SDO’s transfer, but nothing happened as DM wanted SDO’s continuance who had also been a probationer under him in the same district. The District Magistrate reportedly advised against the proposed transfer of SDO to the Personnel Secretary. The media were salivating having got a good story and since there were many admirers of the young SDO among them, the entire incident got reported in almost all the newspapers, with a positive bias in favour of SDO. But there ended the entire matter as the Minister ensured that FIR is not taken to its logical conclusion and no inquiry or action was taken after that. SDO got so many calls thereafter including those from some of his batchmates for not pursuing the matter too seriously (pointing to the connection these people have in high places), but SDO knew very well that pursuing the matter further or not was no longer in his hands. He, however, kept quiet. After all, if you can not help the situation, at least, an opportunity to oblige someone should not be lost, even if doing the obligation is by default of your helplessness.

The local people were, however, very happy with SDO’s action as very big wigs had been beaten up by a very young officer. SDO was disappointed with the way the entire matter was hushed up, but he felt satisfied with the fact that, at least, he penalised them through humiliation by way of public thrashing of the offenders, in front of their own employees. SDO did send a detailed report on the entire matter later along with his recommendations including the proposal to regularise these brick kilns for realisation of the government revenue. People still talk about the incidents, all the illegal brick kilns are still continuing there without any hindrance or obstruction from any quarters and thousands of local and outside labourers still work in unhygienic conditions for less than minimum wages and sans any work site amenities.

Raid on Illegal Brick Kilns: A Story from Jalpaiguri

Alipurduar is a picturesque place tucked away in the northern district of Jalpaiguri in the state of West Bengal. At 2500 sq. km, it is almost half the district of Jalpaiguri in term of area and has a population of over 14 lakh people. Peopled by different linguistic communities including a substantial tribal population, the mainstay of the local economy rests on the 66 tea gardens where a good number of local people including the emigrants from neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand are employed. In fact, the tea gardens, even though a good number of them are sick, still continue to provide employment to a substantive number of people and thereby create demand for other sectors of the local economy.

It is surrounded on its north by Bhutan, on its east by Assam, on south by the district of Cochbehar and on its west by Sadar and Mal sub-divisions of Jalpaiguri. Very lush and beautiful place with very good scenic locales and forests, Alipurduar is one of the tourist delights in the state of West Bengal.

Even though the District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri is in overall control of this sub-division, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate is the actual guy who calls the shots locally as the 130 kilometres distance between Alipurduar and district headquarters makes SDM the de facto Collector in his jurisdiction for all practical purposes. Being one of the very important sub-divisions of the state, SDM is usually a direct IAS officer.

Ram Mohan joined as the new Sub-Divisional Officer at Alipurduar in the year 2004. Like every new regular recruit, he was full of energy, ideas and motivation to do something for the local society. As such, he was very pro-active and accessible to all. Soon, he endeared himself to the local people who responded very well to all his initiatives and activism. He would meet everyone and respond to all public complaints with alacrity and empathy. He would keep his weekends free for some enforcement activities which usually comprised matters relating motor vehicles, land revenue, excise, different illegal medical practices including drive against quackery, illegal pathological labs and any other public grievances.

It was against this background that it was brought to his notice that there are certain illegal brick kilns running for many years in the Ethelbari area of Birpara Block of his sub-division, which has a substantial population from North India. He gathered all the requisite information relating thereto and got to know that about 23 brick kilns have been operating illegally for years together on tribal land. He was informed that non-tribals were operating these brick kilns on tribal land which is an offence as tribal land can not be converted or transferred to non-tribals but for certain specific procedures and formalities. Not only this, they were also not paying any revenue to the government for the purpose which is quite obvious.

He also got to see an old Supreme Court judgement clearly ruling against these brick kilns on tribal land, giving direction to the local administration to immediately shut down these kilns and take appropriate measures against those involved. Having known all this, SDO was raring for some action against these illegal operators. Be it noted that the post of the Sub-Divisional Land Officer was being held by one of his Deputy Magistrates making his control over the local land department further strong. So, accompanied by his Second Officer (senior most Deputy Magistrate in his office) and a team of some officials from the land department together with the relevant case records of each brick kiln, SDO headed to the spot on a pre-determined day.

While SDO proceeded to the spot, he did not deem it fit to find out the reasons for inaction or no action against these illegal operators all these years. He just thought that may be his predecessors did not have enough guts for the same and he would prove that he definitely has it. So, they all proceeded to the spot. However, SDO did not take any police force with him as he was not used to taking police force with him on all occasions as he had led many of the enforcement drives successfully without any assistance from the police. He would also not do this because doing that would also mean spoiling the entire drive as police would invariably leak the information, defeating the very purpose of the enforcement. He just had a wisp of a man for his personal security officer (PSO) with him.

So, there they were all at the enforcement site in Ethelbari. Since it was a big expanse of land, secluded from the populated areas as well as very dusty, SDO’s PSO requested him to exempt him to accompany him any further as he could not tolerate dust because of his asthma problem. SDO granted his request. So, whatever trace of police support SDO had, was also gone.

Undeterred, SDO proceeded further with his team to the first brick kiln where more than hundred labourers including some children were busy working. He asked his Second Officer, Arshad Hasan Warshi, a very good and dynamic state civil service officer accompanying him, to call the owner. The owner was not readily available, so the Munshi Babu supervising the kiln activities came rushing to attend on him. The Munshi was brimming with humility and invited SDO and his entourage for some tea and snacks.

Without responding to Munshi’s mealy mouthed reception, SDO, matter-of-factly, asked the Munshi to produce the kiln license to which the latter replied that there was none to show. SDO asked for some land papers, any authorisation to run the kiln or any document proving that the requisite land revenue and other tariffs had been paid. When the Munshi again replied in the negative, SDO grabbed him by his collar, slapped and kicked him. Then, he directed his Second Officer to arrest him.

From there he proceeded to the next kiln and almost same sequence was repeated there as well. SDO thus kept entering deep into an uncharted land, replete with billowing brick kilns and working labourers, unaccompanied by any police force. He kept moving from one brick kiln to another, arresting either the owner or the Munshi. In all this, he was ensuring that he gave a good thrashing to the guy giving wrong answers to his queries before arresting him. At many occasions, it also happened that the person he beat up and arrested was almost double his size and taller than him, but he had the confidence of the power enshrined in his office and a courage stemming from the company of a retinue of officials.

It was when he had beat up and arrested about ten people that his Second Officer Warshi told him in his ears that they had entered quite deep into the influence area of these illegal operators and it was advisable to get back and move out at the earliest. SDO sensing the situation, immediately decided to retrace his steps. As they were retracing that they saw a crowd of people approaching them. It was the local panchayat member Ms. Sabita Chhetri accompanied by the local party functionaries and followers.

On approaching SDO, she remonstrated with him saying that as a local public representative she should have been informed of the action. To this, SDO politely replied that he is not supposed to inform her of all his decisions and activities. He informed her as to how these people had been operating illegally for years together on tribal land and not giving any revenue to the government. Ms. Chhetri told him that had she been informed of it, she might have taken action against the same. Knowing very well that taking action in such cases was beyond the jurisdiction of a panchayat member, SDO told her that she should be happy that he had made her job easier. All this conversation was going on while SDO and his team were walking back with these people to the place where their vehicles were parked.

Talking and discussing with them, SDO and his team were soon near their vehicles. In the meanwhile, the crowd led by Ms Chhetri and another local leader called Rajesh Singh had got very agitated. They soon started shouting all sorts of slogans against SDO including ‘SDO ki gundargardi nahi chalegi’ and ‘SDO murdabaad’. SDO tried to pacify them and explained to them everything, but to no avail. They soon placed a demand to SDO that they would not allow the kiln owners to be arrested. Sensing the mood of the situation, SDO conceded the demand after a while and handed over the three owners to the crowd. Immediately, the crowd led by Ms Chhetri asked for all the Munshis to be let off too. SDO had no other option available but to discretely concede to the demand. His refusal may have led the crowd to be more agitated and violent resulting in stone pelting and what not.

SDO along with his team members soon left the scene amidst the slogan shouting by the agitating crowd which had by now swelled to over five hundred people including labourers from the various nearby brick kilns. Directing the other team members to go back, SDO along with his Second Officer went straight to the local police station and met the local Circle Inspector and Officer-in-Charge. He spent time discussing various aspects and nuances of the incidents with them. Then, he directed Mr. Warshi to lodge an FIR against the people involved in the incidents for obstructing a public servant in the lawful discharge of his duty. It was seen to it that the FIR was lodged in such a way as to implicate them under more sections and for cognizable/non-bailable offences.

Soon, it was all big news all over the district. Very soon, many people were arrested by the local police. Since all the illegal brick kiln operators including those arrested were local influentials and also the important members and financiers of the locally dominant party, they were soon out of the custody at the instance of the local Minister. The District Minister, a member of the locally dominant Scheduled Tribe, was furious with the way SDO had handled the entire affair and prevailed upon the DM and SP to have his men out of the jail the same day.

The Minister is learnt to have pushed for SDO’s transfer, but nothing happened as DM wanted SDO’s continuance who had also been a probationer under him in the same district. The District Magistrate reportedly advised against the proposed transfer of SDO to the Personnel Secretary. The media were salivating having got a good story and since there were many admirers of the young SDO among them, the entire incident got reported in almost all the newspapers, with a positive bias in favour of SDO. But there ended the entire matter as the Minister ensured that FIR is not taken to its logical conclusion and no inquiry or action was taken after that. SDO got so many calls thereafter including those from some of his batchmates for not pursuing the matter too seriously (pointing to the connection these people have in high places), but SDO knew very well that pursuing the matter further or not was no longer in his hands. He, however, kept quiet. After all, if you can not help the situation, at least, an opportunity to oblige someone should not be lost, even if doing the obligation is by default of your helplessness.

The local people were, however, very happy with SDO’s action as very big wigs had been beaten up by a very young officer. SDO was disappointed with the way the entire matter was hushed up, but he felt satisfied with the fact that, at least, he penalised them through humiliation by way of public thrashing of the offenders, in front of their own employees. SDO did send a detailed report on the entire matter later along with his recommendations including the proposal to regularise these brick kilns for realisation of the government revenue. People still talk about the incidents, all the illegal brick kilns are still continuing there without any hindrance or obstruction from any quarters and thousands of local and outside labourers still work in unhygienic conditions for less than minimum wages and sans any work site amenities.
By:- Saumitra Mohan from IAS 2002 Batch. The case study is based on my experience when I was SDO, Alipurduar between August 2004 to February 2006.

Action u/s 97 gone haywire

Alipurduar is a picturesque place tucked away in the northern district of Jalpaiguri in the state of West Bengal. At 2500 sq. km, it is almost half the district of Jalpaiguri in term of area and has a population of over 14 lakh people. Peopled by different linguistic communities including a substantial tribal population, the mainstay of the local economy rests on the 66 tea gardens where a good number of local people including the emigrants from neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand are employed. In fact, the tea gardens, even though a good number of them are sick, still continue to provide employment to a substantive number of people and thereby create demand for other sectors of the local economy.

It is surrounded on its north by Bhutan, on its east by Assam, on south by the district of Cochbehar and on its west by Sadar and Mal sub-divisions of Jalpaiguri. Very lush and beautiful place with very good scenic locales and forests, Alipurduar is one of the tourist delights in the state of West Bengal.

Even though the District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri is in overall control of this sub-division, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate is the actual guy who calls the shots locally as the 130 kilometres distance between Alipurduar and district headquarters makes SDM the de facto Collector in his jurisdiction for all practical purposes. Being one of the very important sub-divisions of the state, SDM is usually a direct IAS officer.

Ram Mohan joined as the new Sub-Divisional Officer at Alipurduar in the year 2004. Like every new regular recruit, he was full of energy, ideas and motivation to do something for the local society. As such, he was very pro-active and accessible to all. Soon, he endeared himself to the local people who responded very well to all his initiatives and activism. He would meet everyone and respond to all public complaints with alacrity and empathy.

It was against this background that one woman came crying to SDO with a complaint relating to the alleged kidnapping of her minor daughter by someone. She said that the kidnappers were the local residents of the Jaigaon Gram Panchayat area of the Kalchini Block of Alipurduar sub-division. She also said that the said kidnappers had the support of the Officer-in-Charge of the local police station.

The way the complainant woman narrated the entire episode, SDO was convinced that there indeed was a need for emergent action otherwise the girl might be in danger. Since it was an alleged case of kidnapping, there was a danger of the kidnappers moving out with the girl. So with very less time on hand and with no opportunity for verifying the veracity of the complaint, the young SDO, moved by her complaint, decided in favour of a quick action.

Since SDO himself did not have very good opinion of the local OC, allegedly a traveller of the gravy-train with all his fingers in the till, he decided in favour of a quick action to ensure that the kidnapped girl was immediately freed out of their clutches. So, SDO issued a ‘Search Warrant’ under section 97 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to have the girl freed from the wrongful confinement of her alleged kidnappers.

In the said ‘Search Warrant’, he directed the BDO Kalchini, the local Executive Magistrate, to recover the girl with assistance from the local police. As the OC was allegedly in cahoots with the kidnappers, the SDO feared that the OC might sabotage the entire rescue operation by helping the kidnappers flee.

It was the same OC who had once protested against the enforcement actions by the SDO and made insulting remarks. OC’s remarks against the SDO should be read with his frantic defence of the brothel-owners of Jaigaon during a raid by the same SDO following directions from the Commissioner, Jalpaiguri Division on a public complaint in presence of three other Executive Magistrates.

The OC had even tried to convince them to lighten the case against these brothel-owners by booking them under preventive sections – under 107 Cr PC and advised them to desist from such raids, as the same were not practicable because Jaigaon being a tourist destination, such brothels actually helped local tourism and SDO’s actions may negatively affect the nascent hotel industry. He also remonstrated against their enforcement actions by saying that they should not be conducting such raids without informing them.

It was against the background of this uneasy relationship between the SDO and this OC that SDO telephonically directed the BDO to first rush to the spot where the girl was alleged to have been kept in confinement and then send for the police force with a copy of the ‘Search Warrant’.

The BDO accordingly rushed to the spot as per direction and sent for the police help by sending the copy of the ‘Search Warrant’ to OC, Jaigaon through his driver. When the BDO reported to the SDO that OC had refused to receive the said warrant, the SDO talked to the OC directly and directed him to send for some police force to the spot where BDO was already stationed. Later on, the OC did send some constables to the spot, but he sent only male constables. As it was a search warrant for the recovery of a girl, he should have sent, at least, one female constable as well which he did not.

However, when the BDO found that the police was taking a lot of time in coming and when he was convinced that the girl was inside the house, he did not think wise to wait for the police force any longer. Fearing possible harm to the kidnapped girl, he decided in favour of entering the house with his staff members to rescue the girl. He found the girl inside, ensured her identity and ordered his men to take the girl to the police station.

As his men tried to take the girl out, the people inside the house/the alleged kidnappers made a lot of hue and cry over this. It was a complete pandemonium out there. As all this was happening, a lot of crowd congregated out there. By now it was clear to the BDO that it was not a case of kidnapping as the girl herself was resisting her being taken out. It was a case of consensual love marriage and elopement. The crowd, mostly neighbours, strongly disapproved of the BDO’s action, but BDO had an order to carry out and he saw to it that he did so. However, it would have been more advisable for the BDO to wait for the police force, enter the house along them and asked them to do the needful which he did not do owing to a judgement which was completely his own.

By the time they were all there at the police station, a big crowd was already there shouting slogans against the BDO. They gheraoed him and were in no mood to allow him to move out. They also wanted the girl back. Since it was already late in the evening (about 10 p.m.), so there was no way the girl could be produced in the SDM court.

In all this, the wily OC played a very villainous role. He not only was not kind with his words for the BDO, he did everything possible to incite the crowd against the BDO. He told the crowd that he had nothing to do with the developments in the instant case as it were the BDO and SDO who were answerable. He refused having been served any search warrant notwithstanding the fact the BDO had sent the same through his driver which he had refused and notwithstanding the fact that he did send some constables to the spot later pursuant to the telephonic instructions by the SDO.

While he should have taken action against the people who were obstructing the BDO in the discharge of his lawful duty, who was also his senior officer and the local Executive Magistrate, the OC made the situation worse and incited the crowd by making disparaging remarks against the BDO and SDO.

However, somehow things could be brought under control and everyone was home with the girl again going back to her in-laws with a promise from them to present the girl in the SDM court the next day. SDO was informed of the entire episode by the BDO after the incident got over peacefully. However, the next day the entire incident was splashed all across the newspapers and electronic channels with negative bias against the BDO.

The SDO was miffed with the way the press had reported the matter. They had found fault with the BDO, added untruths and made it a very sensational story. Going by the media reports, it appeared that that a demonical BDO pulled a pregnant girl by her hair and took her ruthlessly out of the house of her husband with whom she was legally married. They also quoted the OC about the latter not being informed about it all, that there should have been female constable before for carrying the girl to the police station and that there should be no enforcement after 6 p.m. where a woman is involved.

The media had quoted the OC pointing out these technical lacunae in the entire operation by the BDO. So, the SDO was furious with the conduct of the OC as well. SDO felt that whatever be the lacunae in the entire exercise, which the OC found, the OC had no business talking to the press against the BDO who was his senior officer. It was his duty as the local police officer and as a government servant to help his senior officer rather than inciting the crowd against the BDO and thereby further aggravating the situation. OC has shown himself to be very irresponsible by doing what he did.

The girl was produced in the SDM court the next day. During the hearing, the SDO got to know that it was a case of love marriage and that the girl had been staying there out of her own will. Even though SDO allowed the girl to stay with her in-laws, he fixed another hearing to settle the matter finally as there was no proof of marriage and there was also a dispute regarding the age of the girl. Though the girls’ mother did produce a school certificate whereby the girl appeared to be a minor, but the authenticity of the same was disputed by her in-laws. Hence, the need for another hearing was felt.

The girl, however, did admit to the SDO that she was no pregnant that she was not dragged by her hair by the BDO as claimed in the media. The young SDO did learnt a lesson that one should not be moved by any of the complainants’ tears the way he had been in the instant case deciding to take a quick action. But, the situation got murkier because of mishandling at many levels. It could have been a case of actual kidnapping and then SDO’s decision might have been seen in different perspective.

The SDO called a press conference the same day and let his displeasure know to the members of the media. He asked them as to whether they verified their facts before reporting that the girl was pregnant, that she pulled by her hair by the BDO, that the girl was a major, that she was a married girl, that the OC was not served the ‘Search Warrant’ and that it was OC who erred by not sending the female constables. He asked them that as to why did they not question OC’s role in all this, about his refusal to receive the ‘Search Warrant’, about his failure to send lady constables or his express attempt to incite the crowd against the BDO in the lawful discharge of his duty.

He asked them as to what should have been done by the SDO in case it would have been a true case of kidnapping as the SDO initially feared. In case it was all true as alleged, and had the SDO not taken prompt action, the girl might have been harmed. He told them that if the media continued with the reporting the untruths as they did, he would not feel encouraged to share/provide any news as they expected him to do. Such an approach also has a dampening impact on the administration going for prompt action in such cases, he told the press. The press acknowledged its mistake and many of them carried a corrective story the next day but for one which said that the SDO actually threatened the press in case they dared to carry more such stories in future.

The SDO sent a detailed report later to the District Magistrate including a report against the OC, Jaigaon recommending action against him. In his report, the SDO supported the action by the BDO, who was facing a very bad press and a negative campaign against him, even though the SDO did feel that somewhere the BDO mishandled the entire operation by way of his decision to enter the house to rescue the girl without waiting for the police.

The SDO brought the entire sequence of incidents to the notice of the DM and discussed the matter personally with him. He pressed for the transfer of OC, Jaigaon. The WBCS Association (West Bengal Civil Service Association) also met the DM and Commissioner about it all and similarly pressed for OC’s transfer. DM was also convinced and he took IG, North Bengal also into confidence, but finally nothing got going. It is learnt that OC, Jaigaon met the Commissioner, Jalpaiguri Division later and could convince the latter of his innocence. The Commissioner, therefore, is said to have directed the DM not to move against the OC any longer. In all this, the Commissioner did not deem it wise to consult and talk to the BDO and SDO who were the aggrieved parties against a junior police officer.

The DM later called the SDO and told him that matter has been sorted out. As per the compromise formula worked out between the DM and the SP, the OC would meet both SDO and BDO and apologize to them for his conduct. SDO had no way to remonstrate with him beyond a point. The OC did meet the SDO to apologize, but he met him in plain clothes as if to say that the uniformed officer was not guilty, though as a person he was willing to apologize. During his conversation with SDO, he appeared remorseless of his action on the D-Day.

The OC, however, never met the BDO for apologizing to him. IG, North Bengal who was still very keen on taking an action against the OC, later sounded the SDO as to whether he was still firm with his stand vis-à-vis the OC to which the latter replied in the affirmative. But, still nothing happened as there were many senior officers to oblige the said OC who is said to have been recommended for a bravery medal for his encounter escapades against the KLO (Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, a separatist organization active in North Bengal) militants and whose monthly income, from the unknown sources, was said to be upwards of Rs. 30 lakhs per month.

By:- Saumitra Mohan from IAS 2002 Batch. The case study is based on my experience when I was SDO, Alipurduar between August 2004 to February 2006.

The Self-Help System: Need for a New Global Architecture

                                                                        By Saumitra Mohan

            It’s trying times for the world economy with recession demon refusing to be tamed, notwithstanding a slew of staccato efforts made by different involved players. The domino-like fall of many countries of Europe and Americas including Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece has been a cause of real concern given the insidious implications of the same for the world finance system. The laissez-faire economic model’s avowed promise to promote and sustain a ‘level playing field’ by rolling back the dirigistic state has all but failed.

At the end of the day, the extant model has only promoted the Darwinian natural selection by unleashing the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ model as once propounded by Herbert Spencer. Hence, the SOS calls for incremental but inclusive growth for all within the framework of a welfare economy. But all these calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears. What is surprising is the way all the nations have been trying to handle the situation in the fashion of a ‘zero-sum’ or ‘negative sum’ game. Such a skewed approach only encourages alienation and animosity by promoting vested interests of a few at the top of the international pecking order at the expense of all down below.

            We need to appreciate that with the globalization juggernaut stalking the world stage since the end of the Cold War, we already live in a world of ‘complex interdependence’. Hence, the innate penchant of the nation-states to keep hitting each other like billiard balls in an anarchical global system needs to be restrained. The exclusivist pursuance of protectionist policies by some countries a la the United States of America or United Kingdom by regulating the quantity and quality of immigrants into their country, by creating non-tariff barriers or by restraining their industries from outsourcing their multifarious operations across the globe shall nothing but hasten the process of collective downfall.

The sooner we appreciate the reality of globalization and the attendant complex interdependence, the better it shall be for the emergent multi-polar global economic system. The nations also need to appreciate the international division of labour and coordinate their policies and actions accordingly. But the same just does not seem to be happening. While each nation should be coordinating their policies and action with the other country, the reality is diametrically opposite though a charade of multilateral engagements does go on all the while.

The fact remains that the nation states are still groping in the dark for wangling suitable responses to their individual problems. The information and trust deficit among the members of the Comity of Nations forces them to act in the same fashion as happens in the ‘Prisoners Dilemma situation’ where a prisoner defects in the face of a temptation against the other prisoner not knowing what the other is thinking and doing. It is very much like the four blind men trying to feel and describe the elephant in their own way without actually being successful in their effort. Those with ophthalmic benefaction of the Almighty know that the real elephant shall only emerge with the combined perception of all the four.

            But the ‘self-help’ international system forces nations to act in sublime isolation from each other. While each nation believes that it is acting rationally in the betterment of its holistic national interest, the fact remains that each of them is actually acting irrationally. This happens simply because none of them attempts a rational comprehension of the hermeneutics of their disparate acts within the straitjacket of the extant global financial system. One does feel that the global leadership, suitably advised by the epistemic community on international economics, should be playing a more proactive role than they have so far.

            So, any nation having any misconception about being successful in resolving their problems on its own and continue to be an island of prosperity untouched by the winds of change elsewhere should immediately disabuse such notions. In a globalized world of complex interdependence, all the problems have become global in nature whose individualized solutions would never work.

It’s a multi-polar world and the solutions shall have to be found in a multilateral forum. Any unilateral solution shall always backfire as could be visible from the failed attempts to fight recession. The present recession has returned despite the seeming success in warding it off during the ‘subprime lending-induced’ crisis in the United States about two years back. The dilettantism and adhocism with which the recession was dealt then without resolving the thorny issues relating to macro-economic financial architecture, the problem was bound to resurface. The temporary reprieve administered through artificial prime-pumping of the struggling economies has almost come to a naught. It appeared that the states were just trying to brush the issues inside the carpet and were just not ready to tackle the same in real earnest.

First of all, the countries of the North need to understand that they can not continue to be islands of prosperity, at the expense of those less-privileged lot toward South of the hemisphere. It is this policy of seeing one’s national interests through customized rose-tinted glasses that has brought situation to this sorry pass including giving rise to a sense of disaffection and distrust in a section of the global population. Hence, the rise of fissiparous and revisionist forces like Taliban.

The Gini-Coefficient of income equality as represented by the Lorenz Curve has been worsening for the poor what with over 80 per cent of the global asset owned by around 18 percent of the people of this Blue Planet whose own survival is endangered owing to the reckless consumerism in the North. The Climate Change threat is already looming humongously large on the horizon and the ‘Rip van Winkles’ of the world need to wake up from their prolonged slumber before it is too late.

Reading such signs very well in advance, Samuel Huntington had aptly propounded his celebrated, ‘Clash of Civilization’ thesis. What surprises one more is the cognitive and functional sclerosis of the global leaders to synergize their thought and action despite their being in the know of the nature of their problems and the relevant solutions. The blinkered vision informed by a parochial understanding of national interest has so far prevented them from doing what ought to be done.

Asia, led by the Chinese and Indian behemoths, which because of their huge domestic markets so far looked immune to the march of global recession, has slowly been catching the ‘recessive flu’. The Bretton-woods financial institutions needs to be more proactive than they have been so far in facilitating a global solution to the reigning global crisis through better coordination of policies and action between the countries of the North and the South.

Also, the West also needs to appreciate the fact that they can not continue steamrolling the South for long and they also can not sustain their prodigal lifestyle for long, something they successfully did for a long time on the strength of an exploitative capital accumulation during the heydays of colonial and neo-colonial international political system. They can continue doing so only at the collective peril of all.

In the globalized world of today, we need to do everything possible to break the dichotomy of developed and developing countries. And this we can do only through better coordination of policies and actions among the members of the Comity of Nations. We should think more in terms of early realization of the millennium development goals of the United Nations rather than sparring over a few pieces of silver and a few portions of land, what with the very weakening of the classical concept of sovereignty. Globalization shall never reach its logical culmination unless and until the North unshackles its vision in pursuing a crooked policy of free movement of capital but restricting the free movement of labour.

Today, the imagined community of a ‘Global Village’ a la Marshal McLuhan has already emerged what with the Jasmine and Spring Revolutions where information technology through social networking sites and mobile telephony had a great role to play. The Fourth Estate’s strength, as powered by a resurgent civil society, is increasingly more visible to all of us in acting as an agent of change as also seen recently in the Middle East.

In stead of splurging our energies and resources on armaments by engaging in competitive rat race of one-upmanship, we should engage in developing our human resources to ensure a better quality of life for them, something countries like India has always espoused. Lets grow together in a spirit of cooperative living or else we shall perish together before long.