I have been a morning person all through my life. The morning chirping of birds is my favorite music. The rising sun has always been a source of motivation and positivity for me. Watching the amber ball rising from the darkness at dawn and gaining light and energy in an hour, lends hope. It reminds me the classical poem of legendary Sahir Ludhyanavi “रात भर का है अंधेरा, किसके रोके रुका है सवेरा” (The darkness is ephemeral, dawn is inevitable).
I regularly go for
a walk in the morning to listen to my favorite music and look at the rising
run. I find it a perfect start to the day. However for few days something has
been bothering me. Whenever I go for the morning walk, the security guards
posted in our housing society salute me with a distinct display of servitude.
They might have been instructed to greet the residents by their managers, but I
could distinctly see the subservience in their attitude. The guards tired after
struggling with mosquitoes the whole night, rising from their seats and
saluting the morning walkers with sleepy eyes is a rather discomforting sight
to watch early morning.
I find it
immensely embarrassing. I fail to understand why the security guards who
safeguard our household should be subservient to us. In that sense, these
guards are no less than the soldier manning our international borders. Ideally,
we must be showing our gratitude to them by greeting them rather than they
saluting us.
However, these
feelings of gratitude towards guards dissipate in one hour, when I see these
guards harassing the domestic maids, milk & newspaper delivery boys, car
cleaners visiting the society for their daily jobs. I find their behavior
unacceptable, considering that these daily visitors mostly belong to the
socio-economic strata of guards. The only difference is that guards are wearing
a uniform and a police cap. They remind me of the Indians who joined British
police and army during Raj, and tortured their fellow countrymen.
The worst part is
that these security guards are mostly unfit, untrained and unarmed. They are in
position to confront a trained or armed intruder. Most of these guards have
never seen a real explosive device. They mechanically take a peek into the
bonnets and trunks of vehicles without knowing what they are looking for. None
of them is trained to understand that it a running vehicle is less likely to
have a live bomb under the bonnet and more likely to have it in the glove box,
under the seat or in briefcase or handbag.
From my
observations, I have realized that the whole business of private security in
India is superficial. The security guards deployed at various establishments
(commercial, religious, educational, and residential) are mostly untrained and
inadequately equipped to handle a serious threat. Very few establishments in
India will actually pass a basic security audit.
The exponential
growth in business of private security is indicative of the inadequacy of the
policing system, growing crime culture and lack of awareness & self-defense
training amongst citizen.
Even after 74years
of political independence, a section of Indians still secretly loves the vanity
of the British Raj. This section has put their feet into left over British
shoes and want the society to be subservient to them. The concept of dignity of
labour does not appeal to them in any measure. We fail to understand that
“dignity of labour” is pre requisite to a just, equitable, inclusive and
progressive society.
