police Archives

Lights, Camera, Gangsters: Growing Up With Mumbai’s Real Ganesh Gaitondes

I grew up in the Byculla of ’80s and ’90s, in middle-class insularity on the fringes of the gangland. Yet, I do not recognise the boys of Sacred Games. And I knew them well. They came to collect donations for Navratri and Ganpati, and they didn’t use creative expletives like the L-word.

Samina Motlekar July 9, 2016

POV

Why is India Obsessed With Frisking at Shopping Malls and Cinema Halls?

I don’t want to walk around with a gun like an American, but I’d like to go watch a film without being frisked. I don’t want to Make India Great Again, but I want to Make it Free.

J Jagannath June 20, 2016

Coronavirus

The Most Thankless Job in the Lockdown: Policing the Public

Over the years, India’s state police has been given many unflattering labels. We address them as “mamu” or “thulla”, rarely according them the respect they deserve. Yet, it is the police that is out there in the middle of a pandemic, protecting us from ourselves. My heart is full of gratitude for them.

Lata Gwalani April 18, 2016

POV

Fast and Furious: Will the New Traffic Rules Finally Force Indians to Drive Safely?

If you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere. Our pitiful reputation for unsafe driving has led to the steep fines for traffic violations in the new Motor Vehicles Act. But despite the public outcry over sky-high challans, is money the only language we will understand?

Kahini Iyer April 5, 2016

POV

Why We Need to Sustain the Anti-CAA Protests Peacefully

The silver lining to the dark cloud of the anti-CAA protests is that the Act went from being something that people had heard about but not fully understood, to the subject of a mass movement. Now, there is a sense that this idea is not fringe anymore. There’s a feeling that it could get better.

Deepak Gopalakrishnan March 30, 2016