Encounter opens up old wounds across India- Hindustan Times

This is great piece of journalistic work by these two Hindustan Times journalists. They seem to have avoided the temptation of journalistic support for UPA coalition politicians. We should not take Sohrabuddin case to be the last case of (fake) or otherwise encounter in India. Problem of encounter is widespread in India and is not something new. Sohrabuddin case has been used to politicize a serious problem that Indian society refuses to confront for many decades. India needs Police reforms to ensure a clean police administration and rule of law. What happens in India is that you start out your career as a criminal and your trip to the elective bodies will be short. The burning examples are many tainted ministers in Behan Mayawati's (BMW)cabinet. There is one convicted RJD MP sitting in the jail. There is another convicted JMM MP sitting in the jail. I have always wondered what it is like to be an IAS or IPS officer in India when you vow to follow the law and your boss is a convicted felon. How do you think that convicted felon can participate in public policy debates and uphold rule of law? My gut feeling is that first you have to empower individual citizens so that they can rise against felons and not let them become celebrities. In the US a criminal conviction of an elected official means end to his career. In this era when India is trying to replicate US model of life, is it hard to kick out convicted or tainted politicians from the public life? Or you want to wait till the Honourable Supreme Court cracks it whip?

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