Beat the Cow!

This was the scene that you would find in many prominent cities in India. A major road with a large promenade passing through a scenic location - near a beach, a lake or a famous park.
Sun has set and the lights around the area are lit. There is a steady stream of people trickling into the area.
There is a 'chaat wala' parked on the pavement. The 'chaat chef' is busy taking orders and acknowledges them with an expert nod, as his hands dances over the various ingredients. The bare hands grab at the bits and pieces from different containers and in some cases the hand goes elbow-deep into a pot of watery concoction. There is a 8 year old boy with rags in the background busy cleaning the plates and spoons in murky water. Once in while, the 'chef' turns from his culinary cockpit, uses 'flowery french' to rush the kid and then resumes handling the crowd around his stall.
There is an ice cream handcart strategically located nearby, taking up two parking spots. He is there to provide respite from the spicy snacks.
There are some college students sitting some distance away - top 3 buttons are open to show the sprouts of chest hair, the sleeves folded up to expose the puny biceps, cheap sunglasses dipping over their noses, faded skin tight jeans with a key-chains dangling out. They have chosen a spot under a broken tubelight. Their eyes are focused on anything female that passes them on the pavement and the road.
When the desired 'target' passes-by, somebody in the group whistles, there are some bawdy remarks and then a cackle of laughter. The families passing around continue with their business as though they did not hear and see anything. As though, the group does not exist. Some girls react strongly, some continue on, some avoid the route altogether. The impregnable male student group continues on uninterrupted.

There are other youths in this scenic area - dynamic and rich. They are mounted on large motorcycles. There is roar of the engine when they race at high speeds, dodging the unsuspecting pedestrians. They whiz past scooters, mopeds and autos. Female scooter drivers get additional attention as brush past their handles.

In another dark corner, you would find a shabby group of workers. Their daily wage has transmuted to cheap liquor. There is a loud ongoing argument about impending local elections and they would smash a few empty bottles on to the pavement to emphasize an opinion.

Further down, The road is not well paved and the lighting does not work properly. It is the corner that has to be avoided. There a few murky figures in shadows. Nobody knows what they do and why they do it. However, once every night a mysterious dumpster comes in and dumps some garbage their. The odious smell in the corner says it all.

While all this is going, we have 2 uniformed police men walking along confidently in the brightest area of the promenade. They are busy talking to each other. The street hawkers wave their salutes as they pass by.

They want to make sure that everything around them is in order. And judging by their confident stride and rhythmic tap of their lathis, it seems so -
- They badly positioned 'chaat' stalls are OK. There is no other dedicated place for them here. And people want chaat. So, it is OK.
- The unsanitary conditions of the 'chaat' is OK. It is part of the life in India.
- The fact that an underage kid is OK. It is illegal but if he does not work who will feed their family. Moral justice takes precedence over law in this case.
- The ice cream vendor who has used up 2 spots of prime parking space is OK. Where else will the poor guy go to sell his ice cream. Moral justice takes precedence over law in this case too.
- The group of college students are part of the core team of the local MLA. There is no use doing anything there. If they get arrested, they will be out in 1 day but police constables may lose their jobs. College students are a little perky at the age. They will grow up soon. It is OK.
- The kids who are driving their heavy motorcycles are not our problem. Traffic police should take care of them. So, it is OK.
- The shabby workers are a frustrated lot. They will be fine when the get up in the morning. They get a very stern warning, they get up, wobble around, the quivering hand just about reaches their forehead, they salute, smash another bottle some distance away and sing a shaky tune. Municipality should clean the mess up in the morning. It is OK.
- The dark corner is no patrol zone. Anyway, why should you patrol an area where there are no people - we are for people protection and we have to be where the people. We do not have to go there. It is OK.

So, everything is as it should be. But then the rhythmic tap stops. One constable points at something. There are 2 abandoned cows prowling for something to eat in an overflowing dumpster. The cows are pulling on some shreds of plantain leaves.

The cops get livid, they sprint to the dumpster and beat the cows out of the area. Cows should not be allowed in such areas. Don't know why the owners cannot take care of them. The cow on the road creates a very bad impression to people from outside the country. This is not OK and had to be fixed. And it was fixed with alacrity. Job done.

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This idea of "beat the cow" belongs to my colleague. The point of this article was not to be judgmental about the police force. They are part of the system that is not working right. Ask yourself, would it matter if the cops had done anything different here. Even if they stop the 'Chaat stall' from parking at the wrong spot, tomorrow he will be back there and maybe, with the support of superior police officer. Then, the constable would lose whatever respect he commands now. He plays his part in this drama of mundane existence. There is no escaping from this for anyone. The cow on the road was illegal and so are all the other things in the above scene. But why was cow the victim? It is so unjust.

Legality and Justice are two different things. Justice is an abstract concept verbalized in law. A law can come close to justice only if the policy making body wants to. To come close to justice, laws have to change. The role of the policy making body in any government is to do JUST THAT. If the policy making body itself claims that it was right because it followed law then justice cannot prevail.

This is what happened to the Baba Ramdev. Law was enforced with precision and force. So, the police did its job. But was justice served?

If the policy making body is corrupt, the laws will be unjust. Jan Lokpal bill is an attempt to weed out the corruption from the policy making apparatus and the government's apparatus. Till this is done justice cannot be there. There will be many instances of unjust law enforcements. This is what happens and has been happening to millions of other common folks. And it will keep happening.


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