DailyPost 2513
MANIPUR – BEYOND FACTS
Law will take its own course has been often said as an alibi not take responsibility of a situation, which has gone out of control and nobody is ready to take charge. Law translating in into justice has a neat defined course, and has various conditions and nature of effort associated with it, to get the right results. The rights results can be both conviction in cases and /or bringing the disturbed area back on track. The whole governance model works on facts / data, domain-based understanding of it; purely objective and empirical and having to keep acting with an iron hand on it till its logical conclusion.
The nature of effort, focus, application of professional mind, strategy, execution and courage to make it happen is the work of the extraordinary. It generally turns out to be a war of attrition, small or big, running for different durations of time. Under the overall gamut of governance, maintenance of law and order and prevention and detection of crime is based on historical data, criminal intelligence, the prevailing scenario, its genesis, strategies to control, use of force, area domination, registration of cases, investigation of cases as an independent professional task and thus being compliant to the word and spirit of law. Behind all the law and legalese is a broken society, a broken social order, a serious sense of grouse, and a failed system.
A system that allowed it to happen and worse still, allowed its continuance, because of lack of effort or capability or both. How facts play for sanity and improvement has to be understood. The facts / data should reflect the true reality. Integrity of data is of utmost of importance. Just as an example; the number of cases registered should be exactly the same as the number of incidents, application of right sections of law, cases classified and acted upon as per severity, the names of accused clearly mentioned, investigation to get the names of the unnamed accused at the earliest by tech and other aids, arrests, following all investigative procedures, latest and collaborative tech to put in use, chargesheet within the stipulated time, witness protection, then judicial trial, to get the best battery of government lawyers and leaving no stone unturned to get conviction.
Same process applies on the more dynamic law and order situation, with its own stages / phases and complexities. When documented facts become data, the main tool for investigation, governance and the judicial machine to run and deliver, action shows conspicuous results. If control, positive and proactive actions are taken on the ground with the desired results happening, it will be reflected in data. If a 1000 strong mob is accused, we need as many arrests of the persons really involved. The classification of cases for monitoring and supervision needs to happen and be known all concerned. When data is not available because of lack of appropriate legal action, we are forced to take our explanation beyond facts. Of fundas, legal abstracts, cover up efforts, varieties of defence, bringing in unwarranted comparisons, sentiments and emotions and promise of action belying the performance to date. In such a scenario, the true situation is made a smokescreen, when in reality it has been critical all the way. There is nothing to be debated in such a situation; the death toll, lack to complete area domination, curfew, internet ban and duration of the crisis tells it all. Three days of parliamentary debate, thousands if not lakhs of hours of TV debates, rims of print media and TBs of social media engagements has not the country better informed or convinced.
BEYOND FACTS IS AN UNDEFINED CRISIS.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.