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PM Modi rues lack of reforms in security apparatus after Independence
Modi also said common people’s perception of security personnel has undergone a change in recent times and today they are being looked at with assurance of help
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said there was a need for reforms in the internal security apparatus after Independence, but the country lagged behind in this area.
“After Independence, there was a need for reforms, but unfortunately sufficient work was not done in this direction and we lagged behind,” Modi said addressing the first convocation of Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) during the second day of his two-day visit to home state.
The prime minister also said common people’s perception of security personnel has undergone a change in recent times and today they are being looked at with assurance of help.
“A perception was developed that we have to be careful of the uniformed personnel. But it has transformed now. When people see uniformed personnel now, they get the assurance of help,” the prime minister said.
He cited the humane work carried out by police such as providing food and medicine to the people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Modi took out a roadshow between Dehgam town in Gandhinagar district and RRU campus at Lavad village earlier in the day before dedicating a building of the university to the nation. Later in the day, Modi held a roadshow from Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar to Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. This was the third roadshow of the PM in two days.
He also said today’s policing required skills such as negotiation and other soft skills needed to function in a democratic scenario, while calling for an “overall training” of those involved in providing security.
He highlighted the role of the first batch of any such institute in taking the vision of the institution forward, while noting the contribution of old pharmacy college in Gujarat in turning the western state into a leader in pharmaceutical field.
The LM College of Pharmacy in Ahmedabad, set up in 1947 by Ahmedabad Education Trust, is hailed as one of the oldest and foremost pharma institutes of the country.
He said Gandhinagar has many firsts to its credit in the country, including the first National Law University, Forensic Science University, and Rashtriya Raksha University.
Drawing comparisons with institutes like the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, established in 1961, that has led to the creation of a robust MBA education system in the country, the Prime Minister said RRU is emerging as a landmark institution in the country.
“Don’t make the mistake of treating this as a police university. This is a raksha university that takes care of the security of the country in its entirety,” he said.
He also reiterated the importance of disciplines like “mob and crowd psychology, negotiations, nutrition and technology”.
Later in the day, Modi declared open the 11th Khel Mahakumbh after his roadshow from the Rav Bhawan to the Sardar Patel Stadium. Modi rode in an open jeep with Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel.
“The seed that I sowed 12 years ago has turned in to a grand banyan tree today,” Modi told a gathering at the stadium.
Started in 2010 in Gujarat by then CM Modi with 16 sports and 1.3 million participants, Khel Mahakumbh now encompasses 36 general sports and 26 para sports. Over 4.5 million sportspersons have registered for the 11th Khel Mahakumbh.
Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) was set up to meet the need for high quality trained manpower in various wings of policing, criminal justice and correctional administration. RRU was set up by the government as a national police university by upgrading the Raksha Shakti University, which was established in 2010. The university, which is an institution of national importance, commenced its operations on October 1, 2020.
The university aims to develop synergies with the private sector by leveraging knowledge and resources from the industry and to set up centres of excellence in various fields relating to police and security.
The university offers academic programmes from diploma to doctorate level in various areas of policing and internal security such as police science and management, criminal law and justice, cyber psychology, information technology, artificial intelligence and cyber security, crime investigation, strategic languages, internal defence and strategies, physical education and sports, coastal and maritime security.
Currently, 822 students from 18 states are enrolled in these programmes.
On Saturday, PM Modi also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and those who participated in the Dandi March or the Salt March that started from Sabarmati Ashram on March 12, 1930.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday flagged off ‘Dandi Cycle Yatra’ on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the Dandi March.
Shah said PM Modi has “incorporated Mahatma Gandhi’s principles in the new National Education Policy (NEP) as well as in several government projects and schemes”.
