India, Oct. 6 -- As far back as 1903, the Fraser Commission recorded that "the police force throughout the country is in a most unsatisfactory condition, that abuses are common everywhere, that this involves great injury to the people anddiscredit to the government, and that radical reforms are urgently necessary." The need for "radical reforms" in the police was thus felt 123 years back, and ironically we are still struggling to achieve that. Time seems to have stood still for the police all these years.

After Independence, while the Constitution was being drafted, there was a great opportunity to redefine the role and functions of the police, but it was missed because the founding fathers of the Constitution probably felt that the All ...