A FUSION OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS
The police in India are as old as the nation herself. Ancient India saw police as an instrument under the kings. They were ministers or important individuals who were vested with police functions. The Moghul period some kind of organized patterns set into the police system. However there were glaring differences between systems of policing from one state to another which was noticed by the British. Realizing the need for a unified policing system in India, the British by a process of experimentation evolved the existing pattern of Police that was embodied in the Indian Police Act, Act-V of 1861. Modelled on the pattern of the army, the police personnel are to be utilized mainly for quelling disturbances by the civil population. This system has been the basis for the formation and functioning of all police systems in India that are constantly waging a war against internal enemies.
The Birth of A.P.Police
The AP Police force was born out of the integration of two separate police forces-the police force of the ex-Andhra state and that of the Telangana area in the erstwhile Hyderabad state. The condition of the state during the mid 19th century was one of great anarchy and confusion.
Telangana:
The territory of Telangana was ruled by the dynasty of the Nizam founded by Asaf Jah, a general in the army of the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb. He and his successors ruled the entire Deccan region with assistance and guidance from the French. In the districts the policing work was performed by irregular troops—the Sibandi peons, the Nizamats and the village servants. In the Marattawari districts the task was assigned to the Ramosis and Jaglias; in the Kanara districts the task of policing was assigned to the Setsindhis and Talayaris while most of the Telangana region was monitored by the Mannevars and Mazkuris. Armed with the authority to investigate arrest, liberate or punish the guilty these village servants in return for the police duties performed by them held lands and received a share of the yield from the villagers.
Andhra:
Most of the Andhra region was for a long time under the Vijayanagar dynasty that was founded by Sri Krishnadevaraya in 1509. The organization of the police during this period was called the Kaveli System or the Hindoo Police. In each village, town, city and district were stationed officers of police with gradations of rank and numbers of retainers commensurate with their ranges, from that of the humblest Kavilgar to the most powerful Poligar. The Kavilgars were entrusted the internal security and tranquility of the state. They were armed and paid by means of contributions from every inhabitant in addition to an assessment amount. The Poligars were expected to join the king’s army in times of external danger. They were entrusted with the safety of public property and were armed with the means and paid for the purpose of protecting it. They were held responsible and questioned for all thefts, robberies, depredation, detection and apprehension of public offenders. When the British came in the 19th century they introduced a system of policing that initiated a process of transition from military diplomacy to a modernized system.
It was the Madras Act XXIV of 1859 which marked the beginning of the Madras Police and shortly later, the Police Act of 1861 instituted the system of police which forms the foundation of modern day police in India. The "Ceded Areas" of Andhra, as they were popularly known, continued as a part of the Madras Police and it was only in October 1953, after the birth of a separate Andhra State, that the Andhra State Police gained individual existence. Finally with the formation of the Andhra Pradesh on the 1st November 1956 integrating the Telugu areas of the erstwhile Hyderabad state with the Andhra State, the modern day Andhra Pradesh Police came into existence.
The Police Act 1861 instituted the system of policing which is in force in India today. It is Act V that regulates the organization, recruitment and discipline of the India Police. With the induction of the Police Code in 1865 and the creation of the post of Inspector General of Police, there was a marked improvement in the law and order scenario in the country.
With the advent of Independence of India in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad envisaged an independent suzerainty of his dynasty and Muslim rule. However the police action in September, 1948 dispelled the Nizams notions and after strenuous efforts by the police and army to restore law and order, Hyderabad became a part of the Indian Union on the 26th January 1950.
Thus was born a new Andhra Pradesh, a land of multifarious hues and people that boasts of a strong and uncompromising yet empathetic and responsive Police Force. Soft temperaments laced with firm action, the Andhra Pradesh Police, created on 1st November 1956 with a rich, colorful and varied history was born of the amalgamation of two separate police forces—the police force of the erstwhile Andhra state and that of the Telangana area in the erstwhile Hyderabad state.
Increasing population, urbanization, industrialization and better communication has made the job of Policemen even more arduous, risky and unpredictable over the years. Responsible for maintenance of Law and Order, regulating traffic, prevention and detection of crime, VIP security, combating extremism…today a Policeman shoulders multifarious duties and responsibilities. Their job keeps them away from their families and loved ones for hours and many a times even for days. They are second to none when duty calls. All these factors make it imperative that in order to maintain the morale of the force special care is taken of the welfare of the policemen and of their families. Working towards this, the Andhra Pradesh State Police has introduced several schemes to look after the welfare of the Policemen and of their families.
Maithri is the name given to Community Policing in Andhra Pradesh. It is a Police-Public partnership programme. This programme orients the way the police should think and act. It broadens the police mandate beyond the narrow focus of fighting crime to include efforts to fight fear of crime and disorder as well. This philosophy provides an organizational strategy that motivates police officers to solve community problems in new and innovative ways. It envisages that the police must closely work with the people in the community by allowing average citizens a say in the police process, in exchange for their support and participation. 