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| India-Pakistan |
| Gill paves way for return of peace |
| 2002-05-17 |
| Several peaceful days in Gujarat after two-and-a-half months of mayhem have swung the focus on KPS Gill's seemingly remarkable efficiency — the Punjab supercop's very presence in the state appears to have sent all the rioters indoors. Knew there was a reason I liked this guy... Off the record, police officials say they had been "held back" by the government through the worst phases of the rioting — something that Gill's arrival had changed. "We were raring to go but...," says an officer, adding that if only the state government wanted, the riots may have been controlled within days. I dunno about the "rarin' to go" part, but we knew they could have stopped the rioting because when they wanted to, they did. "He (Gill) is acting as a cushion or shock absorber between us and the government," said another officer. Yet, he admits, the supercop might not have been effective without the Centre's full support - which, in effect, had taken law and order away from Chief Minister Narendra Modi's hands. And a damned good place to have it... Since taking over, Gill has done basically two things. First, he has had removed the top officers whose witting or unwitting biases during the riots had become the talk of the town. This included the Ahmedabad police commissioner and two superintendents of police. Wotta wimp. When the Muslims do it, heads really roll. They just don't do it to each other, unless there aren't any infidels handy... Second, he has initiated the process of confidence building among the minorities by opening a dialogue with them. It was with Gill at his side that Modi had his first meeting with Muslim leaders earlier this week. "Narendra, sometimes we feel like you just don't care." "I don't." At Gill's behest, the Gujarat Police has now started mediating dialogue between the members of the two communities. The leaders have been kept out of this, and the talks have been left to the affected people from both sides. Officials say that until and unless a feeling of being safe and wanted is not built up among riot-affected people, no one would leave the relief camps and return home. As a step towards building this confidence, some riot victims were taken back to their homes for a visit under heavy police escort on Wednesday — the first time in two months. So Gill's secret is to simply to run interference for his men while they do their jobs, instead of indulging in mush and corruption. On his part the supercop doesn't say anything on the role he is supposed to have played in returning Gujarat to apparent normality. âI have been advising anyone who needs my advice,â he says. I wonder if we could borrow him and a few of his hotshots next time Cincinatti or Los Angeles catches fire? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |