Why beat up the police? They are part of the system.

According to experts the reason for the debacle in Greece is because it lacks institutions of governance. Politicians are immune from prosecution even after leaving parliament. Shipping tycoons refuse to pay taxes. There is no proper land registry, the civil service is bloated and people have to pay bribes for essential services. Sounds familiar? Exactly what we face in India everyday. The difference is that Greece got rid of military rule only in 1974 but India has been independent since 1947 and in India people are so fed up that they are beginning to retaliate with violence. Which is extremely dangerous. Yesterday a mob beat up 2 traffic policemen for fining a man on a motorbike who jumped a red light. Traffic police are deliberately run over by car drivers, resulting in death. There are many reasons for this anger. Motorbike drivers have been led to believe that they cannot be punished because in any accident with a car the car driver is invariably blamed even though motorbikes are at fault over 90% of the time. Delhi traffic is chaotic because no one knows traffic rules, having obtained driving license by bribery. Driving licenses are issued by Regional Transport Offices, run by Delhi Police, but overrun with touts who can get you anything you want. But the main reason for the anger is that the police is seen as a collection agency for the government and against the people. There are known spots where traffic jams occur everyday, either because of proximity to markets or because the road has been dug up by Delhi Metro. Not one policeman is ever seen at these spots to ensure smooth flow of traffic. During recent rains traffic signals stopped working, roads became water logged and big potholes appeared. But not one policeman. Imagine being stuck in traffic for an hour and then just as you are finally able to get away a policeman jumps out in front of your car to force you to stop so that he can issue a speeding fine because you have been picked up by a hidden radar. The rage against the police is a manifestation of rage against the government. Politicians are despised, civil servants are seen as corrupt and the police are seen as stooges. Politicians control the police so that they can be threatened into silence. Police beat up a journalist and burnt him fatally for daring to criticise a minister. After flash floods in 2013 in Uttarakhand killed thousands civil servants wasted Rs 1 billion on fancy cars, hotels and food for themselves. IAS officers are running away from Delhi in droves because the Prime Minister insists on hard work and has clamped down on corruption. Why work if you cannot fill your pockets? In 68 years we have not been able to develop institutions of governance. Uniforms make the police visible and make them targets. Poor fellows.