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Madam Commissioner starts with a bang: literally with an iron rod falling on the author’s head. “And that’s how I landed up for the first phase of police training at the National Civil Defence College in Nagpur — wearing a massive head scarf to cover the hairless patch…” writes Meeran Chadha Borwankar.
From this dramatic beginning, Borwankar goes on to give the reader a glimpse of life in law enforcement. Beginning in 1981, Borwankar spent 36 years as an officer of the Indian Police Service and held many important positions. As part of her detailed account of her initial year in training, Borwankar devotes a whole chapter to Ganeshi, the lady attendant who helped her at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad. As the only woman among 70-odd trainees, Borwankar writes about navigating the minefield of relationships, the reaction to her having complained about an officer who propositioned her and more.
Borwankar makes no bones about the police-politician nexus in her memoir. Recounting her experience in Satara, she talks about dealing with a former MP who incited a riot leading to policemen being injured in stone pelting. With emotions running high — both among the public and the policemen — Borwankar writes about she was asked not to oppose bail for the rioters from no less a person than the Chief Minister himself. This was the time when “Maharashtra was showcasing Satara district as its site for women empowerment initiatives,” writes Borwankar. “The district magistrate, superintendent, assistant SP, judicial magistrate, jail magistrate at the time were all women. The Centre too had posted a lady income tax officer and another woman officer in the postal department. There were seven of us in total.”
According to her, though this was beneficial for the citizens, “it was a ‘nuisance’ for local politicians… as they could not ask us for favours.” But the chapter ends on a rather dismal note. By the time Borwankar left Maharashtra in 1999 on a Central deputation, “corruption had become a serious issue at all levels of the police force… even the rural police had tasted blood.”
Policing in the US
As a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in 2001, Borwankar gets a taste of policing in the US at Minnesota along with a glimpse into gun violence, domestic abuse, race relations and life in a different country. Interestingly, right at the end, she writes about her misgivings at leaving her family for a year. But the advice of her friend — who asks if men would think twice about accepting such a chance — is the clincher.
Once back in India, after a brief spell at the Yashvantaro Chavan Academy of Developmental Administration, Borwankar is posted at the Crime Branch in Mumbai, where she deals with the seizure of a cache of arms, a jewellery heist, extortion cases among other cases. Later, as the state prisons chief, she oversaw the imprisonment of actor Sanjay Dutt and the executions of Ajmal Kasab and Yakub Memon.
While Borwankar keeps the reader glued to the pages with her eventful career, there are moments when one wishes for more. Often, she pulls up short while on the verge of talking about her own emotions or feelings, especially when dealing with issues of corruption, patriarchal attitudes and other problems. It would have been good to have a senior police officer, especially one of Borwankar’s calibre, talk more freely of such issues.
At one point, early in the book, she writes about having to return to duty soon after the birth of her first child and dealing with the issue of leaking breast milk. Similarly, when talking about rescuing minor girls from prostitution, her feelings are buried in the one line: “Dealing with the most ferocious gangster is much easier than carrying the burden of innocence lost.” Not that this detracts from the book. Just a fleeting thought that talking about their emotions could humanise police officers and bring them closer to the public they are sworn to serve.
(The reviewer is Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu)
Check out the book on Amazon
About the book
Title: Madam Commissioner: The Extraordinary Life of an Indian Police Chief
Author: Meeran Chadha Borwankar
Publisher: PanMacmillan India
Pages: 296
Price: Rs 499
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