Civil society, the new frontiers of war, can be manipulated to hurt a nation’s interests: Ajit Doval

Congratulating the 132 officer trainees of the IPS batch and 17 foreign police officers from Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal, Doval wanted the young probationers to develop a national perspective to effectively contribute their might to the nation’s service. (Photo: Videograb / Facebook Live @Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy)

Doval was the chief guest at the Dikshant Parade which is the culmination of the 46-week long phase-1 basic course training.

Congratulating the 132 officer trainees of the IPS batch and 17 foreign police officers from Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal, Doval wanted the young probationers to develop a national perspective to effectively contribute their might to the nation’s service. “You are for India and India is for you. Every other identity gets subsumed to this Indian identity,” he said while addressing them.

He wanted the young officers to know that service of people is the greatest service, not only from the point of view of nation-building but also from the point of national security. He asked the new batch of officers to not only think of reforms to avoid repeating mistakes of the past but also be transformative to look at future challenges and find solutions in advance.

“Quintessence of democracy does not lie in the ballot box. It lies in the laws which are made by the people who are elected through these ballot boxes. You are the ones who are the enforcers of the law… Laws are only as good as they are executed and implemented and the service that people can get out of it,” he stated, adding that the success of democracy is in the enforcement of the laws. He said people cannot feel safe and secure where law enforcers are weak, corrupt, and partisan. “No nation can be built where the rule of law has failed.”

He reminded them that their responsibility includes not only the safety and security of 130 crore human beings but also the 32 lakh square kilometres of land area across the country. He wanted them to be trained and prepared for border management as well as challenges of highly specialised investigations in agencies such as the NIA or CBI.

Noting that some of the officers will work for intelligence units within or outside the country, he pinned the responsibility on them to see that governments can make informed decisions and also that these decisions are enforced in the country’s best interest. He also touched upon the challenges of technology as a frontier that officers need to excel in. “Without your success, the nation cannot succeed. If internal security fails, no country can be great. If the people are not safe and secure, they cannot rise to their potential, and probably, the country can never grow,” he underlined.

Stressing that the officer trainees are at the threshold of a challenging career, Academy Director Atul Karwal pointed out that the academy, apart from trying to impart skills and knowledge, has built upon values of courage, integrity, compassion, teamwork and humility. He expressed confidence that the young trainees will prove to be officers of high standards of professionalism and sterling personal qualities.

The NSA, who graduated from the National Police Academy 52 years ago, also handed over the trophies for outstanding performances. Darpan Ahluwalia of Punjab cadre, the topper of Phase-1 training and the Parade Commander for the day, was handed over the KS Vyas Trophy for Internal Security and Public Order and Field Crafts and Tactics.

George Allen John (West Bengal cadre) received the Mehta Cup for Studies, Kiran Rawat and Simone Dhital of NPO received the Jaipur Cup for PT (Gentleman Probationer and Lady Probationer, respectively), Pema Dorji of Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) received the Tonk Cup for Equitation and the IPS Association’s Sword of Honour for the Best Outdoor Probationer, Anil Thapa of Nepal Police received the BSF Trophy for Proficiency in Outdoor Subjects, Dema Dema of Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) received the 1958 Batch IPS Officers’ Trophy for the Best Lady Outdoor Probationer, and Sambhav Jain (West Bengal cadre) received The SRB (Special Recruitment Batch) Cup for Drill.