The police and policing are enmeshed in people’s lives and imaginations. Policing is often at  the centre of multiple contestations that play out in the public sphere, across a wide range  affecting individuals, or communities, or politics more largely. This course aims to help  students build a critical outlook of the role of police as a powerful state institution, and the  mechanics of policing. It will cover legal and practical aspects of police’s functioning, as well  as discuss topics including institutional bias, police violence, and impunity. It also seeks to  present experiences of police reform from other jurisdictions to provide a comparative lens on  where India stands on police reform.

Due to its interdisciplinary approach, this course will be open to public policy students as well. Each class will consist of a lecture that will lay down fundamental concepts and principles  drawn from the prescribed readings. This will be followed by a discussion with the students.  The readings derive mainly from primary material, including statutes and legal provisions,  case law, academic scholarship, and also from commissions on police reform.