Break the rulz!!

I am from Kerala and hence this post is mainly based on what goes around in Kerala. I am not too sure what is the situation like in other parts of India but from what I hear it’s much worse. I would like to start off by asking a simple question. If rules are meant to be broken, then why have them at all?

There are numerous rules in India/Kerala, some may not make any sense at all and some might be very meaningful. Regardless of the sensibility of a rule, the rule has been formed so that people abide by it. The punishment that can be given out for breaking a rule is given along with the rule. I do not know what the problem of the police is, but they just do not care if rules are followed or not. I am not talking about major crimes like murder or rape. The lesser crimes, breaking of traffic rule and various other rules. Even though these rule are not that serious, they are broken the most and maintaining them is essential for the smooth functioning of society. After all because of lack of implementation of these rules all of us have suffered a number of times. All of us have been stuck in traffic because of a car parked in a no parking zone, or how many accidents have occurred due to over speeding or breaking traffic rules and dont get me started on the transport buses and they way they stop at different bus stops. Its not like people bribe the police so that they do not get caught. A bribe will cost more than the actual fine that they have to pay.

There is this helmet rule in Kerala, even though its absurd, because the law thinks the life of the person sitting in the front is more important that that of the person sitting on the back, but having said that, a law is a law. Same is the case with the seat belt law. The police come out once in a blue moon and checks and selectively catches people. There are so many traffic violations happening in Kerala. People park in front of no parking signs, break the traffic signals, overtake from the wrong side, over speed etc etc etc. Why is the police so reluctant to charge these rule breakers?

Most states in India are virtually bankrupt. The police to people ratio in India is horrible. By getting fines from the rule bakers, every state can open 100 new police stations. More officers can be added. Even if the money does not go to the government, with that money lot of development can be done in the police force. They can buy new firearms, vehicles, shields, etc. Why do they have this much hesitancy in fining people. I can understand if they are getting bribes to do so, but they are not.

If you have a law makes sure you implement it. There are laws in Kerala which prohibits smoking in public places; another law prohibits spitting in public places. Should these laws be there is a totally different question. When a law is made, the law makers should make sure that the people are informed about these laws and the punishment for breaking these laws through various mediums. Once that is done with they should implement these laws strictly. If they have no plan to do so then why make the law in the first place? Making a law just for the sake of making new ones is very useless and waste of the tax payer's money.

This is one of the main difference between the west and us. There the traffic laws and various other laws and implemented properly. They have enough police officers for the implementation of these laws. Here even if a fight breaks out it will take ages for the police to get to the seen and even if they get there, they will be completely out numbered and they wont have any proper protection/equipment to handle the situation. There are not enough police officers patrolling the streets. When you venture out at night its quite hard to find a police jeep patrolling the streets.

If these laws are implemented properly the situation in our country will improve to a great extend. There will be lesser traffic accidents. The roads will be much more safer. In general there will be greater order in the cities. Hence i believe that law enforcement agencies should be more alert and do their job with greater efficiency. What more motivation does one need than a better and highly advanced working environment, better pay and better safety?