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The public local buses in Hong Kong are relatively clean, stop only in designated stops and run in time. There are more than three bus operators in Hong Kong, and they do not compete with each other on the road. They do not crush people or vehicles every day like their Indian counterparts. They have fixed fare tables, which are exhibited inside the bus and at the bus stops. Finally yet importantly, the drivers are least found talking to police constables, or for that matter talking to anybody else while they drive.
In India, on the contrary, the public local buses resemble crumbled tin cans on wheels fitted with an engine. They compete with each other on the road. They stop wherever they like and run at whatever time the driver chooses. They breakdown often and the passengers have to shout and threaten the bus conductor for a refund. The drivers are often seen arguing with the police constables and paying the traffic police constables bribes. So what has this comparison of local buses in two different setups to do with this column?
The difference in the experience between Hong Kong and India and for that matter any other South Asian country is the same in comparison to their policing systems. In Hong Kong the police officers and all other law enforcement officers are considered to be relatively free from corrupt practices. The general perception of the ordinary people in Hong Kong is that their law enforcement officers are not corrupt. They are considered to be reliable and prompt. One need not pay any money to the police officer at any point of time, nor need to fear a police officer, unless you have committed a crime and want to hide it. Even if a person is a hardened criminal, he or she need not fear that upon detection the person would be tortured or beaten up in the process of investigation.
In India on the contrary the local police officer is often considered to be the personification of corruption. Policing means law and order by imparting fear. Fear is spread by assaulting people in public and also at police stations. Investigation is all about committing brutal acts of torture and extracting confessions. A uniformed officer's presence would send tremors of fear to the ordinary people. For any service to be obtained from the police, one needs to pay bribes.
Often such comparisons face intense criticism, particularly concerning corruption. The often heard defense for corruption in India is poor pay. The police constable in Hong Kong is not paid a bank chairperson's salary. Neither is the police officer in India. On a comparison with living expenses, the fact is that a police officer in India is paid more than their Hong Kong counterparts. Yet the Hong Kong police do not demand or accept bribe. In case anyone did, it is almost certain that the corrupt officer would be punished.
The Hong Kong police and the Indian police have their roots in the old colonial police. Both Hong Kong and India being former British colonies, the purpose of establishing a police service in Hong Kong and India for the British was pretty much the same. Even the legislations that govern their administration and discipline are the same. The Indian police, though they had more than sixty years to evolve and develop from being a colonial servant than their relatively new Hong Kong counterparts, have no points to compare as of today with their Hong Kong police. These two law enforcement agencies working in two corners of Asia are far different from each other.
Hong Kong as a region does not have much to offer in terms of industries or other investment opportunities in comparison to India. Yet Hong Kong is better off in a relative competition when it comes to investment interests. This is because, the general perception of rule of law is better in Hong Kong in comparison to India. Even China is better off than India in this aspect. The government of China, with all its pitfalls, has a declared public policy that corruption and custodial violence will not be tolerated in the country. India also has such a policy, but it was forgotten the day after it was published.
Forgetfulness is India's curse. Indians forget things way too easily. Indians make declarations to eradicate corruption on each Independence Day. The civil servants pledge to serve the people while they sign their appointment letter. The ministers swear by the constitution to serve the people at the time they assume office. All these are forgotten even before the ink in the document they sign dries up.
So Indians can also learn to forget good living standards they are legally entitled for. Indians can also forget about a good law enforcement officer. Indians need not ask their political leaders what they pledged in their election manifestos before being elected. It is easy to forget than to demand. By the time, a person completes reading this column a few more people might have been injured in accidents caused by local buses somewhere in India. On an average about 100,000 persons get killed every year in India in traffic accidents. What can the Indians do? Just forget it.
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(Bijo Francis is a human rights lawyer currently working with the Asian Legal Resource Center in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the South Asia desk at the center. Mr. Francis has practiced law for more than a decade and holds an advanced master's degree in human rights law.)
