From Hatred To Love

Since childhood, I hated and feared the police. The reason was unknown; maybe upbringing, maybe wrong values, maybe false information, maybe Chinese whispers, maybe family experiences but one reason that I found out — in my mid-30s — was that there was a complete lack of connecting with them. Hence, the hatred and fear only grew in leaps and bound.

As I was growing up in my mid-30s, unlearning, and on the path of self-realization, I attended a series of self-development retreats that encouraged me to get rid of fear and win the world with love. I was mentored by various enlightened gurus who were on the path of even-mindedness. They taught me a fantastic Gandhian formula. 

The formula says that you can only win your enemy by love. This was the AHA moment when I realized that if I have understood the police or not fear from it, I’ve got to befriend it or rather work with it. Only then, will I understand them and vice-versa.

With this heart, I — with two other friends — volunteered to offer my talent for a training program at one of their academies in Maharashtra. Although, it’s a difficult task to win a training session nothing is impossible. The time was suitable and I’m a computer professional, so we offered police a training program in digital literacy, creativity in training, e-learning, and fraud using computer graphics.

Senior officers with 25+ years of service, young officers, and IPS officers were my students. The path was difficult but somehow, we succeeded in winning their hearts. They like us so much that they called us again at another academy to give training for 24 trainers from the other 8 academies in the state. We did this training in Mumbai and it was a super hit.

It all started with just a day’s training but eventually, we did training for almost a month. This was the first time that I worked with police so closely; understood their challenges and problems. It was such an honor to serve our police force and be of use. We shared so many beautiful moments that I’ll always cherish for life.

In return, I got so much love from them and they were so happy that we came and offered our services. One thing is for sure — whatever is the question, love is the answer. The result — the image where they invited us for one of their convocation ceremonies and appreciated our training service. For the first time, individuals were appreciated at their private ceremony.

So, it’s simple! If you want love, give love. The government is hungry for a connection with the citizens and the time is great for citizen-police campaigns. Every state in India has this program. You can connect with the Additional Directorate General of Training in your state and offer your proposal.

It’s a rewarding experience to work with the police. Just take the first step and you’ll witness a spectacular relation with our police department and if nothing, you’ll collect memories of a lifetime and an appreciation letter for sure.