Second anniversary special: Road to reform

“I was initially an economics student, having done my Bachelor’s and Master’s in it from Delhi University. I taught economics there after my post-graduation for a while, during which I cracked the UPSC examination. I got through Indian Economic Service and then Police Services (IPS) but chose to work in the Railways Service. After working in the IRS for a few months and having re-appeared for the UPSC examination, I again qualified for IPS and eventually decided to go ahead with it. I was posted in the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. I worked as the Police Head in several districts including Police Chief in Guwahati and finally became the Director General of Police in Assam before retiring in November 2019.

During my service, in 2000–2001, I was awarded the Fulbright scholarship and went to Pennsylvania State University, where I worked on community development and then as a consultant in the World Bank, USA for a while before returning to India. As a Deputy General of Police in Western Assam, I came across the custom of witchcraft and witch-hunting in some tribal villages where women were the primary victims of this social prejudice. I understood that in most cases community decisions played a role to brand someone as a witch. To change such a dire scenario, I started a community project called ‘Prahari’, which focused on channeling this community bond towards something positive…