IPS Officer Dr. Sanjukta Parashar's Story & Gender Philosophy Are Seriously Badass

The silence of India’s public servants or bureaucrats in the public space is a tacit convention which is adhered to viciously even on social media where political correctness is a must. This attitude deters a person from even minute honesty in their conversations or interactions, something Sonitpur Superintendent of Police, Sanjukta Parashar, defies with a Facebook page and blog.
Sanjukta Parashar, Assam’s first IPS officer to be posted in her home state, has been responsible for the gunning down of 16 and the arrest of 64 Bodo militants in Assam in the past few months. The 2006 batch IPS officer maintains a Facebook page with 40,000 likes while maintaining a blog titled ‘Insanity/Ennui’ where she has written several personal articles and poems in the past but remains fairly inactive right now - an understandable stance when you realise the vital role she plays in Assam’s law enforcement.

Sanjukta often undertakes night patrols into the deep uninhabited forests to weed out any militant threats that might be residing in the area. The growing militant threat in the areas keeps Sanjukta on her feet while she has to disburse the regular police functions such as maintaining law and order in the area under incendiary situations such as the deeply saddening beheading of a five-year old in Sonitpur. The police under Sanjukta were quick to place the accused’s wife and two children under protective custody fearing reprisal backlash from the locals.
Sanjukta studied in the Army School in Narangi for her 12th Grade post which she completed her graduation in Political Science Honours from Delhi University. She pursued a Masters program in International Relations from the School of International Studies under Jawaharlal Nehru University where she also completed her M.Phil and PHD. Dr Parashar prepared for the UPSC exams in 2004 and secured 85th rank in the exams, much to her surprise as well. She joined the force as Assistant Commandant of Makum in 2008 and within a couple of hours, she was asked to move to Udalguri to quell a clash between the Bodo and illegal migrants. The same year, she also got married to IAS officer Puru Gupta who serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Assam’s Chirang District, and their hectic schedule allows them to meet only once in two months. They have an infant son who is taken care of by Sanjukta’s mother when she is out on duty.

The glowing credentials which Sanjukta possesses could help her land a lucrative 9-6 job or even the more prestigious IAS title. So then why did she choose the Police Service? “ The IPS is a service that can provide instant help and aid to victims in times of distress. As such, there is no parallel. And I am proud to have chosen this field,” Parashar told the Sentinel Assam. When asked about the issue of gender and the limited success of people from the North-East in clearing the UPSC examinations, Parashar displayed her resolute and simple philosophy. “Gender is in the mind. There is never any constraint anywhere. So long as the mind and body are in sync and you know where your heart is, the concept of gender does not exist. We are all officers who are required to do a job. If the job is tough, then just train yourself to get tougher,” disclosed Parashar while she urged the students from North-East to keep working hard and compete with the mainstream, as the competition they faced was intense.

The versatile SP also plays a vital role in generating a conversation few are interested in having or engaging in. Her last blog post is a personal plea about the role of the police and the common perceptions about them.
”To my mind, police is the most misunderstood function of the government in today’s India. Damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I must at this juncture mention that these are my private views. I am solely responsible for all the feelings my words evoke in you: bad, good or ugly. I am speaking from the point of view of all the upheaval in society that is visible today. The mass protests, the rise in crime, the intolerance, the corruption, the increasing chasm between the haves and the have nots: the list is endless. At no point I am saying the police is not to blame, but tell me honestly, what about the society at large. Crime and punishment are both functions of the same society. What are you protesting?? Do you even know what you stand for? Are you against the government? Are you against the mindset of the rapist or the abuser? Are you against the laws? Are you against yourself?? Are you against crime? What do you stand for? I fail to understand. There may be tough questions to answer.
Ponder upon another question if you will. What do you want the police to do, mean or be? This is an answer I want from all sections of the society. Politicians, students, housewives, activists, media et al. What do you want from the police? Want us to turn a blind eye to your riding without a helmet? Want us to arrest all the corrupt? Want us to enforce and uphold the law? Want us to allow you to vandalize government property?”

Extracts from her blog post 

The open and bold nature of her conversation is even translated onto her Facebook page where she offers simple insights for the Indian Youth as the page apologetically proclaims “Government Official”.

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The cynical world we inhabit would entail an outright dismissal of such views but Dr. Sanjukta is not just an average do-gooder police officer. The celebrated Assamese forces us to hold a mirror to ourselves - how many would choose to serve their country facing dangerous militants while they could have pursued an easier and higher paying job? It’s time her words trigger a vivid reflection in us where the image of the ‘lazy and corrupt police’ can be quashed for its overt generalisation.