Time Present & Time Past: Memoirs of a Top Cop

In over three decades as a police officer Kirpal Dhillon handled some of the most challenging assignments in independent India from anti-dacoity operations in Madhya Pradesh to revamping a demoralized force as police chief of Punjab in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. These memoirs describe his experiences in fascinating detail and present vivid portraits of a range of people including sadhus and swindlers maharajas and brigands scheming politicians and back-stabbing colleagues. There are evocative descriptions of his village in Punjab of Partition and of the leaders he worked with such as Nehru Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai. He writes with insight and expertise about terrorism law-and-order problems the training of administrators and policemen and what can be done to ensure that they function with greater autonomy accountability and humanity.Key Features:The author is a highly regarded senior policeman who has seen the political establishment from the inside for three decades.Very interesting glimpse into the social life of newly independent India.Gripping stories about anti-dacoity operations.Detailed analysis of the problem of militancy in Punjab during the 1980s and how the author himself undertook the task of establishing peace in the state through field trips to the villages of Punjab.