Public Events and Police Response: Understanding Public Order Policing in Democratic India

Public events include peaceful demonstrations as well as the many chaotic rallies but these and other kinds of activities are at the heart of civic movements in the present day. The events and the police response to them show the nature of social and democratic discourse that is prevalent in society. This volume surveys the data on public events in an urban area and the response of the police to them, uncovering the relationship between the events and the police. With detailed case studies, it argues that the response of the police is largely circumscribed by democratic norms and the rule of law. In an interesting attempt, it points to the seeds of criminalisation of politics and public discourse in selected public events.