Every person has got his own way to look into a scenario or occurrences from his own angle. Perhaps it’s given the name “perception” in another words. When we make two plus two equal to four in this perception as an outcome, sometimes it sounds entertaining. The same I am going to cite in Indian context viz a viz British Empire. Britishers almost ruled over the India about almost two hundred long years. In most probability, the territory of undivided India was the largest territorial country of the British Empire.
They explored and exploited heavily the natural resources of India to enrich their own economy successfully. During this extensive reigning period, they ruled over the India with a deliberated chalked out plan. They established their own governance and to run the system, they needed a strong law and order machinery which they adroitly established by promulgating various sets of laws added with a machinery to run it properly.
Specifically, the Penal laws enacted and promulgated by them were so flawless that it helped the police and judicial system of independent India for a long period of times to come. Of recently, some of these major laws been amended and given new names by the present government. But still, a major part of them is based upon the same old Penal codes. These amendments were needed by the demand of the time with the rapid changes in present technology, hence appropriate amendments got introduced.
In this blog, I am focussing upon an Act, enacted and promulgated by Britishers. It was the Police Act of 1861. Still this Act is operational. This Act describes about the “structure of internal working system” of the Police system. This Police Act 1861 contains an interesting provision as “Surveillance Register no 10.” This register purports to maintain the records of habitual/ bad characters of every Police Station. In common, a criminal whose name gets registered in this is called History sheeter or Dus numbery (ten numbered in vernacular.)
Not every criminal is supposed to get entered his name in this register, unless he has got a very long and troublesome records of crimes. The criminal activities that had persistently nagged the local Police. At the present time, we may find considerably long list of history sheeters but in the last 20th century, scarcely a few criminals got registered their names in this Surveillance Register No-10. These offenders were supposed to be kept under the regular surveillance by the local police. As told earlier, they were referred as “dus numbery “( ten numbered offender), still, they are called as such in common parlance of Police and public at large.
In the last century, this kind of “ten numbered” offenders were accorded a unique kind of status in the social system. In my this Himalayan foot hill city, till the year of 1980, there were only a few “ten numbered” offenders and they could be counted on the finger tips. No doubt, their acceptance was not accorded in the eyes of Police system, but they had a “different kind” of “awful acceptance” in the social system of that period of time. The fabric of social system of that time was distinct. People in common dared not ignore their “commanding presence.” People were forced to accept that because of the negative Ora of the past life of such offenders. Along with, they maintained a ,mystique cloak around them.
Secondly, they were dexterous in providing a flawless advice or help to a common man, if unfortunately he happened to fall in quagmire of some criminal case in innocence, be it minor case or major one. After all, their life long experience of contesting criminal cases in the court enriched them to help the common man. At that period of time, when a common man happened to fall prey of some criminal case, he was to be guided by this kind of history sheeter to wade off the troubled water. A ten numbered offender could easily suggest the name of good lawyer and instruct how to appear and face the hazards of the court’s proceedings.
Not only this, during the pendency of the trial in the court, such history sheeter alias ten numbery also suggested tricks, how to temper with witness. This all was to come out as fruitful in shape of acquittal by the court. Although, on the front of them, no one dared to call them ten number or dus numbery. But behind them, using this epithet in positive way; praising him , people would admire. ” after all, he is number ten(dus numbery), how could he give up?” It was an awful social designation in every condition.
At that period, I happened to know such two offenders of this category personally. When I chanced to come across them, they were in their seventies of age and living a peaceful life. But this fact ever chased them remorsefully that in this old age when long back they had given up all bad activities, yet their name pest on the “display board ten number offenders” of local Police Station of the area. They ever contrived to get their name deleted from the display board forever.
Now the issue of “perception”, I talked about at the beginning of this blog, I focus upon that. One thing is certain, the white people had not given this specific “number ten” to the Surveillance Register randomly and without purpose. They might have had some rational behind it. In that bygone era, I meant, when this “Police Act of 1861″ was enacted, there was a maxim in common parlance. It was. ” ten out of ten.” It was referred to exhibit the excellence of a person. This number ten manifested as sign of perfection. Perhaps, they chose this number to record the names of offenders for these criminals being aware of all known and unknown doors and windows of criminal world.
On the same, as the supporting evidence of this fact is, the “official residence of the Prime Minister of England.” That is “10 Downing Street London.” Leave away the present feeble unstable political situation of the Britain, but in the past, for many centuries, the Prime Minister of England was supposed to be the head of all colonies of England spread over about just in half of the globe in older time. Hence they happened to send a person as “occupant” as a Prime Minister in “Ten number building,” who was supposed to have gone through all the gimmick and gamut of politics. I mean, the same level of perfection that was needed to get a criminal’s name registered in the “Surveillance Register no-10.” Perhaps this also might have inspired them in this way or vice versa. Otherwise also, politics is the game of “white collared criminals.” Penned by — Vinay Pharasi —–
