H. J. Dora: A Legend of Modern Policing

Douglas MacArthur, the famous American Army commander, had said, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” This sums up the life and legacy of H.J. Dora.

Police officers who were in the field in the 1990s and 2000s, combating the menace of left-wing extremism, popularly known as Naxalism, would recall the leadership dynamics of Dora, who became a legendary police officer not only of undivided Andhra Pradesh but of the entire country.

The initial spread of Naxalism was from Srikakulam (inspired by the Spring Thunder of Bengal), where officers like B.N. Yugandhar, IAS (father of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella), brought about a new perspective in government policies towards Naxalism. It later spread to North Telangana, where many targeted killings took place, including the murder of Hayagrivachary, a close friend of then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, before engulfing districts of South Telangana, where many police stations were attacked and weapons looted, and finally found a haven in the Nallamalla forests.

The circle became complete when Naxalism again affected the AOB (Andhra–Odisha Border). The swathe of Naxal spread was mythically represented by ultra-ideologues as “from Tirupati to Pashupati (Pashupatinath in Nepal).” Dora and his team witnessed this spread and fought the menace in every district and police station jurisdiction.

For the first time, Naxalism was addressed as something beyond a mere law-and-order issue. Dora gets the credit for convincing the then political dispensation to adopt a multi-pronged approach, as a result of which every vertical of the administration became involved.

A “Hot to Hot and Cold to Cold” approach took shape. The armed dalams had to be neutralised, but those coming forward to surrender and join the mainstream were encouraged through one of the best rehabilitation schemes in the country. Many states later followed the undivided Andhra Pradesh model in this regard.

During a visit to Guntur, where I was posted as Superintendent of Police, Dora observed: “A man is not finished when he is defeated; he is finished when he quits.” When I asked him why it had taken so long for us to contain Naxalism, he said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

I worked under DGP Dora as SP Prakasam and SP Guntur. This was the phase when Naxalism was intense in the coastal areas of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Serious incidents included the killing of Congress MP Magunta Subbarami Reddy, the narrow escape of former Chief Minister N. Janardhan Reddy in a landmine attack, the killing of many public representatives, and an attempt on the then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at Alipiri in Chittoor, in which a near-perfect series of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were detonated simultaneously.

Chandrababu Naidu was the first Chief Minister to take a very firm stand on the issue of Naxalism. IPS officer and my batchmate Umesh Chandra was killed in the heart of Hyderabad at S.R. Nagar junction. I remember attending the IPS officers’ meeting at the DGP office the next day. The gloom in the air was unnerving.

In 1992, when I joined my first posting as ASP Jangaon, there was fear in the air and in the working ethos of the district and the entire region of Telangana. Policemen travelled to police stations not in government jeeps but in tractors, RTC buses and lorries for long distances. For short distances, tactical walking, following the principles of field craft and tactics, was the only survival tool.

The killing of SP Pardesi Naidu at Kolhapur in Mahbubnagar proved the Maoist dictum of “kill one and terrorise a thousand.” I had been posted as OSD Mahbubnagar immediately afterwards, and the debris of the landmine attack that had killed the SP and 13 other officers was still there at Somasila when I visited the scene.

Dora took the reins of the state police at this time. His tasks were multiple: building confidence among the rank and file of the police force and convincing the political leadership that the strategy and tactics adopted by the police would deliver results in the long run, though there might be initial setbacks in the form of sensational incidents and attacks on police and paramilitary forces. I remember that, as ASP, I had one company of the BSF at my disposal in Jangaon. A district like Warangal had 12 companies of paramilitary forces, now collectively referred to as the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

What made Dora a great leader? The term hands-on could best be epitomised in him. He was always available on the phone even to a junior police officer, listened patiently and immediately provided a plan of action. He devised a system of rewards and encouragement that was unconventional. It reminded us of Sun Tzu, who wrote in The Art of War that rewards should be such as are not found in any manual or book.

Police officers in undivided Andhra Pradesh were sent abroad for training as a reward and incentive to work hard. From the organisation’s perspective, it also exposed them to the best global practices. Accelerated promotions and cash rewards were given for contributions in combating Naxalism. A generation of police officers rose in the hierarchy through multiple out-of-turn promotions.

In the field of conventional crime, those were the times when organised criminal gangs were active in many parts of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Special courts were created to club criminal cases from multiple districts into a single court for speedy trial and conviction of these notorious gangs.

Some Pardi gangs and notorious dacoits from various settlement areas were convicted in record time. Within five years, the state was almost free from these gangs.

For the first time in history, a Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Prabha Shanker Mishra, visited the DGP office and addressed superintendents of police and senior officers. It paved the way for better understanding among all wings of the criminal justice system. Subsequently, I had the honour of hosting Justice Mishra at Guntur, where he had a detailed interaction with police officers of the district.

My third innings with Dora was when he joined as DG, CISF, in Delhi. I was working as Group Commandant in the CISF. In a short span of time, before he left to join the Central Vigilance Commission, Dora left his indelible imprint on this force as well.

This was a time when CISF was almost being wound up, and there were discussions about merging it with the CRPF and the BSF. The efforts of Trinath Mishra and Dora gave CISF a new lease on life by persuading the Centre to entrust airport security to the force.

I witnessed the initial challenges each airport faced in the transition from local police to CISF. The local police were highly reluctant to hand over the responsibility to a Central force, and many state governments were also hesitant. It was perhaps the impact of the Kandahar Air India plane hijacking that made it possible for a highly specialised aviation security unit within CISF to be developed.

I remember making a series of PowerPoint presentations before Dora at his Delhi office after visiting airports in New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Patna, Ranchi, Gaya, Guwahati, Bagdogra and Hyderabad. The first SOPs of various airport security verticals were developed during these early years of CISF induction. Dora continued sharing his expertise even after retirement when he was associated with GMR Group, a leading player in the aviation sector.

A police officer’s contribution cannot be assessed by his conduct alone. Dora’s wife Meenakshi brought with her enormous affection and a family connect for the police fraternity. I remember a long walk on the beach at Chirala with the couple. My wife Vasundhara, who had just joined office after maternity leave, was all praise for the tips from Mrs Dora on work-life balance and the nuances a lady should know as the wife of a senior police officer. Being a working woman herself, my wife spoke about that visit for a long time.

On behalf of the police fraternity of India and every rank and file of the uniformed forces, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary police officer H.J. Dora.

(The writer is a former Director General of Police.)