BANGALORE: The constables in the city are a happy lot.
The Director General and Inspector General Of Police Dr Ajai Kumar Singh has made an appeal to the media and public to stop calling police constables as “pyade”but to refer them constables hereafter.
They expressed their their happiness about the DGP’s announcement. For all these years the term ‘Pyade’ (PEDE) was being used for the constables, so much so that even in recruitment advertisements for constables, they used the word pede in Kannada. So, there is no derogatory meaning to that. However, Kannada loving police constables say that they are not worried about their post pede which is the official post in the Government Service.
Instead, they stress that changing the name of the constable post into officer would be helpful to uplift the reputation.
DG & IGP on Wednesday had issued a circular saying that these staffers should not be addressed as “PEDE” which is their customary name in Kannada, which has a derogatory meaning, and that they should be called as constables and head constables.
The Kannada activists feel that there should be every parallel meaning for every post. There are words as Police Maha Nirdeshakaru for DGP, POLICE Mahanireekshakaru for IGP, Police Adheekshakaru for SP and Nireekshakaru for the post of Inspector in the police department. `If we should not use the word pede in Kannada, then what is the meaning of constable in Kannada?’ some activists ask. According to one senior IPS officer, there is no problem with the word pede. Because, whenever the public is annoyed with the police personnel who indulge in corruption the word police is also dragged along to make fun of the some policemen.