Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 31 July 2025

Content

1. India’s police must get out of Dirty Harry’s shadow
2. Spectacle, privacy and sharing in the digital age

India’s police must get out of Dirty Harry’s shadow

The Central Analogy: Holmes vs. Harry

• Sherlock Holmes: Represents evidence-based, rational, and rights-respecting policing.
• Dirty Harry: Symbolizes aggressive, rule-breaking, violent enforcement prioritizing speed over accuracy.
• The editorial frames Indian policing at a moral and operational crossroads: whether to choose a civilised, professional law enforcement model or perpetuate a culture of intimidation and impunity.

Relevance : GS 2( Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice)

Practice Question : Despite constitutional safeguards and judicial guidelines, custodial torture remains pervasive in India. Critically examine the systemic causes and evaluate evidence-based alternatives to coercive policing.(250 Words)

Custodial Deaths in India: A Disturbing Pattern

• 687 custodial deaths across India between 2018–19 and 2022–23 (Lok Sabha, 2023).
  • Avg: 2–3 deaths per week.
  • Top states: Gujarat (81), Maharashtra (80), MP (50), Bihar (47), UP (41), WB (40), Tamil Nadu (36).
• Many deaths misclassified as suicide, illness, or accident.
• Torture is often off-record—done in vans, abandoned structures, or unmonitored areas (as in Ajith Kumar’s case in TN, 2024).

Systemic Roots of Custodial Violence

• Target groups: Migrants, Dalits, tribals, slum dwellers, daily-wage workers.
• Reflects structural injustice linked to caste, class, and power dynamics.
• Police force structure:
  • 90% are constables, often undertrained and ill-equipped for sensitive enforcement.
• Institutional failures:
  • Weak accountability systems.
  • Rare disciplinary/criminal convictions.
  • Pressure for quick results leads to shortcuts like forced confessions.

Scientific and Global Evidence Against Torture

Cognitive Science Findings:

• Shane O’Mara (2015): Torture damages brain areas (prefrontal cortex & hippocampus) vital for memory and reasoning.
  • Leads to disorientation and false confessions.

Historical and Global Evidence:

• French forces in Algeria: Torture yielded mostly useless or misleading intelligence.
• CIA “Black Sites” (2007): Confessions extracted under torture were false or unverifiable.
• Innocence Project (US): 375+ wrongful convictions overturned via DNA—many based on coerced confessions.

Policy & Legal Frameworks: Gaps and Failures

• D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal (1996): Laid out detailed custodial safeguards.
• Puttaswamy (2017): Reaffirmed dignity and bodily autonomy as fundamental rights.
• Law Commission Report 273 (2017):
  • Recommended a standalone anti-torture law.
  • No progress by 2025.
• India has not ratified the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).
• Global Torture Index 2025: India ranked as a “high-risk” country — a major diplomatic and moral failure.

Evidence-Based Alternatives That Work

UK’s PEACE Model:

• Adopted post-Birmingham bombing scandal (1974).
• Stands for: Preparation & Planning, Engage & Explain, Account, Closure, Evaluation.
• Focuses on:
  • Rapport-building
  • Open-ended questions
  • Active listening
  • Video recording
• Result: Fewer false confessions, higher conviction accuracy, improved public trust.
• Endorsed by the European Committee for Prevention of Torture.
• Adopted by Norway, Canada, New Zealand.

High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG):

• Joint initiative of FBI, CIA, Department of Defense.
• Conducted peer-reviewed studies: Non-coercive methods consistently superior to torture.
• Najibullah Zazi (2009 plot): Cooperated after respectful treatment—his intel helped break terror networks.

Norway’s Breivik Case:

• Anders Breivik (killed 77 in 2011) was interrogated without threats.
• Led to full confession and insight into extremist networks.

Editorial’s Policy Recommendations

1. Ratify UNCAT (United Nations Convention Against Torture).
2. Enact standalone anti-torture legislation as urged by Law Commission.
3. Embed PEACE model into state police training curricula.
4. Declare zero tolerance for custodial abuse nationwide.
5. Shift from confession-centric to investigation-centric policing.

Democratic Implications

• The debate is not about efficiency vs. morality — it’s about democratic maturity.
• Torture dehumanises not just victims but erodes the moral legitimacy of the State.
• Justice should protect, not brutalise — Holmes over Harry is not a choice of method but of values.

Conclusion

India stands at a critical inflection point in policing reform. The evidence is overwhelming: torture doesn’t work, morally or operationally. Embracing scientific, democratic, and rights-based approaches to policing isn’t idealistic — it’s essential for a just and lawful society. It’s time India left Dirty Harry behind and trained its police force in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes.

Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed here are based on the original article published in THE HINDU and do not reflect the official stance of Legacy IAS Academy. This content is provided solely for Academic purposes.

Spectacle, privacy and sharing in the digital age

Incident Overview:

• At a Coldplay concert in Boston, a “kiss-cam” moment showed a CEO and an HR director sitting together.
• An audience member recorded the clip and posted it online without their consent.
• The video went viral, and people speculated it showed an extramarital affair.
• As the online backlash grew, the CEO resigned from his position.
• Fake apology notes and edited images began circulating, fueling more outrage.
• The situation turned into a global case of digital shaming and moral judgment.
• A brief, private moment became a public spectacle, raising serious concerns about privacy and online ethics.

Relevance : GS 2( Governance, Media Ethics, Privacy Laws, Social Justice) ,GS 4 ( Digital Responsibility, Media Morality)

Practice Question : In the age of algorithm-driven virality, digital visibility often overrides individual privacy and dignity. Examine this tension with reference to recent incidents, and suggest ethical and regulatory solutions.(250 Words)

Core Themes and Deeper Issues Raised

1. Lateral Surveillance and Participatory Voyeurism

• Mark Andrejevic’s concept of “lateral surveillance” explains how ordinary individuals monitor and expose each other through digital tools.
• Unlike top-down institutional surveillance, this peer-driven oversight is informal, viral, and judgmental.
• Example: The video wasn’t shared by law enforcement or media, but by a concertgoer — its virality emerged from audience spectacle, not news value.

2. Surveillance Capitalism & Algorithmic Amplification

• Shoshana Zuboff’s theory highlights that platforms like Instagram and X are designed to amplify emotionally ambiguous, provocative content.
• Virality is driven by engagement, not accuracy or ethics.
• Algorithms reward:
  • Speculative storytelling
  • Moral indignation
  • Visual ambiguity, often at the cost of truth and dignity.

Global & Indian Parallels

• In Delhi Metro (2023), a couple’s private moment went viral, resulting in:
  • Trolling, public shaming, and
  • Gendered moral policing—the woman bore the brunt of societal backlash.
• Similar Indian incidents often target:
  • Women, Dalits, tribal communities, and the economically marginalised.
• Reveals a pattern: Viral content is often a weapon against the vulnerable, not the powerful.

Privacy, Consent & Contextual Integrity

• Philosopher Helen Nissenbaum argues privacy isn’t secrecy but contextual control over personal information.
• Visibility ≠ Consent: Just because a moment is visible doesn’t mean it’s fair game for public dissemination.
• At concerts or in metros, individuals do not expect moments to be extracted, magnified, and judged by strangers worldwide.

Digital Vigilantism and Public Shaming

• Daniel Trottier’s concept: Users act as moral enforcers without due process, relying on speculation, outrage, and mob judgment.
• Consequences:
  • Reputational harm outpaces factual verification.
  • “Guilt by virality” becomes a substitute for justice or inquiry.
• The Coldplay CEO’s resignation happened amid swirling misinformation, not based on verified wrongdoing.

Crisis in Journalism & Verification

• Legacy media often amplifies viral content instead of verifying it.
• Coldplay case: Major outlets echoed social media narratives without investigation.
• Editorial critique: Journalism today often publishes first and checks later, eroding credibility and accountability.

Platform Design Flaws

• Platforms prioritise performance over reflection (Nancy Baym).
• TikTok, Instagram, and X:
  • Encourage immediate, emotional responses.
  • Lack safeguards for flagging or de-escalating sensitive content.
  • Algorithms are agnostic to truth and blind to harm.

India-Specific Concerns

• Low digital literacy + social hierarchies (caste, gender, religion) = amplified risks.
• Viral videos involving Dalits or tribal creators often attract casteist backlash.
• Existing privacy and defamation laws fail to address:
  • Cross-border harm
  • Speed and scale of algorithmic amplification

What Needs to Change: Ethical & Policy Recommendations

1. Digital Ethics Education

• Introduce digital empathy in schools, colleges, and communities.
• Emphasize that sharing content has real consequences, even if unintended.

2. Platform Accountability

• Social media companies must:
  • Develop tools to flag sensitive content.
  • Slow the spread of morally ambiguous media.
  • Embed contextual warnings and consent checks.

3. Responsible Journalism

• Reaffirm the gatekeeping role:
  • Prioritize verification, context, and proportionality.
  • Resist the clickbait economy and restore editorial standards.

4. User Self-Reflection

• Public must reflect on:
  • When does witnessing turn into exploitation?
  • Should every moment be recorded, uploaded, and judged?

Conclusion: Digital Culture at a Crossroads

• The Coldplay episode is not an anomaly — it represents a global pattern of spectacle over sensitivity.
• We must ask:
  • Do we want a society where every moment becomes content?
  • Or one where privacy, consent, and dignity are respected?
• In an age where virality is instant but harm is lasting, digital citizenship must be guided by empathy, ethics, and restraint.

Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed here are based on the original article published in THE HINDU and do not reflect the official stance of Legacy IAS Academy. This content is provided solely for Academic purposes.