An ex-Delhi Police ACP has shared two lessons from a recent trip to Germany , one from an unexpected encounter with the police and another from what he observed on the streets.
Rajindar Pathania said the experiences left him reflecting on policing, civic responsibility and what India could learn.
In a post on X, Pathania recalled a bus carrying Indian travellers being stopped by German police. What happened next made him look at the police uniform in a different way. The caption read, “During our tour of Germany, one day our entire bus was surrounded by German police. All the passengers on the bus were Indian travellers. The police took us to the station. One by one, each traveller was made to get off the bus. Passports and visas were checked, and luggage was searched. “Seeing this police action on foreign soil naturally stirred a bit of anxiety in my mind. But then I witnessed a scene that I probably will never forget. “The German police officers lifted our luggage with their own hands. They carried it to the baggage scanner. They inspected each item one by one. After the inspection was complete, they themselves lifted the same luggage and placed it back in the bus. “I stood there watching them for a few moments. He concluded, “It’s easy to go abroad, just admire the beauty there and return. But if we bring back a good lesson from there to our own country, then perhaps that journey is truly meaningful. One user also cautioned against drawing wider conclusions from a single experience, writing, “Respectfully, one incident should not become a benchmark for an entire police system. Service is humility, but justice, accountability and integrity are the true weight of the uniform.”
Even after more than 38 years in police service, that day I got the opportunity to view the uniform from a different perspective.
Pathania said these two experiences reminded him of the responsibilities of both a police officer and a citizen.
