ONE NATION ONE UNIFORM

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About

The Prime Minister of India suggested the idea of “One Nation, One Uniform” for Indian police forces while addressing the first Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) of state home ministers and top police officers.
He stated that the ‘One Nation, One Uniform’ for police is just an idea. The Union government is not trying to impose.
- He suggested that all the states should think it over.
His suggestion is in line with his more comprehensive attempt to introduce a uniform set of policies across the country.
- Recently, the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers announced to implementation of the “One Nation One Fertiliser” scheme.
- In 2019, Union Government introduced the “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme.
- PM repeatedly suggested the implementation of “One Nation, One Election”, and adopting a single voter list for all polls.

Present Status

Police personnel in India are usually associated with khaki colour uniforms, which also differ in varying degrees in different regions.
State governments decide on the uniform. For example:
- The Kolkata Police wear white uniforms.
- Puducherry Police constables wear bright red caps with their khaki uniforms.
- Delhi Traffic Police personnel wear white and blue uniforms.

Way Forward

The Indian Constitution puts police forces under the jurisdiction of state governments, and each of the 28 states has its police force.
- Both ‘public order’ and the ‘police’ are placed under the State List.
Currently, it is unclear how the Prime Minister’s suggestion would be implemented even if the state government were to take it seriously.