Women in vardi (uniform)

Indian origin women in policing discuss the highlights and challenges of the job

It is a m ale dominated field, perceived as dangerous and vio lent; which is why not many Indian women opt for a career in rhe police force To understand and delve more into the lives of women police officers, 1 caught up with two foclian origin women working w ithin the Queens.land Police Service to get an insight into the p r ofession through their eyes.

"After our house got burg led in the UK and seeing the efficien t manner in which the police hel ped us through chis crisis, I made up my mind at the age of 12 that I would take on a career which involved helping people in times of distress Joining the police service was m y first option," says UK-born Constahle Mans i Price.

In 2003, Constab le Price joined the London Police, attending to a diverse commmuty. Hailing from a Sikh -Punjabi background was an advantage, as the Indian community developed faith and trust i n her, not the lease for her ability to commurucate in both, the Punjabi and Hindi dialects. Constable Price is currently the General Duty Of6ce r for Logan District in Queensland, having joined the Sourb Australian Police Service in 2007.

Shaliru Singh starred her career w ith the Queensland Police Service as a Volunteer in Policing (VIP), which eventually led her to apply for the position of Police Liaison Officer in 2009 She presently holds die posi tion of a Senior Police L iaison Officer for Logan District in Queensland.

"The first response of people from culturally a nd linguisticall y diverse backgrounds is often to steer away when there are police officers around; this c.u1 be based on a very different view of police officers from their home countries," she says with a smile.

"My obligation as a liaison officer is co speak the language of the people, to hear them and guide them to the r ight people. So far the jo urney bas been good, people have been welcoming irrespective of their cnln1ral backgrounds," states PLO Singh.

All in a day's wor k

"Everyday is a new day at '..vork, you don't know what you can gee. Members of the Queensland

Police Se rvice are required to respond m a w ide variety of incidents," admits Singh. Her role as a Police Liaison Officer is to mediate between culturally speci fic communities and the police, to foster cooperation and understanding. "As a L iaison Officer, I have the opporn1ruty to liaise with members of tbe diverse local commun ity; in doing this I improve communi ty access to policing services and can also assist b y orgarusing referrals to necessary servi ces," she explains.

Working erratic eight hour shifts as a General Du ty Officer, Constable Price says, "I have been nervous about certain jobs; you see things you don't want to, sometimes a dead bod y or a suicide. We all have hearts and seeing all this makes us want co cry Bur witl1 a good support net\vork and people aro=d you to make sure yo u are o kay, it is reassuring" So can women in particular, opr out of a certain job if they are not comfortab le doing ir? " There is no disparity among men and women, they are treated equally and are o n par," stares Constable Price.

And what preparations are made before going out on patrol ?

"\Xie always mal,e an assessment of what we are going into, what is the address, do we know the history of the person/l o cali ty," e.'-plains Constab le Pr ice.

" However, at rhe end of the day, we don't cake things (work) home".

Inspector Owen Hortz from Logan D istrict responded positively when asked if Indian origin women officers were an asset to the Queensland Po lice Services.

"},fo.l ticulrural officers are immense ly important co Australi.u1 socie ty Having moved to Australia from a d ifferent countr y they nor only speak the l anguage of their commLmity, bu t can also interact in tl1e English language. 1n tl1e workplace these officers are approachable and easy-going and provide a val uable link to a culturally diverse community," he says.

Community communication

" The Indian community is definitel y receptive when spoken to in their local dialect, but with other imm igrant groups they are sometimes difficult co deal wit!,," says PLO Singh. She further explains how some people are hesitant to discuss tl1eir issues or problems w ith an Indian origin officer in comparison to an Aus tralian officer. On the ocher hand sometimes they are overwhelmed witl, appreciation to have o ne of tl1ei.r own to discuss their issues personall y

Archana Singh, Honorary lndia Consul for Queens land lauds the work done by l ndianotigin women police officers. "It is important for women of Indian origin to feel comfortable with sharing their concerns and theii: issues w ithout feeling judged or scared," she s ays "It is al,vays helpful if someone can understand your cultural beliefs and traditions w ithout having to explairr things. The police are not only ensuring peace and security for society, the y are ,i[so doing invaluable work with victims of domestic viole nce, crime and mental illness, among other issues," she adds.

What will the family think?

PLO Singh laughs when she recalls her parents reacting to her career choice. "l\fy fanilly said, ' can't you find another job, you'll be working and be surrounded by men.' They were proud that I was the fu:st o ne from the family (in tl1is profession) but were anxious for me at the same rime," she says.

"My parents were definitely happy and proud, but also forewarned me that ir was a dangerous job and I had co be cautious," says Constable Price

More than just a job

"I love and take a lot of pride in m y uniform," says PLO Singh. "This job is a constant learning curve, it is satisfying and gratifying and you are he lping and assisting peopl e through this profession". Constab le Price echoes sinill ar tl1oughts. "The job is fan,

Archona Singh

challenging, i nteresting, and spontaneous, you are constantl y learning new and different things everyday," she says. "Thi5 i s a well respected job and every day you are making a difference to sociecy,'.

Commending the work of t!1e Indian origin women officers, Archana Singh says, "Over the last few yea rs I have been i.o constant touch with the wonderful women police officers in Queensland. Their sense of service, humility and the ir read iness to be of help has always impressed me. Their cultural understanding of the need s of a farruly tl1at had been recently bereaved due to die tragic loss of a family member, was truly commendable. I cougta rulate tl1em on the wonderful work tl1ey are doing. As the people of Indian origin grow in number, it would be great to see an increase in tl1e number of Indian-origin women. police officers".

ChandrahasChoundhury travelled across Australia pedalling Indian literature to an appreciative audience

The Booh/){11/nh tour travelled along Ausa:alia's Ease coast from Melbourne to Brisbane recently. Organised by the Asia link ar the University of Melbomne, Bookwallah was formed to make direct literary links between Australia and India. Cbandrahas Chow1dbury; o ne of the write rs from the rour s poke about the lack of direct literary Jinks between the t\VO countries as much of [he Ii terature read in India comes via England and America. In 2012, three Iuclian and t\VO Australian writers journeyed via traiu tl1rougb

Indian cities and towns, conducting forums to promote Australian literature across 1ndia Th e wri[ers included Benjamin Law, Kirscy Murray Chandrahas Choundhury, Sudeep Sen and Annie Zaidi.

"Travel by train added [ 0 the jdea of a connection between the works, us writers and the communities we visited," said Choundhury. "I believe Indian trains have a charm and things don't always go accorwng m plan".

The journey was doam1ented b y

Catriona Mitchell in her lovely fil m, The Book,/1(/llah Travelling helped build the sense of connection with tl1e audiences and friendships between the wri [ers.

For ChOlmdhury it was a dj scovery of "Australian books and writers that I hadn't read". Packed into designer suitcases, tl1e travelling writers carried 150-200 books witl1 them. When they s poke in schools and community centres, the books were unpacked and wsplayed in a pop-up, purpose-bmlt exhibition Seeing so many books rogether helped students studying English realise mar tl1ere was a body of work from a dj fferent literary world, and that together they constitute a tradition. Many books were left behind as a legacy for the corrmmnities co borrow and read.

The idea of the Bookwallnh cour in Australia is to replicate the journey Lmderraken in India, in tl1e reverse. Zaidi and Cboundlrnry chose lnwan books as "a repr esentation of the Indian canon tl1rough o ur eyes". The whistlescop tour started with a rural retreat in Victoria and included an exhibition at the State Library of Victoria wh il e tl1e writers travelled on trains from Sydney to Brisbane. It was Chorn1dhury's first time in Australia, bur he already had a connection here. ''It's lovely to arrive in a cmmtry where the tour i s orgarused and very welcomrng. It's good to rewuce w ith tl1e Australian writers, Christie Murray and Benjamin Law and spend time togerner again," he sta red. Cboundhury has seen kangaroos in the wild, has read Christina Stead and is mterested in Australian literary journalism up close, in journa ls like Meanji11 and Kil!Yo!fr Dadings.

' 'I see Zaidi's and 111)' contribution ro the tour as talking about me works we have chosen and offering an insiders view of political, social and mlmral views of India," he stated. The [earn will give group talks and separate sessions

So, were tl1e Indian writers ch ose n to represen t their country because of d1e breadtl1 of their knowledge? Choundhury has recently edited India: A Tmveller's l.iteroo• Co111pa11io11, a collection of 14 shore scories from some of India's best writers. "Zaidi and myself were chosen because ,ve wrire across different literary scyJes," he explained modestly. He is a novelist, literary critic and reviewer who also writes columns for B loomberg, a US news service. Zaidi is an essayist, poet, p laywright and journalise.

"Indian literature, compared to mono-lingual literarnre like Australia, bas around two dozen different languages spoken across tl1e country The works in rnose language.5 are often nor translated and to djscover rnem is a gigantic m yscer,;" explaiuecl Ch oundhuary.

"So me of the works are a hrn1dred years old and haven't been available ro be read by Indians in oilier pares of the countrrIndian, like Australian writers, still have a specific view of the world depending on their background, such as white a nd indigenous views," he explained.

A surprising inAuence on Choundhury's writing is A u stralian cricket writer Gideon Hay, whom he describes as, "a good writer and a good proponem of the gan1e. He is tn<;idel of erudition across 6elds". Choundhury read his daily reports and even copied out sentences b ecause they were so well written. He says Hay was a formative influence o n his work". He also met Tom Keneally, a venerable Australian w-citer, at th e Jaipur Literature Festival and admired this powerful and inspiring writer. Choundhury has bad conversations with others abo ut Keneally's influence o n Australian li terature. " It is great being in Australia because you enter a culmre and access a lot of diffe_rent

INDIAN LINK viewpoints. You also transmit one's own and p ick up irom others," he stated.

Chouodhury's first novel, Ar-{ee the D111t11f that was published in 2009 came from an idea born w hen working as a cricket writer. He writes, ''He was good- lookingthere was no doubt about thac. Bur what of it? Looks weren't just about shape and colour, but also about size. Even in his reflection there W'<l.S something irred eemably odd and stunted about him, like a thought that had come ou t all wrong in d1e speaking". Other elements in the story a_re resonant o f Mumbai, Noor cinema where Arzee works becomes like a secon d bod y co the protagonist. "Mumbai has a grear cinema culmre which is d ose to being shur down. There is little privacy i n M=bai - million s of people all tr}ing to c oexist, so the cinema is one of the few p laces in which to lose sight of the world, an d the illusion is so powerful d1at you forget your Iife. 1t's a n ovel where cha_racrers ofren do the unexpected and where turns and twists in d1eir behaviour endear them to d1e reader," explained Choundhury. The n ovel was written over three o r four yea_rs and took s hape over time; "You get co know yo ur character very well," he added.

The Book1valk1h tour began in Melbourne on August 22 August and concluded at the Bdsbane Writer's Festival in September.

Choundhury describes the central i d ea of the tour as \vriters as '111al!ahs, ' merchants or helpers that belong to that profession.

"As a writer, you carry fotwru:d in d1e world and you belong to thar world Wie carry and communicate boo ks and their meaning, we arrive under the sky of books," h e stated.