Amid a surge in requests from police recruits to shift them to training centres closer home, the Madhya Pradesh Police plans to start Ramcharitmanas sessions every evening, in the hope that Lord Ram’s 14-year exile can offer a lesson or two.
The new batch of recruits began their training this week in eight police training schools (PTS) across the state. Officials said they will be asked to recite at least two chapters of Ramcharitmanas daily before sleeping to stave off homesickness.
ADG (training) Raja Babu Singh told The Indian Express, “I have been receiving applications from new recruits asking for a change of their PTS closer to home. But this mindset is counterproductive. If officers are trained only near their homes, how will they ever adapt to postings in challenging regions like those affected by Naxal insurgency?”
Drawing parallels with Lord Ram’s exile, Singh apprised senior officers that the idea of staying away from home is not new to Indian tradition. “Lord Ram did not return to Ayodhya for 14 years. During that time, he learned to live in the forest, built an army, and overcame hardship. If we want to teach our recruits lessons, they will have to be from our local culture, which they can relate to,” he said.
According to the MP police, 300 fresh recruits have applied for transfer to a PTS near their home district. Senior officials said that if even a few are allowed, “the floodgates for the transfer will open up”.
Currently, 4,000 recruits are set to undergo the nine-month basic course training. The Ramcharitmanas sessions will be conducted by the head of the barracks every evening.
This is not the first time Rajababu Singh has drawn on spiritual and cultural traditions in policing. Known for his earlier “Gita Gyan” awareness campaign while serving as ADG of Gwalior zone, Singh had distributed copies in jails during Dussehra.
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The MP police have also moved to promote regional identity and pride, with every PTS required to introduce local folk martial arts and dances. “There are also training schools where martial arts like Kalaripayattu are taught; we are going to make a list of all Indian martial arts forms and teach them to the recruits,” Singh said.
Commando drills such as frog jumps, monkey walks, duck walks, and inchworm walks have also been integrated to simulate combat readiness using the body’s natural movement, officials said.
