Asia | Pish cosh

India’s police are overstretched, poorly trained and politicised

Politicians seem to like it that way

|DELHI

THE PUPILS at Shaheen School in Bidar, a big country town in the state of Karnataka, are learning some unusual lessons. In recent days a group of police inspectors has taken over a classroom. They are not there for educational outreach. Rather, the officers have been interrogating dozens of 9- to 12-year-olds. The focus of their inquiries is no grisly crime, but a play that the students wrote and performed on January 21st.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Pish cosh”

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