Shri. V.R Rajiven |
Shri. V.R Rajiven is a 1977 Batch Kerala Cadre Indian Police Service Officer who retired in 2010 as Director General of Police. As an I.P.S officer, he worked in various capacities throughout the state. Awarded the President's medal for Meritorious Service during the year 1998, and Highest Police Honor of President's Medal for Distinguished Service in 2006.
Prior to his law enforcement career, practiced as a lawyer at High Court of Kerala with Senior Counsel and later Judge Shri. Bhaskaran Nambiar.
Given below is the transcript of his interview with Nebil Nizar.
Prior to his law enforcement career, practiced as a lawyer at High Court of Kerala with Senior Counsel and later Judge Shri. Bhaskaran Nambiar.
Given below is the transcript of his interview with Nebil Nizar.
1. How Law Students can positively engage in nation building and make a difference ?
V.R Rajiven: The work of Nation-building has to be undertaken by each and
every member of the society - especially youngsters from all walks of life.
There is no special role for law students compared with others in this matter. However, I feel that there are certain areas
which can be better served by Law students who get opportunities to study
concepts of International Human Rights, Democracy, Rule of law,
Constitutionalism, Self-determination, civil society, gender justice and
minority rights, and the role these factors play, individually and in
combination, in creating and maintaining an emergent society that respects
international human rights. Law students can also act as catalytic agents in
anti corruption and civil rights movements, and in the emancipation of the
oppressed which will definitely make a difference in the society. But I feel
that these things can be done after the completion of studies and it is better
for students to concentrate on their studies rather than think and worry about
concepts like nation building and get confused during their college days.
2. When did you start preparations for Civil
Services Exam ?
V.R Rajiven: Once you have decided to appear in the Civil Services Exam,
preparations should start early. No time frame can be fixed for starting the
preparations. Preferably your preparations should start from your school days
once you have decided about your final destination. Read news papers and periodicals daily to
increase your general knowledge and be updated about current affairs and
happenings around you. You have to develop the habit of reading news papers and
periodicals from your school days and subject wise preparations can start
preferably after graduation or may be from the 3rd year of LL. B course. As far
as I am concerned, my serious preparations for the Civil Services Main Exam
started after I joined the 3 year LL.B course. One
common misconception about the preliminary is that it is a test of facts and
figures. A candidate should have the right
frame of mind and the will power to succeed in the exam. A proper action plan
is needed for the preparation itself since he /she will be tested for some
essential qualities like power of retention, clarity of concepts, ability to
identify the correct alternatives with efficiency and accuracy. All this
requires a quick decision making power. There is stress on language
skills and analysis and
decision making capacities. These are
skills that are developed over years and not just in a few months. It would be
advisable to start focusing on your problem solving and language skills as soon
as you complete your +2 course. Your aim should be to develop an analytical
mind and should have basic knowledge of the world around you . Try to sharpen
your skills by participating in Debates, Elocution competitions, moot courts
etc.
3. How should a student of Law study if he is
aiming for Civil Service Exam?
V.R Rajiven: One should choose the subjects he intends to
take for the Civil Services Main Exam and concentrate more on those subjects.
Where ever possible, give preference to Law subjects as you can study them
along with your LL.B subjects’. Considering the fact that the
time between the Main Exam and the declaration of result of the Preliminary
Exam is very less, it is advisable to begin preparations of the Main Exam along
with the Preliminary Exam. The choice of optional subject for Paper-II has
to be done very carefully. The optional subject for Paper-II should usually be
the subject in which the candidate has either attained proficiency/higher
academic qualification or in which the candidate feels at home. Even if your
branch of study is different, it is advisable to keep in touch with one of
these subjects which will help you when you start preparations. Start
collecting books and readings once you have made your choice. While studying for the optional
subjects, remember that there is no scope for selective studies in the Civil
Services Examination. The whole syllabus must be completely and thoroughly
covered. If you
choose subjects in which you do not have a basic grounding, start from simple
books. After getting the grasp of the basic concepts, start with higher level
study material.
4. It is a frequently asked question by Law students
whether LL.M or Civil Service
preparation must be undertaken first. What do you think?
V.R Rajiven: There is no need to give preference to one
exam over the other. In any case, don’t presume that LL.B degree will not give you
the required proficiency to tackle the Civil Services Exam. I pursued my LL.M
course along with my Civil Services Exam preparations. I found it quite useful
since I had taken mainly Law subjects for my Civil Services Main Examination
and was also able to make maximum use of the college library, and I appeared
for the Civil Services Exam before completing the LL.M course. If you start your preparations for the Civil
Services Examination after you finish LL.M, you will waste another 2 or 3 years
and will join the Service rather very late and joining the Service at an early
date has its advantages.
5. Do you think that serving the Corporate
Sector would instill professionalism in a young man ?
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V.R Rajiven: The requirement and specialization will differ
from corporate to corporate. With increase in the corporate sector, the demands
for the related services have increased and this has led to tremendous change
in the techniques of the respective services. So
serving in corporate sector alone may not guarantee instillation of
professionalism in a young man. If you look around you can find any number of
MBA graduates just performing clerical jobs in the Corporate Sector. What is
important is the level at which you enter the Corporate Sector and the type of
work assigned to you. Whether you are working in Govt: Sector or Corporate
Sector, developing professionalism will depend on your attitude and your business
ethos. It may also be noted that there is great demand for retired Bureaucrats in
the corporate sector and this is mainly because of the professionalism they
have achieved while working in the Govt: Sector. While working as a civil
servant you deal with complex issues on a day to day basis and the professional
skills you earn can easily match or even excel the professional skills of a
corporate executive.
6. It
is seen that persons learned in law engage in many jobs without any professional training and
succeeds in that, may be journalism, politics etc. Do you think LL.B moulds a teen
into a man?
V.R Rajiven: Probably,
knowledge of Law will come to the help of Law graduates in many fields and they
may do better than others in a god no: of jobs. But at the same time we have to
admit the fact that proper professional training is required to sharpen the
skills, techniques and knowledge acquired by a law graduates to deal with specialised
jobs since basically LL.B degree aims to mould the students as good
lawyers. It cannot be said that you will perform better than others as a member
of the Civil Service, a corporate executive ,a journalist or a politician
simply because you possess a law degree. May be, you can avoid pitfalls in the
particular profession as you know the rules and regulations better than others
once you acquire a law degree. At same time we have to remember that so many other
vital factors other than knowledge of law are essential to excel in the
professional arena.
7. Did
your study of law help you in any way when you successfully discharged your
duties as a law enforcement officer?
V.R Rajiven: From
your question itself the answer is quite obvious. As a police officer I had to
enforce Law, and knowledge of law was of great help. Among the various
Services, I feel that IPS is the one where your knowledge of law will come to
your aid throughout your career. Once you enter the IPS, from day one you start
dealing with IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act, etc and a plethora of other Central and
state Acts and Rules. On a day to day basis you will have to deal with
prosecutors and court cases and your law back ground will be of great help.
8.
What is your advice to Law students?
V.R Rajiven: The
tenet of legal profession can never be considered financial gains alone. From
the student days, a law student has to develop certain basic qualities like
self esteem, humility, compassion, respect for law etc and should have definite
ideas about his final destination - legal profession or elsewhere. Once the
destination is finalised, he has to choose the right path to reach the place. As
the study time available to him remains
the same, he has to make proper adjustments and find time slots for additional
items if he wants to pursue a Civil Services Career after LL.B. He should
understand that to get into the Civil Services he has to compete with students
from different disciplines and LL.B has
no special edge over other courses. Keeping the above aspect in mind, you have
to organise your studies. Rather than mugging
up from guides, depend on standard text books and reference books and always be
willing and eager to learn from others and your own experience.
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Really helpful
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring.
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