A BULLET FOR A BULLET (Keynote Address With Mr. Julio Riberio) : by ~ Niilesh A Raje

The Independence Day weekend might have been long weekend for many but for the whole crew of St. Xavier's College (Mumbai) for the professors and their students it marked the opening ceremony for their three day annual festival of St Xavier's College namely “Malhar”.  

The theme of this year's Malhar was 'A Chronicle' and it proved to be a crowd-puller as over 67 different colleges from Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai participated in this annual festival with great enthusiasm.

'Malhar Conclave' the festival's first day which coincided with Independence Day celebrations drew people in large numbers for interactive sessions and discussions. Day one of Conclave started with keynote address from Mr. Julio Francis Riberio.

Mr. Ribeiro has been a Padma Bhushan Awardee, India's third highest civilian award for his services. He was also the former Mumbai Police Commissioner and Indian Ambassador to Romania. He led the Punjab Police during part of the Punjab insurgency periods. He held positions such as Special Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Adviser to the Governor of Punjab.

When former Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Vasant Dhoble retired he said, “If there is one person whom I always looked up as my role model during my service then it has been the retired Police Commissioner Mr. Julio Ribeiro”.

There is a Marathi phrase namely; “Jashas Tase” it means tit for tat is fair attitude which has been his credo. It's the reason Mr. Julio Ribeiro remains to be my inspiration who has also authored a book titled, “Bullet for Bullet” said Mr. Dhoble. 

The first session on day one for “Malhar Conclave” the audience had the opportunity to hear keynote address from Mr. Julio Riberio titled as “A Bullet For A Bullet”. Here is the excerpt from his keynote address:  

   

Question: Is the youth getting involved in politics a good idea?

Response: “It’s not a bad idea at all. However, not all people are meant for politics. Politics is a quest for power.”

Question: “Why do police appear to be demonized?”

Response: The policemen are required to adhere to the law. When you have the common masses on your side no one can touch you. And one can only have the masses on your side if you serve them.

On being an IPS officer “The ‘S’ in IPS stands for service. You’ve come to serve the people, not to be their masters.”

“Old social institutions like joint family and caste system are breaking down.”

“Value system has changed”

“Economic crimes like avoiding the income tax are more dangerous.”

“I have worked with the youth and can relate very easily to them.”

Question: How do we tackle corruption?

Response: “Try to influence young minds. At schools we must convey to the young that these practices are not good and ethically right”

“Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a very good campaign; but in practice we must understand it. It should be a movement and even colleges should get involved“.