Gandhi is the inspiration for this cop’s canvas
IPS officer Rajinder Kumar Vij shares that he tries to steal time for his passion of sketching, and how he’s inspired by the Mahatma.
“Gandhiji is a role model for me,” says top cop Rajinder Kumar Vij, whose sketch of Mahatma Gandhi is garnering all the praises online on social media. One Twitter user even wrote: “Multitalented officer”.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, we got talking with Vij, special DGP, Chhattisgarh Police Headquarters, Raipur, who shares, “This wasn’t the first time I made Gandhiji’s sketch in April 2009. The very first time I sketched the Mahatma was as an engineering student in Kurukshetra, in the 1980s.”
He goes on to add, “Now, I try to steal some time for my passion and each time is blissful.”
Vij also confesses that he’s deeply influenced by Gandhi’s “principles of truth and non-violence”. He adds, “Mahatma Gandhi believed that crime is a social disease, and therefore criminals required suitable reformative treatment, and not punishment. He wanted the Police to be replaced with peace volunteers. But he realised that this wasn’t possible till the masses understood and lived the creed of non-violence. He also exhorted that the Police must be like friends to the public,” he says.
Author tweets @Nainaarora
