Any attempt to find a parallel between Rajgopal’s works on crime and criminals in India and the novels of Charles Dickens would, on the face of it, look odd and far-fetched. Yet the frightening para-meters of the rapidly worsening crime situation in this country, progressive erosion of human sympathy and compas¬sion in our society and the all-pervasive phenomenon of criminalization of politics portrayed by him bring immediately to mind the London scenario of 1820s and 30s. The set of three works on violence in India produced by P.R. Rajgopal under the auspices of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, is perhaps the first and only legitimate offspring in this country of painstaking research coupled with the author’s deep commitment and expertise in the area of criminal justice system. Hence its importance and utility, both for the scholar and the practitioner in the field.
March-April 1989, volume 13, No 2