Eighteen IPS officers retire yesterday, closing long chapters of service and opening quieter, deeper ones. Six years ago, I too was among those who stepped away from police service, after 37 years in uniform – years that shaped not just a career, but a life.
At the time, it felt like an ending. With distance, I see it differently. Retirement is not a retreat from the world; it is a redesign of one’s relationship with it.
From the rarefied vigilance of the Special Protection Group to the vast operational canvas of the Central Reserve Police Force; from building disaster resilience with the National Disaster Response Force to safeguarding the nation’s critical infrastructure through the Central Industrial Security Force; from serving the Union to shouldering responsibility in the states – each chapter unfolded in different geographies, under diverse political masters, amid complex ideological climates.
These years were my teachers. Some lessons were deeply fulfilling; others tested resolve and patience. Yet, for nearly four decades, public service as a police officer left an indelible imprint on my life – and, I hope, on those who walked alongside me. To confront Sikh terrorism in the UP terai, to grapple with internal security in the country’s largest paramilitary force, to protect vital national assets, to strengthen disaster preparedness across every corner of India, and finally to help lay a foundational edifice of robust law and order in the nation’s most populous state – this arc of service feels humbling in retrospect.
Retirement, I have learnt, is about redesigning and recalibrating life through autonomy, purpose and deep human connections. These become the tools with which one gives fresh meaning to years beyond uniform and office.
As I reflected in my memoir, Crime, Grime & Gumption (2024), lives are rarely shaped in comfort; they are shaped in difficult spaces. That belief continues to guide me even after retirement. I remain closely associated with child rights issues- especially the disturbing rise of online child sexual abuse, the persistence of child marriages and the ongoing menace of child trafficking.
Professional engagement, too, has not ended. As Strategic Advisor to Royal Bank of Scotland, I contribute to addressing security risks in India. In recent months, I have also been advising Suzlon, supporting the design of security architecture in the renewable energy sector.
Policing taught me these lessons early in life. Discipline nurtured autonomy, duty gave purpose, and shared hardships created bonds that survived time and distance. Retirement has not taken these away. It has simply changed the way they are lived.
So today, life is about standing differently – more quietly, more clearly and with deeper meaning. Life has grown more beautiful now – unburdened by deadlines, files or expectations. There is a quiet freedom in waking up without urgency, in letting the day unfold at its own pace. Keeping myself fit, traveling without protocol or haste, reading widely and occasionally giving writing another try – these have become my steady companions. I hope they stay with me, gently and faithfully, for the years to come.
If there is gratitude to be offered, it is simple and sincere: thanks to God for the strength, the courage, and the intent to serve – and for the grace to leave behind a footprint that might guide and inspire younger generations, across ranks and files, long after the uniform is folded away.
(This opinion piece is by 1983-batch IPS officer O.P. Singh, former DGP of Uttar Pradesh and ex-Director General of NDRF and CISF. The views expressed are his own.)
