And the word got around

P Lal

HAVE you heard of ‘burking’ in the Indian police system? If you have, you are quite knowledgeable.

I had my first brush with the term, when, as a probationary ASP holding temporary charge of Pathankot subdivision, I ordered the registration of a case of rape on the complaint of an elderly woman.

Immediately thereafter, all hell broke loose. “Cases of rape are not registered lightly,” I was reprimanded by a senior. “Also, the woman appears to be of ill repute,” he added. My argument that women of ill repute could also be a victim of rape and that the case could be cancelled if found false cut no ice.

Finding me in a predicament, a junior seasoned officer counselled me: “Sir, we shouldn’t rush to register cases. That way, our crime figures go haywire.” Tongue in cheek, he added: “We call this ‘burking’; we do it all the time!”

Later, I looked up a dictionary for ‘burking’. There was no such entry. 

As years passed, I kept asking my seniors and juniors about the origin of the term. All of them were aware of what it meant, but none could explain how it came into use. Some extolled it. It was an alternative system of dispute resolution. A few  rationalised it,  saying it was better to nip the trouble in the bud by making warring parties to reach a compromise, preventing enmity and prolonged litigation. They said the system had the blessings of the British masters, albeit, unofficially and native officers perfected it under their patronage for the benefit of all! 

My quest, however, remained unfulfilled till I  superannuated in 2006. I had forgotten ‘burking’ and its evil or beneficial effects until I happened to read Medical Encounters by Dr SK Jindal, formerly HoD, Pulmonary Medicine, PGI. The book was released in April 2016. He writes that in view of the shortage of cadavers in Britain’s medical schools in the 19th century, certain unscrupulous elements started killing people surreptitiously to sell the bodies to medical colleges. One of them was William Burke who used to smother and kill his victims to sell to Dr Robert Knox for his anatomy lectures. The crime came to be known as ‘burking’, after the name of William Burke. He, along with others, were later tried and sentenced to death. 

A reference to Wikipedia confirms that ‘burking’, originally meaning to smother a victim or to commit an anatomy murder, later came into general use as a word for any suppression or cover-up.

Thank you, Dr Jindal, for your writings which enlightened me on a matter long forgotten.