India, Aug. 1 -- Beatrice Jaregui's book on UP Police titled, 'Provisional Authority: Police, order and security in India' (2017), is a fascinating work based on her long stay in UP from 2004-2017 (with interruptions). She hung out with beat constables and went on 'gasht' (patrolling) with them. So comfortable did some of these cops became of her presence that they went about their ordinary business of life as if she was not there. So they chased overloaded trucks for bribes and generally went about exercising their authority that they drew from their uniform. Beatrice's is a dense book that grapples with issues of power, authority and coercion. She has a very nuanced view of UP Police as she perceives it as a resource used by entities - in...