Who Guards the Guardians? #940087

This book was born not from imagination alone, but from observation—quiet, persistent, and often uncomfortable.
Every day, in cities and towns across our country, millions of people pass through gates without a second thought. Housing societies, hospitals, schools, colleges, offices, malls—each protected by men and women in uniform who stand watch long before we arrive and long after we leave. They open barriers, check entries, enforce rules, prevent chaos, and absorb impatience. Yet, despite their constant presence, they remain largely unseen.
We call them security guards, but rarely do we extend them the security of dignity.
Society has learned to respect power backed by fear—uniforms that carry the authority of law, punishment, and consequence. But it often fails to respect responsibility backed only by honesty and discipline. This imbalance has normalized humiliation, verbal abuse, and even physical violence against those whose only fault is that they protect without being protected.
Who Guards the Guardians? is not an accusation; it is a question. A question directed at our laws, our institutions, and our everyday behavior. It asks why a slap against a policeman rightly invites punishment, while abuse against a security guard is dismissed as “normal.” It asks why children learn to salute authority but laugh at service. It asks why silence has been mistaken for acceptance.
The story of Shiva—the man at the gate—is the story of countless real individuals whose names we do not know, whose faces we pass daily, and whose humanity we often forget. His journey is not heroic in the traditional sense. It is quiet, restrained, and deeply human. It reflects the lived reality of those who endure disrespect not because they deserve it, but because the system allows it.
This book also recognizes hope. It acknowledges that change does not always begin with laws or loud revolutions. Sometimes, it begins with a pen that refuses to look away, with small acts of solidarity, with awareness growing where ignorance once stood. It shows that respect, when practiced consciously, can become a powerful form of protection.
If this book makes you pause the next time you pass a gate, if it makes you look at the person standing there and see not just a uniform but a fellow citizen entrusted with your safety, then it has served its purpose.
Because the strongest security system any society can build is not made of metal, weapons, or surveillance.
It is made of respect.