Immoral policing

Good news. Anti-Romeo police squads are out in force in UP’s marketplaces — and all women should feel safe and secure. The innocence or sarcasm of this declaration is as obvious as the act of unleashing a misogynistic police force on the young population of the state. The immediate breakout of moral policing has necessitated the Chief Minister himself to ask the squads to stop harassment of couples. But can we expect anything more subtle than that from a constable? The real question remains about the outcome of the drive, and, more so, what comprises women’s harassment. It is not just the catcalls outside the college. It is the “Romeo” lurking in the village square, the one that is a cousin inside the home, the upper-caste “Romeo” who casts the evil eye on the Dalit woman working in his house, and ultimately the “Romeo” who lords over the police station that a woman approaches to lodge a complaint of harassment against any of them.

Community policing cannot be parcelled out into anti-theft, anti-snatching or anti-vandalism squads. It is a rounded exercise carried out by a beat constable who walks his territory all day, instilling confidence among the residents, gaining a personal rapport, and absorbing ‘social intelligence’ on anti-social elements. Checking women's harassment is part of community policing and has to necessarily reach every nook and corner of the state, if not home. It does not flow from a constable’s stick. But any meaningful change can come only with a change in the patriarchal attitude that is promoted by the extremely conservative leadership among all communities, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself.

Perhaps the BJP government is only seeking easy pickings before the 2019 election. Just as demonetisation, the anti-Romeo squads address people’s desperate need for “some action” about their real problems, whether or not the solutions are real. The “love jihad” canard is still not forgotten, and can always be revived as per the political exigencies of the day. While illegal slaughterhouses are shut down, illegal hospitals, schools, and food joints, which do worse damage, continue. That is because governance with a communal colour sells the quickest.