Operation Majnu

Indian Police have started acting like Big Brothers off late. A couple of months back, a hotel in Chennai was stripped of its license to run the bar because of a dance party that was happening there. Many young couples were noticed drinking and making merry. I don’t want to comment on what was happening inside. But the way the police and the media handled the situation was mean. Posters of couples dancing and drinking were splashed all over the TVs and newspapers.

The Chennai incident is not the only one in which the police have shown their ugly faces. A couple of days back another such demean incident has taken place in Meerut. It is being code named as ‘Operation Majnu’, aimed at safeguarding innocent girls from lecherous men. Young boys and girls who were sitting in one of the city’s most popular parks have been roughed up by the police. Though many saffron groups including the Bajrang Dal and the VHP have backed up the police, it is a very disgraceful act by the police.

When we speak about morality and discipline, is there not something also called as privacy? It is the parent’s duty to bring up their children and prevent them from falling in to decadence. It is certainly not the job of the police to look after people’s morality. Though there could have been some people who were using the park for amoral activities, there could also have been genuine cases that would have used the area for valid reasons. Now because of this incident, they also would have been shabbily treated.

Police should not bring in fanaticism in their job. They could have achieved the same cause by some other diplomatic means. They could have inquired the couples politely and if they were found to be guilty, they could have arrested them and could have handled the situation legally. But for certain, this is not the way to handle such situations. This is just going to backfire on the police department and people are never going to understand that the police are ‘their friends’.