Romeo’s nightmare in UP

The immortal story of Romeo and Juliet penned by Shakespeare in the 16th century is symbolic of every thing that true love stands for. However, the hero of love assumed a villanous stature when Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, began the Anti-Romeo squads, in a bid to bring down eve-teasing and crimes on women - poor Shakespeare must be turning in his grave!

omeo Montague is the love-bitten youth, in the play ‘Romeo Juliet’, the sixteenth century’s world famous tragic hero of the Bard of Avon. William Shakespeare would never have thought that in the history rolling by, after four centuries, in an erstwhile English Colony (about which the British had the pride to call the Jewel of the Empire), in the early years of the third millennium, the name and literary fame of Romeo would be entangled in an entirely unnecessary imbroglio. But it is to be, and in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Whoever teamed to piece together the BJP Election Manifesto for the UP hustings in 2017, had a very poor taste of cosmopolitan culture of literature, and thought that like Bajrang Dal and Shriram Sena, (which in their considered opinion is a positive consolidation of the majoritarian native faiths), this time they can christen a section of State police force, “Anti-Romeo Squad”, and assign them the duties of providing protection to women. Giving flesh and blood to the Election promise BJP made, the DGP of UP has suggested a name Anti-Romeo Squad and Lo; The posse of police is now discharging their duties, as badge carriers of these units.

A High Court has welcomed the government’s initiative, and alas Romeo has turned a villain, and courts, in turn, will be trying the overzealous youth, and sometimes really the miscreants, calling them as “Romeos”, and imposing fines or prison terms on these hapless youth, or some else genuinely suffering from compulsive behavioural disorders.

In UP, the understanding of the word “Romeo” is from a coarse understanding of the word. And thanks to our culture such nouns become phrases as well, acquiring new and sinister meanings, which they never had at the time of original manifestation. Whatever the weightage and significance the nouns Ranjha, Majnu, Farhad carry in the cultural expanse, Romeo too enjoys such hallowed eminence.

People unable to appreciate the cultural heterogeneity of the leitmotif behind these nouns, and who cannot decide a better course for implementation of professed policies are behind this unwitting process of dragging the name of Romeo, into the shifting swamps in the land of Lord Rama.

Where Rama of the East is venerated, the politicos of right hue might have thought that for convenient bashing they needed a Romeo of the West. Because, for decades, in our crass English usage, we have refined the use of a ‘desi’ phrase “Roadside Romeo”.

This means that the person referred so, is one who indulges in eve-teasing, makes gestures or advances, and carries on harassment of fair sex at a public place all alone, or in groups. Our cinemas too have helped the consolidation of this shade of meaning, by songs, and by making movies (‘Roadside Romeo’, an animation film made in 2008, which bombed at the box office). There is a song in the movie which goes like this -

“Main hoon Romeo, loving lovein mera kaam,
Main hoon Romeo, I got this gals on my arms,
Main hoon Romeo, darling mujhe pechan,
Main hoon Romeo, meri kick pe zamana.”

Note the line that says “Main hoon Romeo, I got this gal in my arms” is the so-called central idea that has obviously influenced the Indian cultural Czars ensconced in Northern India, in their self-appointed moral regulatory authority.

And if for a better reason, the Government wanted a ‘Task Force’ to control the harassment of women, there surely are a better, matter of fact, no-nonsense nomenclature like ‘Taruni Protection Force’ or ‘Stree Raksha Abhiyaan’ or something like that, which conveys that the government is serious about safety of women in public places. But doing so would have deprived the West-bashers their best opportunity, to use Ram for positive, and Romeo for negative.

Except in the oblique understanding of the celebrated play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by the mediocre in India, nowhere in the world, Romeo is summed up to be a ‘Rowdy’, ‘Hooligan’, or most importantly as a character, who harasses young girls and women. Even the dictionaries like Cambridge state the meaning as “An attractive, passionate male seducer or lover”.

Meriam Webster’s definition is “A man who has many lovers or who shows strong feelings of love by doing romantic things”. Oxford has given the meaning as “A man who thinks he is attractive to women and has sexual relationships with many women”. The renowned dictionaries of West have said nothing, about Romeo, in a way, what we general public understand, in India.

Romeo, the central character of the play of William Shakespeare, is a youth, who doubts that “some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date”. Set to be a serious tragedy, the plot meanders through the brisk narrative of the Bard, and this is the story of two well to do families, to which, the scions Romeo and Juliet belong.

The play has original twists and turns that many movies in the celluloid era had followed with detectable variations, even in India. All the factionist-background love stories take a leaf or two from the quick turn of events, the master craftsman the Shakespeare handled in the play, which in the end leads to the suicide by Romeo since he cannot live without Juliet, whom he mistakenly considers to be dead.

Even today, no better script writer can manage such a riveting tale of tragic proportions, and there lies the genius of Shakespeare. Romeo is a sincere warm person, who knows only to love, and in order to live with dignity for love, he becomes a part of certain calamitous events, including the death of a royal relation. Banished from the kingdom, that night he consummates his love with Juliet, before withdrawing into far off areas.

Meanwhile, her marriage is fixed with another royal scion Paris, which the girl refuses, and in a bid of daredevilry smells some poison, and becomes apparently dead. In a duel between Paris and Romeo, he kills the adversary, and then learning that Juliet is dead too, he takes the extreme step of taking poison and choosing death. Juliet after coming to senses finds Romeo dead, and she kills herself with his dagger.

That being the short script of the story, this is a respected play in all the English-speaking world, translated into many languages, and the pair Romeo and Juliet have emerged as the quintessential lovers in the eyes of the world, and the academia. The cult has crossed the moulds and entered the social psyche. Nowhere in the play, did Romeo harass women, or play foul with the character of his lady love.

Giving due weight to the fact that originally the Bard had intended to present Romeo as an ill-fated lover, the literary and cultural circles took the presentation that way only, and not developed any sinister insinuation to the character, as it has happened in India. Hence, the world academia will observe with dismay and regret that political pundits and zealot cops in UP, have robbed the character his dignity, and in their obfuscation ended up portraying Romeo, in the land of Ram, as a ‘Rowdy’, hooligan with criminal intents.

Originally based on tales from Italy, Shakespeare developed this play as a love-caused-consternation in hatred ridden families of the boy and the girl and opened for us a window into the medieval England, its society and lifestyle. The worldwide celebrations of Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary that took place last year are still green; and nation after nation has paid him compliments for enriching the cultural milieu with his gift of imagination that entertains, educates, and enlightens the mankind even after centuries .

But, within the turn of the calendar year, UP selling its USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of west – bashing, regrettably in the least, and reprehensibly at the best has sullied the Shakespearean tradition, for a daily administration of a local statute, which is otherwise adequately addressed under the IPC Sections 66A, 294, 370, 375, 377 and others. This they did by bringing a misconception about the hallowed character of Romeo into the routine policing activities and by naming it quite unnecessarily as “Anti- Romeo Squad”.

Hearing this misplaced populism, the world grimaces, and the Bard cringes. And, “Dear Romeo, centuries ago, it was the fateful events in the play, and now another row of equally powerful fateful events in a former English Colony, where the English as rulers are disliked and detested, but their literature and language are studied as vintage and heritage material, have left you with no choice but to surmise, for being “A Fortune’s Fool” as you rightly said about yourself in the play.

This Anti-Romeo Lila in UP is a regional distraction to make some fast mileage in the political arena. India, fortunately, is not UP, and for us Indians including scores of culturally correct and sensitive UP-wallahs, Romeo remains in the centrality of the play, as a ubiquitous youth who lived a fragile life and ascended to stardom centuries ago, with his dream girl, Juliet.

By: Rama Teertha
The writer is a poet, translator, critic and an orator