36 Tuesday April 5 2022 | the times
Wo r l d
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou
Romeo?” is a question striking fear
into the hearts of single men in India,
after a state governor reactivated a
police task force to crack down on
“lecherous” behaviour.
Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu priest-
turned-politician for the ruling BJP,
has sent plainclothes officers onto
the streets of Uttar Pradesh in “anti-
Romeo” squads, which he promises
will end the harassment of women.
However, critics have said that
their first deployment, in 2017, led to
widespread harassment and humilia-
tion of innocent men, as officers beat
“suspects” in the street and hounded
consenting adults who were dating.
The squads quickly vanished after
a torrent of allegations of unfair
treatment.
An unrepentant Yogi, fresh from a
huge election victory returning him
as the state’s chief minister, has
nevertheless decreed their return,
along with a recruitment drive to find
10,000 new officers.
“The drive is meant for confidence-
building among women. We want
them to move around without fear.
They should be confident to go home
even if they alight at railway or bus
stations at midnight,” said Deepak
Kumar, a senior policemen, on news
of the relaunch.
“The teams from the squad will be
alert round the clock and take action
as soon as they come to know about
any such incident (of harassment),”
he added.
The plainclothes force will be post-
ed outside schools, colleges, malls,
markets, bus stands, railway stations
and busy crossings across the state
where women might attract unwant-
ed sexual advances. Any man stand-
ing outside a college or school with-Sri Lanka seeks to
solve economic crisis
Sri Lanka The president pledged
to install a government of
“national unity” after his
cabinet quit amid protests over
his family’s political dominance
and the worst economic crisis
in decades. Gotabaya Rajapaksa
invited opposition parties to
“seek solutions” to tackle food
and energy shortages caused by
mounting foreign debts.Tourist trail ‘damages
prehistoric tracks’
United States Tracks from
112 million years ago were
damaged at Mill Canyon
Dinosaur Tracksite in Moab,
Utah, by heavy machinery used
to rebuild a tourist trail, the Salt
Lake Tribune paper reported.
The site, considered one of the
most important dinosaur areas
in the US, contains the tracks of
ten different species. (AP)Macron admits failure
to halt the ‘far right’
France President Macron said
he had failed to halt the rise of
the “far right” but asked voters
to give him another chance at
the polls this weekend. During
a radio interview, he attributed
his failure to the impact of the
pandemic, geopolitical crises,
climate change and conspiracy
theories, which led to a “great
malfunction” in western society.Taliban issues ban on
harvesting poppies
Afghanistan The Taliban has
banned growing poppies for
opium and said farmers who
break the law will have their
crops destroyed and face jail.
The manufacture of drugs and
trade, export and import of
heroin, hashish and alcohol are
also banned under the decree
by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the
Taliban leader. Afghanistan is
the world’s largest producer of
opium and farmers say they feel
“compelled” to grow poppies
and fear losing income. (AFP)Romeo squads on
patrol to thwart
love’s young dream
India
Amrit Dhillon Delhiout a good reason could be deemed
suspect.
Another unnamed policeman was
quoted by Indian media as admitting
that the earlier squads had failed to
follow the protocol of “being polite”
and “following the rules”.
The squads had publicly humiliat-
ed consenting couples. “Romeos”
were slapped, forced to squat on the
ground in a stress position and had
dirt smeared on their faces. In some
cases, fathers and brothers out with
their daughters and sisters were man-
handled by squads, which wasted no
time asking questions as to their
identity.
A squad officer was also accused of
harassing a woman when she ap-
proached him with a complaint of
stalking.
An internal audit in 2020 found
that 14,454 people had been arrested
by officers in the squad in less than
three years.
Women’s rights groups had
accused the government of not
addressing the real issue of sexual
violence in a serious manner but
instead of unleashing “moral polic-
ing” that limited women’s freedoms
and violated their privacy.
Tahira Hassan, who has cam-
paigned for women’s rights in the
state for 23 years, says the fear of
sexual violence confines women to
their homes. However, the “anti-
Romeo” squads have to realise, she
said, that women can also date if they
wished, and with anyone of their
choice.
“Last time, innocent men were har-
assed. If they get it right this time and
target stalkers and predators who
make women’s lives miserable, I will
welcome these squads. But they must
get the balance right,” said Hassan.
On the squad name, a politician
pointed out to Adityanath that Ro-
meo was a lover, not a harasser.Donald Trump has endorsed Sarah
Palin in the race for Alaska’s sole con-
gressional seat as the former gover-
nor and vice-presidential candidate
returns to frontline politics.
Palin announced that she was join-
ing the field of more than 50 vying for
the seat left empty by the death last
month of Don Young, a Republican.
Trump said: “Sarah shocked many
when she endorsed me very early in
2016, and we won big... Now, it’s my
turn! Sarah has been a champion for
Alaska values, Alaska energy, Alaska
jobs, and the great people of Alaska.”
Palin announced she was running
less than an hour before the deadline.
Already a darling of the right, she
shot into national prominence as
John McCain’s vice-presidential run-
ning mate in 2008.
Since then she has dabbled in real-
ity TV, appearing on The Masked
Singer rapping to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Ba-
by Got Back in 2020, which she de-
scribed as “a walking middle finger to
the haters out there”.
She made headlines earlier this
United States
Hugh Tomlinson Washington
Trump endorses Palin’s
comeback congress run
year for defying New York Covid-19
rules by dining out in the city while
unvaccinated, as her libel suit against
the New York Times went to trial. A
jury threw out the suit in February.
In her statement announcing her
candidacy, she took aim at the “radi-
cal left” and said inflation, immigra-
tion and US energy security would be
the foundation of her campaign.
“America is at a tipping point,” Pal-
in said. “As I’ve watched the far left
destroy the country, I knew I had to
step up and join the fight.”
Palin’s 2008 campaign alongside
McCain was credited with catalysing
culture war issues such as abortion,
education and LGBTQ rights that
have become touchstone issues for
Republicans heading into midterm
elections in November and the 2024
presidential race, when Trump is ex-
pected to run again. Palin has backed
his unfounded claims that the 2020
race was stolen through voter fraud.
“When there were shenanigans,
obviously, in so many of the polling
areas, the president has insisted that
we look into where all these votes had
come from,” she told Good Morning
Britain last year. Canine blessings Worshippers pray for the good health of their pets at a mass to honour Saint Lazarus in Masaya, NicaraguaOSWALDO RIVAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES