Moustaches for Masculinity, 30 Rupees
Do moustachioed men garner more respect? This is precisely the question that occured to Jhabua district police chief Mayank Jain as he watched local people at a seminar defer to a number of constables in particular—those with moustaches. “There were two or three moustachioed constables in the gathering and I saw people were looking at them very respectfully and pleasantly,” related Mr. Jain. “That is when I thought of making more policemen grow moustaches.”
Yes, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Mr. Jain introducted his Moustache Motivation Program. (This alliterative name is my own creation, and not formally endorsed by the constabulary of the northern province.) At the time of BBC’s report, ten policemen are already benefiting from an extra 30 rupees per month in return for sporting a moustache, and Jain anticipated that many more of the district’s 1,100 police officers would take the initiative.
Of course, one must be very wary of the kind of whiskers one grows, lest the effect inspire more fear than respect. Jain was careful to keep watch on the shape of the moustaches as they developed, but the police chief seemed very pleased with the results. “Moustaches are improving the personalities of our constables. They are acquiring an aura of their own. They are creating a positive impression on the local people and getting a lot of respect.”
The local people are the target audience, after all; the BBC article noted that “men in rural India have traditionally sported impressive moustaches to assert their masculinity.” My attention was drawn to the original article after a recent opinion column posted on DNA India about the same moustache incentive, quipped, “A big moustache is associated with bravery, though it is suspect if it is directly proportionate to size.”
Opinions are not universal; though you could not possibly have forgotten the 2002 story (and subsequent terrible puns–see the BBC article) about an airline steward who was grounded and forbidden from flying until he shaved off his handlebar moustache, we’ll provide you with a recap. Officials at Indian Airlines cited the flamboyant moustache as a health hazard, since the moustache’s owner, Victor Joyanth De, frequently handled food for the passengers.
Mr. De, who had worked for the airline for 20 years, 5 years scant of his 25-year relationship with the moustache that then stretched from cheekbone to cheekbone, was ultimately allowed to return to work. A ruling of the Calcutta court allowing Mr. De to return to work alongside his wife, also a flight attendant, apparently hinged on the fact that Indian Airline’s restrictions only disallowed moustaches that were “droopy.”
Mr. De had been adamant about his moustache: “I never dreamed of trimming it. All the time I worked for the airline, my moustache attracted many adoring eyes inside the plane and on the ground.”
So what’s your view? A well-written blog post I happened across when trying to find some more examples of public opinion, both noted something else that was puzzling me—namely, if moustache equals masculinity, how does Bollywood and its lower number of moustaches per capita continue to survive, or conversely, affect public opinion—as well as lauding moustaches as symbols of “manhood, courage and panache.” I think the wives of the moustache-compensated policemen are most likely pleased to have such panache in the house, but the idea did occur to me that a few of them might offer double the sum to their husband’s if they prefer a clean-shaven look.