No frisking. No metal detectors. No deployment ofparamilitary contingents. It was purely an academic event. A grand ceremony ofannual convocation of the university. The function was attended by severalsenior officers, state heads, and none other than the country head. As soon asthe function concluded, all the academicians, students and invited guests hadtheir dinner at the university canteen. Irrespective of their status andposition, everyone was given the same treatment.
As the dinner was over, we walked down the clean andilluminated road to reach the university guest house. On our way, we had tostop at a main road-crossing because of pedestrian red-light. I got a glimpseof two police motorbikes in front of a big car waiting for the traffic light togo green. As I had rarely seen police on the roads, I inquisitively inquiredfrom my friend, faculty at the said university, “Police bikes in front of a bigcar, seems some VIP?” With smile, she replied, “Yes, this is the car of Presidentof our country, you just saw him in the function.” I was silenced, and at onceI heard, “It is green, let’s cross”.
As soon as we reached our room, I asked my friend, “YourPresident was waiting for his turn at the red-light, and he had no red flags,no siren, no cavalcade, and even no beacon lights”. She replied, “Well, he wasneither driving an ambulance nor riding a fire engine. Why should he use sirenand beacon lights? Moreover, he is the Head of this country and as such, has todeal justly with his compatriots. Had he jumped the red light, he would haveviolated the rights of other people who had been waiting to move. Unless he isnot just and humble in small issues, he cannot be just in any other form. Hecan’t afford to be vainglorious.”
This was the President of Iran waiting for his turn at thetraffic red light, a few years back. The VIP protocol was not extended beyond ameasure, creating no hassles for commoners.
Back in India, VIP culture is booming relentlessly. Aspolitics is becoming the domain of hard-nosed, glamour of power is displayeddefiantly. Security covers, black commandos, gun-brandishing men, convoy ofclassy vehicles having flashing red lights atop, and blowing sirens—the commoncitizen gets pushed to the wall. As traffic movement is being stopped ordiverted for VIPs to pass, the man on the road is reduced to an involuntaryslave who timidly follows the orders of commanding.
The flagrant violation of rules by giving priority passageto VIPs has become a norm now. Using the defense of ‘security threat’, VIPsactually entitle themselves for bullying others in all ways. During 2014, inresponse to a petition seeking details about the misuse of the state machinery,the Supreme Court of India remarked, “the threat perception becomes a symbol ofpower” as VIPs flout rules and regulations of public conduct.
Not only on roads, VIPs are turning new avatars of dauntingregimes in every other sphere. They have a license to mock, disgrace, threatenand even slay. Their writ runs large everywhere. In their case, power flows notonly from the barrel of gun, it exudes from those who are shielded by suchguns.
Kashmir is a queer example of everything. Even VIPs here areunique in their bizarre operation procedures! Their symbols of power are variedfor they seek special treatment at the cost of taxed taxpayers of conflict.VIPs here have all “reasons” to travel with heavy intimidating escort vehiclesand zoom past the other common travelers along the road. Even politicalworkers, some of their henchmen, and even officials from judiciary andbureaucracy travel in big tinted cars escorted by police-guards blowingwhistles and flaunting their guns through windows to frighten others. Trafficrules are not meant for them. They are for fools who travel without a helmet ordon’t fasten a seat belt, and are penalized for their unsafe ways of travel.Nobody has guts enough to catch hold of those who knock down pedestriansincluding minors and get away boldly; who hit and run and even shoot down thechasing crowd; and who bump upon others while whooshing on the roads withfingers on their triggers.