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To be Frisked or not to be Frisked
Written by Siddharth Srivastava
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
When officials of America's Continental Airlines recently frisked India's
former President APJ Abdul Kalam, it touched a raw nerve. The airline belatedly
was forced to deliver a formal apology last week in the middle of a furor that
has been building ever since Kalam was patted down on April 21 on his way to
the United States.
It isn't the first time that a bigwig, referred in Indian security
parlance as a Very Very Important Person (VVIP), has been bodily frisked,
kicking off a fuss. And in fact, there are lingering suspicions that a bodily
search for a VVIP may be more than just a quest for explosives. It has
sometimes been used to cock a country-to-country snook.
Despite protests by Indian security men, Kalam was made to take off his
footwear and belt and physically checked in New Delhi before he could embark on
his journey. He is regarded as a national hero for developing missiles and
other weapons and led India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998. He was named the
country's president and held the position until 2007. Nonetheless, was forced
to join millions of travelers including children, cripples and elderly
grey-haired ladies who have been forced to do so by bored security personnel
ever since the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, was tackled on an American
Airlines flight in December 2001 for attempting vainly to destroy the craft by
detonating explosives hidden in his shoes.
Although Kalam, known for his down-to-earth demeanor, went through the
security process without much ado, an uproar followed in India's Parliament,
including demands that the American carrier be banned from flying into the
country. India's civil aviation minister called on the prime minister to brief
him while a police report was lodged to investigate the matter. Demands have
been made that in response to such overbearing behavior by an American carrier,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a visit to India, should be put
through security checks.
In the past, New Delhi reacted angrily to then-federal defense minister
George Fernandes being searched (he had to take off his shoes and socks) by
security officials America in a post-September 11, 2001, security check.
Fernandes, known for his anti-US tirades, was apparently "disrobed", according
to former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott, not once but twice.
Talbott, in a book chronicling the events, says Fernandes was angered by the
incidents.
Last year, New Delhi took offense when Russian security officials
insisted on searching Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was on a visit to
the country. In Mukherjee's case, it appeared that Moscow wanted to convey its
unhappiness with New Delhi's newfound bonhomie with the US that translated into
more defense deals and the civilian nuclear pact. A feel-up was considered one
way of conveying the irritation as Moscow does know a bit about Indian
politicians' aversion to being body searched.
In the recent past, an offended junior minister Anand Sharma created a
furor by arguing with officials at the New Delhi airport and eventually got the
rule book changed to exclude him from being searched for bombs.
Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of
India's Parliament, is also known to be particularly squeamish about being
searched by airport security officials. He cancelled a trip to London, to
follow up on a similar instance in 2005 to Sydney, even as frenzied diplomatic
efforts by the Indian High Commission for an exemption failed.
The British Foreign office was clear about international security
guidelines that "only Heads of States are exempted." However, Chatterjee was
equally adamant, explaining that he cancelled the trip "because it involves the
honor of the constitutional office".
In 2005 Chatterjee canceled his visit to Australia following a verbal war
of words in the media. He also has had big problems with his wife being
required to walk through a scanner while traveling within India.
Most ordinary citizens know about the rigors of security checks,
including a physical rub-down, in times when terrorism is at an ugliest.
However, some seek to be above this process, given its perceived damage to
their importance and image.
Even as foreign security drills are more difficult to tamper with, the
list of those eligible to forgo domestic airport checks has been drastically
amended to suit individual interests in the game of political patronage, where
outward show of power matters a bit.
In the 1980s, there were only five exemptions: president, vice president,
prime minister, chief justice of the Supreme Court, speaker of the Lok Sabha
(the Lower House of Parliament) and state governors. Today it includes cabinet
ministers, ministers of state, bureaucrats and sundry others with access to the
powers-that-be.
Yet, there was some sympathy late last year when it came to the fore that
India's military chiefs are by statute required to be frisked at domestic
airports. This was considered a reflection of the unflattering status of the
defense forces in India's civilian democratic setup, unlike in a country such
as Pakistan.
On paper, the heads of the three armed forces, navy, air force and army,
were supposed to be treated like civilians and required to be searched by
security personnel before they could board a passenger flight despite the fact
that the service chiefs are otherwise responsible for the security of the
nation, protect the borders against incursions, command the second-largest army
in the world and its sophisticated arsenal.
While nobody argues for the overbearing primacy of the military in civil
society, what pinched was the list of exemptions that had been granted.
It was an irony that a private businessman, Robert Vadra, the son-in-law
of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, and husband of Priyanka Gandhi, was
exempt, as were some senior bureaucrats outranked by the service chiefs.
Following a bit of media furor, defense minister A K Antony took up the
matter with the federal civil aviation ministry at the behest of the three
service chiefs who had previously written a letter requesting an exemption.
Initially, the aviation ministry refused Antony's proposal, reasoning
that other authorities, mostly civil servants who head ministries and are
referred to as secretaries, would voice similar demands. The list now stands
amended and the generals do not have to line up even if on paper.
The near obsession about freedom from airport frisking, however, is just
at the tip of the exemptions and perks that are sought by India's power holders
who still carry a colonial mindset and see themselves as above the law for the
common rabble.
One hot tag is threat perception, especially from known terror groups
such as al-Qaeda or Lashkar-e-Toiba. The highest Z-plus category accompanies
the star label, VVIP. There is always a rush of supposedly important people
wanting to include themselves in a higher risk category that entitles them to
personal commandos (referred to as Black Cats due their attire and skill) and
escort vehicles. The commandos mostly function as bouncers fending off private
citizens, while the red-beacon, siren-fitted escort vehicles specialize in
jumping traffic lights and shooing away nearby vehicles. Anybody driving in
Delhi can vouch for this nuisance done in the name of ``security.''
Another sought after perquisite is allotments at the prime New Delhi
bungalow area which are always very reluctantly vacated. If a minister or
political leader dies, families insist (taking even legal recourse) on
converting the accommodation into a memorial or museum, while continuing to
occupy the same. Former Members of Parliament, ministers, retired officials
have had to be physically evicted along with belongings. Bureaucrats are in a
constant wrangle for dual postings to retain official apartments in the
national capital.
Indeed, this power list can go on. But not being patted down remains a
high priority. Even if a humble Kalam did not mind, there are others who do.
It is a question of high prestige, after all.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached
at [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you
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