Airport checks for all

The civil aviation minister has offered some bright ideas in the 100-plus days he has been in office, such as five no-frills airports to take air travel to the people. The minister also set a good example by subjecting himself to security checks like any other passenger even while on official work. His move to “democratise” checking procedures is welcome: Indians must get used to the idea that people who travel in today’s increasingly scary world must be checked, without claiming exemption due to their exalted positions or other reasons.

A former Speaker of India’s Parliament once cancelled a trip to Australia as he wouldn’t be exempt from airport checks there. A New Zealand PM was frisked there, but didn’t complain. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had undergone security frisking in the United States, but made no fuss, though the regular Indian habit of taking offence at every perceived indignity took shape soon afterwards. The point is: all passengers must at least walk through a scanner, in a separate VIP queue if need be, but Indians must understand that security checks are for everyone’s safety.

It’s of little consequence if Robert Vadra is no longer exempt from security checks and frisking as enforcing of a uniform law for all, except maybe just a few who hold the highest offices in the country, will send out a clear signal that security is a fact of life in our troubled times. This goes far beyond “VIP culture”, that India has uniquely spawned.