Soul Search Or Strip Search?
Posted on | August 17, 2009 | View Comments
SRK gets detained for 2 hours (66 mins according to US officials) at Newark International Airport.
All hell breaks loose.
Seems his name flashed on the computer and he was grilled.
SRK is peeved.
Indians are irate – globally.
The blogworld, media, phone-lines, twitter have all helped the news travel back and forth and are continuing to do so as we speak.
Hold on. For a moment.
The issue is NOT that a film-star was detained for 66 WHOLE minutes because his name is Khan.
The issue is NOT that this comes right after our ex-president was frisked by a US airline in our own country prior to boarding a Newark bound flight.
I don’t think we are angry that the Americans had the gall to frisk/search men of fame or stature from our nation.
We are angry that WE don’t have the gall to do the same.
We come from a nation where people love to please anyone who seems to be ‘connected.”
We fawn over celebs of ANY kind.
Our stars get escorted past the security check.
We have seen celebs get picked up in separate cars once they get off an aircraft.
We have seen VIPs hold flights because they themselves are running late.
I mean – we love all this.
It’s ingrained in us.
APJ Abdul Kalam – one of the most respected Indians alive, cheerfully underwent a frisking.
Maybe that’s the way he is – humble.
Or maybe he strongly believed there is nothing wrong in being frisked prior to boarding a flight – especially if the person before him was frisked, and the person after him will be.
What is SRK peeved about?
That he, Shah Rukh Khan, was not recognized – and detained for 66 mins without being allowed to make a call?
Or that he, a Khan, was detained indiscriminately?
If it is the former, it is not worth a rethink.
From America’s security perspective, being Shah Rukh Khan does not make you any less or more privileged than any other visitor from another country – especially at the immigration desk.
If it is the latter, it is sad.
The computers in Newark could do with a little reprogramming – so they don’t simply stop anyone with a particular surname – I am sure a more detailed and deeper profiling of suspects can be done.
Imagine all the Mehtas in the world being stopped at the security check because Harshad Mehta scammed and ran.
Remember the law? It professes equality.
Every individual, be it the richest person in the world or Ram Singh Ojha from the dingiest part of India, has to stand up when the Judge walks into the court.
Why should it be any different when it comes to security?
The Mumbai attacks taught us (or have they?) that we MUST cheerfully volunteer to be checked when walking into a mall or a theatre or any other public place.
It is for our own good.
If we feel insulted, it is because of our own bloated egos.
I have heard, and I am sure so have you, of friends and colleagues going through an inordinately long security check because of the country we come from.
Nobody argued about that.
It comes with being an ordinary Indian citizen travelling abroad.
Well, SRK is an ordinary Indian citizen travelling abroad.
He pays taxes at the same rate as many others do and he too needs a license to drive.
So he will be treated the same way you or I will be.
Sure we may fancy treating celebs, big-shots and politicians with kid gloves even when it comes to national security.
Why are we expecting the US to tow the same line?
Before cursing the US, shouldn’t we do a little soul searching here at home?
Why the hell can’t we search/frisk/strip search anyone coming into our OWN country if required?
You know why we are searched like this when we go abroad?
Possibly because no one trust us with our own security – that’s why.
We are world famous for allowing our own rich, powerful & famous to bend rules at the drop of a hat.
And that goes a long way in building our own reputation as a strict nation the world over.
Shah Rukh, being who he is, could call Rajeev Shukla and get help.
Most Indians, in his place, wouldn’t know who to call beyond their dads or spouses.
So quit all this shouting.
Till such time we can’t enforce security measures on our own ‘privileged class’ and till such time we can’t enforce them on ‘privileged visitors’, we should quit wasting our breath over Shah Rukh – never mind how much we love him.
All this brouhaha over his 66 min/2hour long detention is such a waste of precious airtime, amongst other things.
That kind of time, if you ask me, is better spent telling people how to handle the Swine Flu.
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August 17th, 2009 @ 1:18 pm
Rahul,
Totally agree on this. There is no reason to get angry or excited about Sharukh being checked/detained at US immigration. If Sharukh has so much issue with this, he should have taken the next flight home where he gets all VVIP status, but in US he an ordinary traveller and people working at immigration have every right to do their duty.
He has behaved immaturely in this whole episode and our government has gone one step above in behaving totally stupid.
August 17th, 2009 @ 10:38 pm
Great post. Totally agree with you on the points you mentioned. We are making a huge hue n cry for a security check!? So what if he's a big celebrity? Who cares! We're just too much in love with the importance and VIP treatment we get or well want. TOI carried a news report yesterday which said not even Al Gore or Ted Kennedy could move around without checked properly and that too in the US. Something our politicians and VIP's need to learn.
August 18th, 2009 @ 1:37 am
Brilliant point made. Indubitably, my friend, Indubitably.
August 18th, 2009 @ 2:53 am
Well put Rahul. It's the age old white skin-black skin drama playing out again. We can't get over our fascination for white skin. Similarly, it is terribly easy to put the blame for a normal check on racism.
It irks me no end to see frail old ladies standing for hours in queues at Tirupati, Vaishnodevi, Shirdi, while the Bachchan Pariwaar does its hour long darshan, as lesser humans wait in the wings. Same issue, isn't it? We elevate some humans and de-humanise others.
August 18th, 2009 @ 4:48 am
Agree with you 200%. Sycophancy has become a way of life for us in India. We extend favours to people who actually don't deserve it. What we forget in this particular episode is that security measures are not designed to accommodate stardom value. Let us not forget that a terrorist bullet does not differentiate between a layperson and a star. So why should seccurity systems do so?
August 18th, 2009 @ 9:45 am
@Ajay & Tanuj -SRK on TV has a mellowed response now.
@Devina yup, we elevate some and de-humanize some – nice point.
@Pushkaraj – Welcome mate – great point about the bullet not differentiating.
@N2N – thanks bud
August 18th, 2009 @ 10:10 am
the funniest part is that SRK all this time has been saying that he is just a normal man and he is not at all upset on following the rules.And also that he didnt want to make it an issue.. Though he has been continuosly giving telephonic interview to all the news channels in hindi and english, and conducted the press conference on proirity as he came back.
There is no doubt that US has been racially partial on these issues but i guess if they have prevented another 9/11 then most of it is (sadly) justified..
August 18th, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
@cockybox – yeah the ego is the trouble…
@kapil – dichotomy, no?
August 18th, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Valid point.
I'd like to see everyone being treated equally for a change, however, I don't know what will happen to all that ego people carry around. Cheers!
August 18th, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
@Ajay & Tanuj -SRK on TV has a mellowed response now.
@Devina yup, we elevate some and de-humanize some – nice point.
@Pushkaraj – Welcome mate – great point about the bullet not differentiating.
@N2N – thanks bud
August 18th, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
the funniest part is that SRK all this time has been saying that he is just a normal man and he is not at all upset on following the rules.And also that he didnt want to make it an issue.. Though he has been continuosly giving telephonic interview to all the news channels in hindi and english, and conducted the press conference on proirity as he came back.
There is no doubt that US has been racially partial on these issues but i guess if they have prevented another 9/11 then most of it is (sadly) justified..
August 18th, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
@cockybox – yeah the ego is the trouble…
@kapil – dichotomy, no?