“INDIAN VIP SYNDROME (IVS)- A WORST CULTURE OF INDIA”

By: Dr. Abhishek Kumar Pandey, Asstt. Editor-ICN

LUCKNOW: VIP stands for “Very important person”. A VIP is a person who got special privileges due to their so called hi-fi status or position. It is a very common and I think a worst culture. Even we are full of examples where VIP culture took precious lives of people everyday. Despite of that, all the ruling and waiting for rule political parties and officers are supporting this. Only because, they all are getting and enjoying the same. But what about the public?? Everyday, public became the victims of these VIP culture and their big-big security protocols.

Public are harassed on a daily basis at different levels-

1). The first level is psychological, when a number of big cars pass at an unimaginable speed and the guards hanging out their weapons in their hands and give signals to the public to stop and maintain the distance. There is always anger in their eyes, a signal of sorts saying “do not dare interrupt or we will shoot you.” This unsaid communication is enough to keep ordinary citizens aside and clear the way as these so called VIPs have always something important, something urgent to get to.

2). The second level of harassment is the waste of our precious time and the unfair assumption that their time is far more important than ours.

3). The third and sad level is when people die while waiting for the VIP movement to end.

On an individual level, it causes anger, hopelessness, devalued self and distrust on system. And if all this can’t be solved, it leads to a belief that, no matter what one does, nothing can change it, so let it be.

This protocol culture is imbibed so deeply in our society as the public don’t even question why these people are privileged. The public convenience is routinely sacrificed in the name of this shameful VIP culture. India it seems is obsessed with its huge team of VIPs which has taken a toll of India’s resources to a great extent. It is the typical Indian psychology that gives such an enormous value to its VIPs. It is very pity that, in a country as large as India, with its vast population, the VIPs should hold so much clout that, the rest of the human sea of common mass appears to be absolutely non-existent.

Throughout the world the VIP is someone who may be more than the common man, but in India the common man exists only to serve and give to the VIP. Throughout the world the common man has an existence, while in India it appears that only the VIP exists, and the rest of the public is only there to help the VIP to remain so. The VIP areas must be clean, must get uninterrupted 24hours electricity supply, and they never mind about the living conditions of rest of the public. The VIP must get bungalows, never mind if the rest of our people live and die on the streets. All these items are essential for all human beings but never mind, since we never have anything in plenty, we must first cater  to the needs of VIPs, secondly, look after the VIPs, and lastly care for our VIPs. VIPs exists everywhere in the world but no where is it to be found at this ridiculous level. It is only this poor country India which has teaming millions of hungry and naked masses that also teaming VIPs taking advantage of the poverty. It is only the India that takes such expensive care of its VIPs.

Crores of our public money is spent on their security, health, and on their foreign tours; and the best of it all is that, not a finger can be raised against all this, because after all they are our so-called Very important person (VIP). It looks like that India is suffering from a syndrome called ‘’IVS’’ i.e. ‘’Indian VIP syndrome’’ and I think it’s a total wastage of public money of a poor country like India. The money that India spends in pampering our VIP could be better spent on the millions of the poor people but NO, we have a VIP mania and no matter what happens and no matter what it costs to the country, the VIP will remain a class apart not due to any of their great contributions to the country, but because of their capacities to waste public funds for their own growth and for fulfilling their own selfish needs.  

The situation of scarcity creates its own system of injustice. It is the common man who foots the bill for the security of the VIPs while he himself remains exposed to crimes. He remains unsafe on streets, at public places and even at his own home. This is totally unfair. Why should the citizen pay for it? In most developed countries, the state protects only a few at the top like the constitutional heads, the rest has to manage its own security.

When India got independence, our policy makers did not realize that various rules made as token of appreciation for politicians would be misused in future. We all regularly witness arrest of traffic when several vehicles of ministers pass through the road. Now a days there are plenty of rules which itself promotes VIP culture, like quota systems for MPs/MLAs at airports, temples, hospitals, educational institutions, VIP passes in programmes etc. Sometime we as a common people feel really bad seeing the VIP culture everywhere and being a common man is just like a curse.

I appreciate the step taken by the PM Narendra Modi by banning the provision of entitlement of Red or blue beacon light on the top of vehicles of certain govt. functionaries. But I think that such a move may not make much impact on the VIP culture unless every Indian develops self respect and refuse to treat other people as VIP.

A question arises here that- Who makes the govt. officers and ministers VIP??

It is the public who make a person a VIP because we want favours from these VIPs by showing our servility. Unless, we the people of India change our mentality, VIP culture is going to stay here.

How can we stop it??

1). Govt. should ban on all VIP culture promoting rules like quota systems. There should not be any reserved seat at any place for anyone based on his position or status.

2).We should run a movement in social media to protest these rules so that pressure can be made on the govt.

3).Improvement in economic, social and education of people in order to reduce gap in society.

4).There should be EPI (Every Person Important) culture rather than VIP culture.

5).Politicians need to understand that they have to respect the common people and work for their betterment by improving health and education.

6).Public have a belief that anyone who is VIP can break any law, they can get away with anything, which needs to be changed.

7).There should not be any special treatment to anyone based on their position.

In India, abolishing VIP culture will build a spirit of equality, which is desperately needed here. To bring uneducated people into main stream, it’s highly important that common man is respected and given a sense of security in health, education and other basic needs.

It really needs to think and judge now for yourself that whether you want to spend your hard earned money on some worthless VIPs, so that they enjoy their luxurious life and you die in the middle of the traffic thinking of the jams to clear, or you want to end this VIP culture, so that your tax amount is utilized in creating good security and health care facilities for you and your family. Decision is up to you only.  

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